Limited influence on consumers as a mobile phone brand

ZTE and Huawei, a telecoms equipment manufacturer, have been on the market for more than 10 years, but their influence as a mobile phone brand has been limited. Recently, both sides in their respective major markets launched a marketing war, through the joint sporting events to strengthen their mobile phone brands.

In this marketing war behind, revealed is the domestic mobile phone in the overseas survival, how to get rid of the operator's shadow, really use their own brand to open the overseas market has become one of the main objectives of the current stage.

The competition of sports marketing

November 21, Huawei and the Spanish Football League (LFP) signed a contract. This is the beginning of the second half of 2013 to sponsor the German Dortmund football team, AC Milan football and the Middle East of the youth Gulf Cup football match, another marketing campaign.

When it comes to the choice of marketing activities through football, Huawei's brand leader told reporters, "Europe is Huawei's key market and Europe is also the center of global football." ”

"Huawei is more interested in the global influence of La Liga, which is broadcast in more than 200 countries and has influence in Latin America, with Messi and Ronaldo having hundreds of millions of fans," the person said. After signing, a series of ways will be adopted to enhance consumers ' brand awareness of Huawei. ”

It is understood that the future cooperation between Huawei and Spain will be achieved through many parties, by 2015, Huawei, as a global technology partner in Spain, could use the images and logos of La Liga and its players, with Huawei's brand logo in the La Liga promotional campaign, and Huawei to have the Spanish official app installed in the world's pre-sale handsets.

At the same time, ZTE was not outdone. October 15, ZTE and the NBA announced a strategic partnership of 3 years, and in the 11 period, ZTE has just signed the NBA rockets.

Whether the choice of Spanish football or NBA basketball, ZTE, Huawei's choice of reasons are the same. ZTE specifically responsible for the matter, Bellidifolin told reporters, "the company faced with the needs of business transformation, the need to select a broad user population of the project." In sports, basketball is the most participatory sport, while the NBA is the most popular basketball sport in China and the United States. The NBA crowd is similar to ZTE's target users. "ZTE will help ZTE's brand transition through its brand-name placement in the NBA, the NBA star meeting and the celebrity endorsements of Kobe, James and Howard."

When it comes to specific marketing costs, Huawei says the specific amount of sponsorship is inconvenient to disclose. "The amount will not be too large to exceed the previous sponsorship amount." ”

Huawei and La Liga sponsorship is more from the brand, trademarks, players portrait and other static marking level of cooperation, the current consumer can see the most intuitive is the future of the mobile phone in the Spanish official app.

Compared with Huawei's low-key, ZTE has invested more resources in sports marketing. ZTE said: "ZTE is expected to spend about 100 million yuan in the next 3 years for the NBA mobile phone-related marketing activities." With the NBA China reached is 3 years of strategic cooperation, ZTE's mobile phone in 15 years, the largest sports marketing campaign. ”

The Mystery of overseas rankings

ZTE has also chosen to strengthen its brand image through sporting events, trying to transform the company, but the competition is different, Huawei has been working in the European market, and ZTE in the U.S. market, each claiming that they are ranked in the global smartphone market.

Huawei has fared better than ZTE in the first half, according to the latest 2013-year data. Revenue 113.8 billion, an increase of 10.8%. ZTE revenue 37.708 billion, down 11.57% year-on-year, but ZTE net profit of 302 million, an increase of 23.47%.

Huawei Brand leader told reporters, "according to IDC, SA and other consulting companies report, this year Q3 Huawei's global market share of more than 5%, ranked third in the world." These consultancies do not produce separate data for the European market, but Europe, as Huawei's key market, should share and rank the same. ”

ZTE's head told reporters, "At present we are the fourth largest intelligent expert machine manufacturers, the market share reached 4.1%, and is the first three prepaid brand, prepaid market share is reached 15%." ”

ZTE stressed that in the U.S. market in advance, ZTE North America President Cheng explained, "The United States 95% of mobile phones are sold through the operator channel, the retail price is the operator's subsidized mobile phone prices, the operators for different groups have a variety of packages available." ”

In the US smartphone market in the third quarter of 2013, ZTE's handset shipments ranked sixth in the market, accounting for about 3% per cent, according to a new report released by counterpoint, a market research institute. Huawei ranks eighth in the US smartphone market.

Huawei told reporters, "at present Huawei's main market in China, Europe and Japan, Europe's smartphone shipments accounted for 15%." From the terminal business, Huawei in the European market in the annual sales revenue also accounted for about 15%. The profit is inconvenient to announce. ”

Resistance to surviving overseas

At present, both sides are trying to get rid of the concept of "operator" in the consumer's mind, but because of their different environment, the efforts to transform through sports marketing are different.

ZTE's attempt to transform handset makers from operators, in addition to the global sales of smartphones, is one reason why "political factors" have been exploited for more than 10 years in Europe and the US.

According to previous data can be seen, ZTE since 2003 into the U.S. market, until 2006 only to obtain the first substantive contract, until 2011, ZTE in the United States, most of the 400 million U.S. dollars in sales from terminal products such as mobile phones, system equipment revenue accounted for less than 10%.

Huawei is facing a similar situation.

After Huawei entered the United States in 2001, as of today, it is still excluded from the network infrastructure of mainstream U.S. operators, many times encountered the U.S. government investigation. Huawei is more successful in Europe, where Huawei has established 13 centers in Europe and "plans to hire tens of thousands of employees in Europe in the future." Huawei said.

"At present, Huawei's operators in Europe and open channels of revenue accounted for 7:3, the future open channels of revenue will continue to increase." "This data was 8:2 in 2012.

Huawei told reporters, "Huawei's public sales in the European market mainly through Carphone Warehouse, mobilcom Debitel, Media Harsh & Saturn, Unieuro, expert, and other major channel sales, but also Amazon and Cdiscount channels of electricity. ”

And ZTE's sales channels are mainly through Best Buy, Radioshark and other large distributors in the United States sales. "Next year we are expected to sell mainly through four major operators, At&t, T, Sprint and Verizon," he said. ”

As a domestic brand of mobile phone manufacturers, ZTE, Huawei began to go the same route, from operators, in their respective markets lower end of the route, when the respective start of the Terminal brand building, the future who can in the end of the market from Apple, Samsung and other mobile phone giants squeeze the foothold?