ONEPLUS MOBILE PHONES MARKETING

CHAPTER NO. 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

OnePlus mobile phones are manufactured by a Shenzen based Smartphone Company

that was founded in December 2013 by Pete Lau and Carl Pei. The brand is operated
by BBK Electronics, a China-based company that owns other Smartphones like OPPO
and VIVO. OnePlus has established itself in 38 countries as of 2016

The brand was first introduced to India in December 2014 and has sold over a million
phones across the country, thanks to the ever loyal OnePlus community. OnePlus
mobile phones came to India to popularise a phone with excellent design, specs and
experience without burning a hole in the consumers’ wallets. It has become one of the
most popular smartphone brands in the country, giving big brands like Apple, Nexus
and Samsung and more than 150 other brands, a run for their money. A survey even
states that 85% of smartphone users have switched from other leading brands to
OnePlus.
 1.2 ORIGINS

OnePlus was founded on 16 December 2013 by former Oppo vice-president Pete

Lau and Carl Pei. According to the Chinese government's documentation, the
only institutional stockholder in OnePlus is Oppo Electronics. Lau denied that
OnePlus was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oppo and stated that Oppo
Electronics and not Oppo Mobile (the phone manufacturer) is a major investor of
OnePlus and that they are "in talks with other investors". The company's main
goal was to design a smartphone that would balance high-end quality with a
lower price than other phones in its class, believing that users would "Never
Settle" for the lower-quality devices produced by other companies. Lau explained
that "we will never be different just for the sake of being different. Everything
done has to improve the actual user experience in day-to-day use." He also
showed aspirations of being the "Muji of the tech industry", emphasizing its
focus on high-quality products with simplistic, user-friendly designs. Continuing
Lau's association with the platform from the Oppo N1, OnePlus entered into an
exclusive licensing agreement with Cyanogen Inc. to base its products' Android
distribution upon a variant of the popular custom ROM CyanogenMod and use
its trademarks outside of China.

The company unveiled its first device, the OnePlus One, on 23 April 2014. In
December 2014, alongside the release of the OnePlus One in India exclusively
through Amazon, OnePlus also announced plans to establish a presence in the
country, with plans to open 25 official walk-in service centres across India.

In April 2014, OnePlus hired Han Han as the product ambassador in mainland
China.

On 9 March 2014, the company expanded its operations to the European Union.
As of July 2018, OnePlus serves to the following 34 countries and
regions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong
Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Net
herlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United
Kingdom, and United States.
 1.3 PRODUCTS AND GROWTH

Till now, Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus sold its products only through
online channels in India. That will change as the company looks to boost its
offline presence. OnePlus, which competes with Apple Inc. and Samsung
Electronics Co. in the premium smartphone segment, plans to set up four offline
experience centres and six authorized stores in the country by
the year-end, the company said. “The offline presence will now complement
the online presence,” Vikas Agarwal, general manager of OnePlus India, told
BloombergQuint. “Right now, we are constrained by our online penetration."

Hyderabad is among the fastest growing markets for OnePlus, and the company
is in the process of expanding its offline presence in the region, in line with the
expanding user base. “India is not only one of the biggest markets for OnePlus
but is also the benchmark for creating globally successful products.

“India is not only one of the biggest markets for OnePlus but is also the
benchmark for creating globally successful products. With a growth rate of more
than 100 per cent, the country is well on its way to becoming a centre for product
innovation," the statement added. OnePlus said it is committed to long-term
growth in India, and with the commencement of operations at the new R&D
centre, it is seeking to integrate and dive deeper into the ‘Make in India’ strategy.
 1.4 INDIA PRESENCE

OnePlus has emerged as the top smartphone brand in India's fast-growing premium
phone market, outstripping stalwarts like Samsung and Apple. The five-year-old
Chinese brand's assent to the summit comes after a year of astounding rise -- often
growing by over 200 percent a quarter. Since its launch in India, OnePlus handsets
have been considered to be value-for-money. But the brand's winning formula -- apart
from its great software and hardware -- has been in its ability to retain old customers
and bring new ones on board -- mostly from the iOS universe.

OnePlus bagged the top slot with a market share of 40 per cent in India's premium
phones segment, pulling ahead of Samsung which has a share of 34 per cent, and
Apple which is now languishing at 14 per cent. This week Counterpoint Research
came out with its report on the smartphone market for the June quarter of 2018. For
the first time, OnePlus bagged the top slot with a market share of 40 per cent in
India's premium phones segment, pulling ahead of Samsung which has a share of 34
per cent, and Apple which is now languishing at 14 per cent.

OnePlus has benefitted hugely from its loyal customer base. It began its journey with
a 'refer-only' sales model where potential buyers needed to get an invitation from an
existing user to be able to purchase a device. This worked in both setting up a
dedicated user base as well as creating aspiration for the brand among smartphone
users. According to Vikash Agarwal, country head, OnePlus India, today nearly 40
per cent of existing OnePlus users go for the next OnePlus device. "We now have a
sizeable user base, which makes for a captive audience every time a new device is
launched, "It is a set of core users who have gone through the past three-four OnePlus
devices. "Now a critical mass has been reached and it's become big enough to make
OnePlus the number one brand," Agarwal said.
The migration of iOS users to the OnePlus platform has been another critical factor in
bumping up the Chinese brand's market share. In fact, the migration of iPhone users to
Android devices is now a global trend which is playing out in India as well. As
Agarwal pointed out, "This has benefitted OnePlus during the last quarter in India,
"Data show that a lot of our new customers have switched from the iPhone. "As per
Google, a third of the people searching for iPhones are also looking for OnePlus,
"OnePlus's unique promotional efforts have also contributed to its phenomenal
growth.
 1.5 ‘MAKE IN INDIA’

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus plans its second global HQ in

India
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is looking at a second company headquarters in
Bengaluru, India, signalling the overarching importance of Asia’s third largest
economy and its smartphone market which is estimated to be $8 billion in size. Over
the last decade, Chinese manufactures such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus have
come to control about 51 percent of India’s smartphone market. For OnePlus,
founded by former Oppo executive Pete Lau in 2013, India has come to be its biggest
market and has helped propel the company’s revenue for calendar 2017 beyond the 1$
billion mark.

India now accounts for over one-third of the total revenues (of $1.4 billion) of
Shenzhen-headquartered OnePlus, followed by Europe, China and the US. “India is
super important to us. We are looking at it as a place to have our second headquarters
as a company,” Lau, founder and CEO, OnePlus tells Forbes India on the sidelines of
the launch of the company’s latest smartphone the OnePlus 6, in Beijing. “Bengaluru
is mostly likely where the headquarters will be based. The stating of two headquarters
(Shenzhen and Bengaluru) is a possibility,”

As part of his larger vision for India, OnePlus will expanded its research and
development (R&D) capabilities in the country as well as have a deeper focus on a
‘Make in India’ strategy. Presently, the company is finalising plans on local
component manufacturing and sourcing.

“Essentially, all of our products that are sold in India are contract manufactured in the
country, already. That’s something that we are proud of,” adds Lau. Asked if
OnePlus would consider to setup an in-house manufacturing facility, he says, “We
prefer to take an approach that remains asset light but our focus will be in India
only”.

What would be more significant, he says, “would be that decision making would be
coming out of the team here in India — in the creation, evolution and development
of products for the company.” And adds, “We would have product managers that
would be based in India and there would be larger R&D team as well.” OnePlus is a
lean
company in terms of headcount having over 60 employees in India and 850 globally.

Founded in the winter of 2013, OnePlus arrived in India about a year later through
an exclusive online partnership with Amazon India, which continues to be its
exclusive online partner. The company operates in the premium end of the market
with its products priced above $400. Citing IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker
Q4 2017 report, OnePlus claims that it has a 48 percent share of sales in the online
premium smartphone category in India. And a 28 percent share of the overall
premium smartphone in the country.

Further, the report had also stated that OnePlus grew by 1116 percent in the premium
smartphone segment that quarter. “According to Counterpoint Research 2018 Q1,
OnePlus 5T was the best-selling model during the quarter, driven by its limited
edition variant launch. OnePlus 5T maintained the position of best-selling premium
smartphone in India for two quarters consecutively,”

On Thursday, the company launched its latest product the OnePlus 6, which has an
all-glass exterior. With a 6.28-inch full optic AMOLED 19:9 display, the phone is
powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor, has two options of 6 GB and 8
GB of RAM and runs on Android’s OxygenOS. Its dual camera system features a
16MP main camera which is supported by a 20MP secondary camera. It’s priced
between Chinese Yuan 3,199 and Chinese Yuan 4,199. The company also launched
its first wireless Bluetooth earphones. “With the OnePlus 6, we challenged ourselves
to deliver an external design as smooth and elegant as the work we've done inside
the device,"
 1.6 ONEPLUS PLANS MARKET STRATEGY TO MAINTAIN
POSITION IN INDIA

OnePlus has announced its marketing strategy in India and is exploring new
campaigns for promotional purpose. The smartphone maker has tied up with Reliance
Digital for expanding its offline stores. It is planning to organize pop-up events across
the country in November to promote its new series OnePlus 6T.

OnePlus considers offline promotion crucial. Vikas Agarwal, General Manager,

OnePlus India said that for OnePlus, offline mode was the strategic channel and
online was the sales channel. He feels that offline stores are important to build a
relationship with the customers and in the case of OnePlus, which is a newer brand in
India, its importance is crucial. OnePlus currently has 10 stores live and said it wanted
to add 14 stores by the end of this year.

OnePlus market share

As per a recently concluded market research by Counterpoint, OnePlus has a market

share of 30 per cent in the smartphones segment in India. The respondents expressed
their preference for OnePlus phones over the others which had resulted in an increase
in the sales of this new brand. The CMR report attributed the growth to the company’s
social media marketing strategies along with the grapevine communication. Reports
informed that OnePlus would be focusing more on the promotional strategies to stay
in the game rather than launching another series in the entry-level and mid-range
smartphone segments.

CMR report

The Counterpoint Market Research report shows that Vivo, Oppo, Asus, Samsung and
Apple are among the leaders in the smartphone market in India. Although OnePlus
emerged as highly preferred one, its share has dropped by 5 per cent. OnePlus
smartphones may witness a price change in the future due to the weakening rupee
value. Its production and supply schedules have been affected by the declining rupee,
said the India GM.
 1.7 REPORT OF SEGMENTATION, TARGETING
& POSITIONING STRATEGY OF ONEPLUS

 Market Segmentation Strategy:

In order to understand the market need, the company conducted various market
research’s and surveys. Their primary objectives was to know,

 Who will buy their new smartphone?

 What are people looking for, in terms of both specifications and
functionality, in a new smartphone?
 How can OnePlus persuade someone to switch to one of OnePlus’
smartphone?
 What medium can OnePlus use to promote their products without spending
hefty money on advertisements?

The data received from surveys conducted by OnePlus (2014a) helped them in
dividing user market according to different segments such as:

1. Geographic Segmentation

OnePlus has divided the markets regionally, this helped in understanding the different
needs and wants of different regions separately. Thus aiding in developing appropriate
market strategies which are not ill-suited for a selected region, consequently saving
the company a lot of time and money which could have been spend unwantedly. Even
though a start-up company, their regional approach helped them to achieve the trust
and admiration of the local people. Several channels were opened in a systematic
manner for customers to pre-order their smartphone. And only eighteen different
countries were pre-selected for OnePlus One launch initially.
 2. Demographic Segmentation

The next major segmentation under which the markets are divided are on the basis of
demographic variables such as Age, Sex, Occupation, family cycles etc. The most
salient feature of demographic segmentation is the massive availability of data easily
available and the ease at which it can be analysed (Gilligan, 2009). OnePlus is
determined not to categorise their potential users according to demographic variables,
nevertheless, they have targeted all users who are so particular about their products
needs to be made out of high quality material and want the best specification in their
smartphone.

3. Psychographic Segmentation

Even though similar to Demographics, Psychographic segmentation divided the user

base according to their lifestyle and values (RESTREPO, 2003). OnePlus segregates
and targets those people whose lifestyles are more revolving around technology, to be
more specific android geeks and nerds. Their first product, OnePlus ONE, was
Cyanogen certified meaning the software (Android OS) was highly customizable to
improve its performance (OnePlus, 2014a). Again, built on Android OS, integrated
with all the high-end specifications, OnePlus ONE was launched with the slogan
“flagship killer” shook competitors re-think their strategies (SNELLING, 2016). A
competitive pricing and high specifications, matching or in some cases even beating
other branded smartphones, everyone was clamouring for a piece of OnePlus ONE
(Newman, 2014).

4. Benefit Segmentation

And lastly, benefit segmentation, where market is divided in terms of benefits, needs
and values a Customer expects from their products. OnePlus offered customers the
best value for money product. Customers benefited from high-end specifications,
build quality, ergonomics and even a better looking phone. Introduction of
CyanogenMod 11 in OnePlus ONE also aided in satisfying customers who needed a
smartphone which can be customized according to their preferences.
  Targeting Strategy:

Success of a company greatly rely on the ability to identify their target markets i.e. to
find where the company’s potential customers lies in the segmentation analysis. Some
of the key strategic points of OnePlus Company were not to compete with the already
established smartphone leaders, only manufacture limited number of products to
create demand in the market, manufacture a phone for the android phone fanatics, and
sell the product at a very unprincipled price creating a wave of ‘wow’ among
technology enthusiasts.

The target market of OnePlus lies within the limit of 14 to 35 years of age, off course
based on their ability to buy the company’s products. It also encompasses those tech
fanatics and Android lovers who likes to adopt it as soon as they are launched in the
market.

Teenagers, lying between the age of 14 and 25 years are considered to appreciate
technology is one of the company’s target markets. These age groups utilises their
smartphone for socialising needs, and are expected to use applications such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.

Moving to the age group of 26 to 35 years, due to their capability in buying OnePlus
products, forms the biggest segment of OnePlus’ target market. These age group use
their smartphone as a daily driver for making phone calls, send emails, Text
Messaging, music, GPS for navigation and expect the battery to last till they call it a
day.
  Positioning Strategy:

In the last stage of the Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) market model,
the company needs to decide where they need to position themselves in the market to
stand aside uniquely to focus on their target customers. Positioning can help in
creating a brand image in the minds of the target audiences and can only be argued in
the execution of what differentiates it from other brands existing in the same market.
OnePlus identified two unique marketing plan based on which they positioned the
company on the perceptual map, these attributes were Low Pricing and High
Specifications. Figure 1a shows the position of OnePlus among all the other major
companies in the perceptual mapping.

One could easily notice that, OnePlus stands apart from rest of the major
companies. This makes it easier for a target user to certainly pick the product
without thinking twice. It will be hard to predict at an early stage if the company
moves away from the current positioning paradigm and invite-only strategy,
whether or not users still be wanting to buy products launched by OnePlus.
 1.8 MARKETING MIX

 PRODUCT

OnePlus has manufactured nine phones:

a. Oneplus one

b. Oneplus 2

c. Oneplus X

d. Oneplus 3

e. Oneplus 3T

f. Oneplus 5

g. Oneplus 5T

h. Oneplus 6

i. Oneplus 6T

 PRICE

OnePlus brought 'insane' specifications, at a nominal pricing to grab attention. The

OnePlus One retailed in India for ₹22,000 and since then, the company has increased
the prices of its devices by ₹3,000 with every new launch. This is the global strategy
by the company.

Price is the value that is put into a product or service and is the result of research, a
complex set of calculations, and understanding and risk-taking skill. The pricing
strategy takes into consideration of segments, market conditions, ability to pay,
competitor actions, trade margins and input costs, amongst others. It is targeted at the
defined customers and against competitors. If I talk about OnePlus, pricing along with
other marketing strategies has helped this company to become a major player in the
smartphone industry.
  PLACE

It is being sold only online. They deliver to 16 developed markets. One have to be
lucky to get the phone. In advance of the OnePlus 2 launch, OnePlus assured
customers that obtaining invites would be easier, and handsets would ship a lot
quicker than with the OnePlus One. However, in a public apology, Carl Pei admitted
the company had "messed up" the launch, and that OnePlus "only began shipping
meaningful quantities [the week of 10 September 2015], nearly a month after [the]
initial targeted shipping date." Oneplus is mostly sell on amazon, or on their own
website.

 PROMOTION

The invite and signup system generates want may increase the promotion strategy of
the product. Social media presence can emphasis the promotion of the product
oneplus. Promotions can be increased by promoting the brand through social media
platforms like: Instagram, Facebook, google forums and many other platforms or else
we can also promote the brand by hiring any models or any celebrity who can endorse
or promote the brand by their post or photos.
 1.9 THOUGHT OF ONEPLUS AND THE CULTURE OF THE
COMPANY

Like most of the startups incubate in a cafe, this bunch of people were sitting in a cafe
talking about smartphones and experiences. Though they were working on android,
most of them were using an iPhone. When they started discussing on why they didn’t
opt for an Android Phone, the reasons were many – Bad build quality, Software not
intuitive and a lot of bloatware which comes along. That’s when they saw an
opportunity to make a device with a good build quality, attention to detail and a
beautiful design which was missing in the market. Price was never a point of focus
then. They just wanted to build a great android device which they themselves would
use.

They announced the company, and then started to work on their first product and
that’s OnePlus One. While getting to the prototype, they realized, they can create a
flagship killer device at a much affordable price. That started the journey for them.

The culture of the company is dynamic and it’s changing on a daily basis. The entire
company has been growing really quick. In the beginning, they did have some
challenges hiring people; as people were reluctant to join a brand new company. So
they had to be liberal on who they hire. But now-a-days, since the launch of the
device and the traction, they are getting a lot more qualified hires like people
who have left high-paid positions to join a startup and build this culture together.
They are slowly evolving into a more formalized structure where the roles are
more clear-cut so they have people responsible for business, research, product
management and support.
 1.10 MARKET RESEARCH

For the OnePlus One, it was largely done through the community. Even before the
company had announced the phone, they made it public on their forums about the idea
to make a best possible phone together. They technically started discussing on the
forums, on the kind of screen which people prefer, what battery would they like, etc.
They used it as an indicator; and did not just take the user requests and put into a
phone because, sometimes user requests do conflict with each other.

Quoting Henry Ford, Carl said, “If you asked the users what they want, they would
want a faster horse”. So we used the user requests as inputs and then put the data
points into designing this phone. So the primary reason for the phone was the fans,
community.

He also spoke about the contest Phone Smash, which they did early this year, where
participants, would sign up to smash their current flagship phone. If they got chosen,
they could smash it on YouTube, and in exchange they could buy a OnePlus One at 1
USD. They saw a lot of people, who were ready to smash their Samsung Galaxy S5,
HTC M8 and other phones which were much expensive than OnePlus One. So this
contest gave them confidence that, OnePlus One was not just the price, but the
product itself is more premium than the competition.
 1.11 ONEPLUS COMPARED WITH OTHER CHINESE
COMPANIES

Recently, the British magazine “Connect” published the following: “What the Moto G
did for the budget end of the market, providing impressive specs for a previously
unseen price, the OnePlus One is now doing for the high end.” For a Chinese mobile
phone brand like OnePlus, this type of praise is rare.

From its initial release, OnePlus was clearly unique. For example, upon its release, the
company announced a cooperation with the well-known Android Rom brand, CM
(CyanogenMod). The team behind Cyanogen is the world’s largest Android third-
party compiler team, and the release of Android 2.1’s core CM5 system ROM was
widely used, and was deeply appreciated by Android enthusiasts. In addition to
cooperating with CM, OnePlus concurrently approached the ecosystem with an open
mind, including with players such as Smartisan OS and MIUI. In order to differentiate
itself by the way it feels in the palm of the user’s hand, OnePlus collaborated with a
Japanese paint company to create a special “Baby skin” coating from cashew extracts.

As compared with other emerging brands, OnePlus is an anomaly. Some industry

experts believe that it can become Xiaomi’s competitor; others believe that the
company, which does not have its own ROM, is a small brand that is just a flash in
the pan…

Who is OnePlus, and what does the brand aspire to become? GeekPark interviewed
the company’s founder, Pete Lau. This former OPPO executive’s favorite saying is
“Core Difference.” He believes that OnePlus has its own distinct personality. Lau
does not want to become like another product, or to copy another product. In his
words: “Xiaomi and I are actually not similar.”

Competition with Other Brands in the Premium Segment

Looking at the premium segment, every phone above Rs30,000 is a competitor of
OnePlus devices. So what does the brand think about its competition?

"We do not really treat other brands in the market as competitive as we rather focus
on improving ourselves towards creating the next best user experience for our
customers. We believe that our products outshine most others in the category, in
terms of build
quality, performance and design. It can be rightly said that we are our own biggest
competition right now."

OnePlus believes that Indian consumers really like their products and the reason
behind this is the value of the product the brand offers.

The premium smartphone market contributes only four per cent of the total
smartphone market in India and it is still budding. This segment, in India, is growing
at around 20 per cent year-on-year, which is a promising projection to suggest that
more and more Indians are upgrading to premium smartphones.

"Forty per cent of our customers are repeat buyers of OnePlus devices, which also
indicates that once a user uses a premium device, there is little chance of reverting to a
lower-end smartphone. These figures indicate that the opportunity is immense in India
and is only bound to grow. We as a brand are open to exploring the opportunity the
market presents and strive to be here for the long haul."

Counter Point hints that the latest success of OnePlus is because of the OnePlus 6,
which has found good favour with consumers and which has helped the smartphone
maker become the company with the highest growth rate in $400-$600 segment.
"OnePlus was one of the fastest growing brands in the $400-$600 segment. OnePlus
sales were driven by India, China and UK. In India it surpassed Apple and Samsung
to become the No. 1 premium smartphone OEM during the quarter with a strong 40
per cent market share, "In the list of Top 5 phones, Apple is No. 1 with a market share
of 43 per cent. It is followed by Samsung that has a market share of 24 per cent, Oppo
with a market share of 10 percent, Huawei with a market share of 9 per cent and
Xiaomi with a market share of 3 per cent. OnePlus has a 2 per cent market share. But
the most interesting bit about the OnePlus is that, along with Huawei, it is the only
Chinese phone company that has found favour with customers outside China for its
premium phone. Not only is OnePlus selling a good number of phones in India, it is
also increasingly getting love from customers in Europe.
For OnePlus, finding a mention in the list of top premium phone makers is a big deal.
It is the youngest brand in the list, achieving the distinction in just four years after it
entered the market. And it's growing in the way that you can call organic. Since its
launch in 2014, OnePlus has focused on delivering quality phones like OnePlus 3,
OnePlus 3T, OnePlus 5, OnePlus 5T and the OnePlus 6 that have been remarkably
good high-end phones, and yet they have sold at prices that are half of what Apple or
Samsung charge for their premium phones.
The focus on quality, simplicity, and delivering incredible value has also helped
OnePlus build a fan base and community that now gives it an edge compared to some
of the other, even bigger, brands.
This is the kind of growth that Counter Point believes makes OnePlus one of the
brands to watch out for in future. The idea is that with Apple increasing the cost of its
phones
-- the iPhone XS in India starts at Rs. 99,900 and globally costs $999 -- OnePlus
phones may become even more attractive to consumers, even in markets where Apple
has been traditionally very strong. "With 5G around the corner (OnePlus will launch a
5G phone next year) and players like Apple pushing the price points higher, Chinese
OEMs have a good chance of entering new price tiers in the premium segment to
drive both increased revenue and profit," said Tarun Pathak.
OnePlus is gearing up to launch the OnePlus 6T in October. Like other OnePlus
phones, this one too is expected to come with high-end components and top features.
The OnePlus 6T is expected to sport a large 6.4-inch screen with a waterdrop notch, a
better battery life, a fingerprint sensor that will be embedded under the display, and a
new Oxygen OS based on Android 9 Pie. It will almost certainly be powered by the
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and will have up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
 1.12 WORKFORCE IN INDIA

Chinese smartphone-makers have captured nearly 50 per cent market share in India
through aggressive marketing and by bringing in phones with high specifications at
lower price points. While brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have been leading
this trend at the mass market level, OnePlus is trying to disrupt the high-end segment.

Business Line spoke with Pete Lau, founder and Chief Executive Officer of OnePlus,
on the sidelines of the launch of OnePlus5 (the firm’s new flagship phone), to know
how the company plans to grow in the Indian market.

What’s been the experience so far? Has India preformed up to your expectations?

The development in India has sort of exceeded our expectations. India is one of the
most important regions for us.

The word of mouth and influence in India have all exceeded our expectations. More
than 60 per cent of our user group are post-graduates. So in India, our strategy is to
send in the best of products and the best of services.

In an interview in 2016, you had said that you hoped India would be the largest
market for OnePlus in 2017. Has that happened yet?

In terms of brand influence, as of now, we think India is one of the best; it is the first in
all markets. In terms of market share, we have some way to go; but we have had a huge
growth rate. In 2017, our market share and also our market value is going to increase.

How are you going to address the issue of availability of phones to meet the
demand?

We now have 2-3 times the stock than the previous products. Before the launch of
OnePlus5 in China, we had 600,000 registrations to purchase the phone, and as of
now, it has reached 1 million registrations.
Can India match China in terms of becoming a manufacturing hub?

Right now, manufacturing in India is pretty much similar to China back in its early
stage. I foresee the trend that India’s manufacturing will pick up very soon, and it’s
going to match up with China. For OnePlus, we started some local manufacturing and
the quality of local production meets our expectations. It’s just that the efficiency
right now is not as good as China. But with time, the efficiency can also be better.

Should the Indian government be doing more to incentivise manufacturing?

Brands such as Apple have sought certain relaxations.

Right now, the Indian government has already given a lot of incentives to the
manufacturing industry. We don’t have more demands. Our only request is that the
government be fair to all the players.
 1.13 ONEPLUS BEATS SAMSUNG AND APPLE

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus has, for the first time, surpassed Samsung
and Apple to become the fast-growing premium (price of over ₹30,000) smartphone
brand in India, according to Counter Point, a Hong-Kong-based research firm.

OnePlus was also the fastest-growing brand in the premium segment while shipments
for Apple and Samsung declined year-on-year. It captured 40 per cent of the market
driven by record shipments of its OnePlus 6.

Samsung captured 34 per cent share of the premium segment. Its shipments declined
25 per cent year-on-year due to drop in shipments of S9 as compared to S8 last year.
However, promotions related to S9 remain strong which helped to push sales.

Apple’s share in the premium segment reached its lowest ever 14 per cent due to
decline in shipments for iPhone 8 and X series. Additionally, the increase in import
duty and absence of local manufacturing impacted its pricing strategy in India. Apple
is also looking to streamline its channel structure in India, the report said.

OnePlus surpassing Samsung and Apple was due to strong sales of its flagship
OnePlus 6, which was launched during the quarter. India remains an important market
for OnePlus, contributing to almost a third of its global revenue. Each new model
launched by OnePlus sees good sales thanks to word of mouth reference from existing
customers and also because the company effectively leverages social media, the report
said. The premium smartphone segment grew 19 per cent annually and 10 per cent
sequentially during the second quarter ended June. Samsung captured over a third of
the total premium smartphone market during the quarter with promotions around its
flagship S9 series remaining strong, the report said without giving numbers.

There is no denying that smartphone prices for flagship devices are getting out of
control. We use to balk at spending $500 on a handset only a few years ago, and now
high-end devices like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series often sell for over
$1,000. High prices have opened the door for companies like OnePlus that make
premium devices at much lower prices to step through and challenge Apple and
Samsung for market dominance. Research firm Counterpoint has announced that in
the Indian market, the best selling premium smartphone brand for Q4 2018 was
OnePlus thanks to devices like the OnePlus 6T that debuted in October.
What turned things around so quickly for OnePlus, according to Counterpoint, is the strong
performance of the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T smartphones. Shipments in the premium
smartphone segment, which is the $400 and higher range, in India reached its peak in Q4
2018. The overall premium segment in India grew 8% year-over-year for 2018, and Q4 2018
sales were up 16% compared to Q4 2017.

The top three brands in the segment were OnePlus, Apple, and Samsung accounting
for 92% of the total premium market in the country combined. OnePlus owned 36%
of the premium market in Q4 2018. Samsung did well in the Indian market for Q4
with 26% of the premium segment with shipments up 72% year-over-year in Q4
2018.

One of the big successes for Samsung was the Galaxy A9. The overall smartphone
market leader in 2018 was Samsung, but it only narrowly beat out OnePlus for that
honor. For the entirety of 2018, Samsung had 34% of the premium market in India
while OnePlus had 33% and Apple had 23%. All other smartphone makers combined
had a scant 10% of the premium market in the country.

Apple's shipments in the premium segment declined 25% in Q4 2018 linked in part to
high prices due to a 20% import duty on iPhones. Apple has reportedly started to
build iPhones in India in an attempt to lower costs and eliminate that import duty.
India is a crucial market for smartphone makers as other global markets are slowing.
Recent leaks showing an alleged OnePlus 7 hinting at a device that will continue to
put pressure on Samsung and Apple around the world.

In the overall smartphone market in India, which grew by 9.1% on a year-on-year

basis in terms of the number of units shipped, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi
grew to a new high by selling 11.7 million units on the back of its successful Redmi
5A and Redmi Note 5 Pro series and refreshed Redmi 6/A/Pro portfolio.
Xiaomi also made an aggressive entry in the mid-premium segment of US$300 to
US$500 with its Poco series, targeting upgraders with the experience of a flagship at
pocket-friendly price.
Top smartphone companies in India:
1. Xiaomi: The Chinese smartphone company increased its market share to 27.3%
with its top selling models Redmi 5A and Note 5 Pro. Together, the two models sold
more
than 5 million units in two consecutive quarters and helped Xiaomi retain its No.1
position.

2. Samsung: Having retained the second position, Samsung is facing increasing

threats from other Chinese smartphone sellers like Xiaomi, vivo and OPPO.
Samsung’s infinity series model Galaxy J6, Galaxy J2, J8, J4 and the recently
launched Android Go Model Galaxy J2 core got average response in the market.

3. Vivo: It has strengthened its No.3 position in the market with a share of 10.5% on
the back of the newly launched Y81 and Y83 Pro models besides the Y71 and the
recent flagships V11 and V11 Pro.

5.Micromax: The smartphone manufacturer is now back in the top 5 list after
declining for about two years. Micromax, in partnership with Reliance Jio, had won a
state government tender with the Chhattisgarh government to supply smartphones to
underprivileged women and students.

5. Oppo: The newly launched F9 and F9 Pro were unable to create much demand.
However, Oppo is gaining attention for its high-end flagship devices like Find X.
 1.14 SALES AND BUSINESS MODEL

Around 90 per cent of the Indian premium smartphone market is comprised of

OnePlus, Samsung and Apple where the latter two brands have a huge product
portfolio. On the other hand, OnePlus focuses on a one-model-a-year strategy where
they only bring one flagship model per year and its refreshed model under the “T”
moniker, if needed.

Unlike Apple and Samsung, which continue to sell their older phones even after the
launch of the new flagships, OnePlus halts the sale of older models and focuses on
selling only the latest model. In short, you’ll find only one option to buy from
OnePlus, you can’t get OnePlus 5T (Review) and OnePlus 6 (Review) at the same
time.
From the past two years, there has been a trend within OnePlus where they bring a
“T” variant of their flagship models. The reason behind this approach is to bring the
latest technological upgrade in the second half of the year, which our community
might find relevant and valuable. We try to bring a refreshed variant so as to be able
to provide our customers with the option of availing the latest technology at all times.
Two such examples of refreshed models are our 3T and 5T variants.

Does this imply that OnePlus 6T is confirmed? Well, the company didn’t confirm
anything, however, if they find any incremental technology upgrade, then they might
consider launching an OnePlus 6T this year too.

“The one-device-a-year strategy has worked for us so far and our users have also
appreciated the focus we put on one device, so we are not tempted to bring in more
flagships every year.”

Offline Expansion Plans

Being a brand which extensively follows the online business model, OnePlus believes
that online to be a dominant channel after five years. However, the company is eyeing
offline expansion and increasing its footprint across India. Selling through brick and
mortar is one of the key focus areas for OnePlus for this year.

The simple reason for increasing the number of offline touch-points is to enable
community members to engage with the brand and to allow for experiencing the
product before buying. With these experience zones, the company also aims to
introduce
OnePlus products to potential new users, strengthen user trust and further complement
our online business.

Last year, the premium smartphone maker launched its first OnePlus Experience Store
in Bengaluru, which allows consumers to experience the phone. According to
OnePlus, the success of this store format was evident from the spike that the company
saw in online sales in the region.

The Chinese brand will be will be launching 14 more such offline touch points by the
end of the year across key cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Kolkata.
Even though OnePlus plans to expand its roots in the offline channels but their
primary sales plan will be based on online and offline will act as a top-up.

OnePlus’ Evolution since Last Year

The company believes that they have remained consistent with their approach and
will continue along with the same lines in the future. The company’s focus on product
and community continues to be at the centre of everything.

The brand which has been heavily reliant on word-of-mouth has also maintained its
position amongst the top three premium smartphone makers in India for the last three
quarters. The company’s latest offering OnePlus 6 has been their fastest selling
smartphone till date, selling over 1 million units within just 22 days of its global
launch.
 1.15 INDIA AS AN IMPORTANT MARKET

OnePlus is present in over 30 countries with major presence in Europe, US, India and
China region. We debuted in India in December 2014 and today India has quickly
surpassed other regions to become the biggest and the most important market for OnePlus.
During 2017, it accounted for over one-third of global business. Within India, OnePlus is
already among the top three premium smartphone brands with over 25% share (above Rs
30,000 price segment). India has also played a critical role in establishing partnerships
with brands such as Amazon (in Germany and the UK) and Disney (in the Nordic
countries and China). Lastly, our Indian community has feedback has played a key role in
improving product experience (wallpaper designs, software improvements, ETC)

India as an Important Market/ India

OnePlus is present in over 35 countries with a major presence in Europe, the US,
India and China region. Launched in December 2014, India has quickly surpassed
other regions to become the biggest and the most important market for OnePlus.

Out of the $1.4 billion revenue of OnePlus in 2017, India accounted for over one-third
of their global business, only behind China, Europe and the US.

OnePlus finds India as the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market - a land of

opportunities. The smartphone maker also believes the right strategy to be key to their
success in the Indian market.

“If you want to be succeed as a brand in India, you must truly understand the needs of
the Indian market. India is a fast-growing market with tremendous potential and a
very discerning customer base. By catering to India-specific needs, the country has
today become a community that is our eye to the globe, a soundboard for
experimentation through, which we understand the pulse of the customer at a global
level. It has become our benchmark for creating successful global products.”

The company intends to move deeper into the ‘Make in India’ strategy and is
presently finalizing plans for local component manufacturing and sourcing.
With an R&D centre coming up in India, the focus being on decentralisation to make
India their second headquarters and the sheer potential that India offers, the brand is
looking to explore further exponential growth in the market.

How has the Amazon exclusive deal worked out for OnePlus? Will this deal continue
to be in place even as the company pursues offline growth?

The strategic partnership between OnePlus and Amazon has been a very successful
association for both brands. We chose Amazon for their customer-first approach and
long term commitment which fully aligns with OnePlus values.
As online is a primary sales channel for OnePlus, Amazon will continue to be our partner
of choice in coming years as well in India as well in other regions. OnePlus is committed
to the exclusive online partnership with Amazon from the long-term perspective due to
strong operational synergies, business priorities and alignment in core company values.

OnePlus has always claimed to be a community-oriented brand. How has your

community played a role in your success?

OnePlus’s success in the Indian market can be largely attributed to the unprecedented brand
connect that has grown over the last few years. Our products are developed in close
coordination with users through close interactions during ‘open ear’ feedback sessions and
on online forums with beta testers and other active users. In addition, feedback from actual
end users have helped us quickly refine our products and earn user trust. This has also
helped us maintain our promotion costs, thereby making our products even more
competitive and attractive for prospective users.

After the success of OnePlus 5T, what can we expect from OnePlus 6?
OnePlus 5T was the fastest selling device in the company’s history and we are thankful
to our loving community for their continued support. We look forward to giving our
community the best possible smartphone experience with OnePlus 6, a beautiful balance
of power and design.
 CHAPTER NO. 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

OnePlus mobile phones strive to provide a top-notch user experience that would blow
competitors out of the water. The brand aims to create high-quality, simplistic, user-
friendly products, which organically brings about their tagline, “Never Settle”. The
founders believe that the tech-savvy consumer community shouldn’t have to settle for
overpriced phones that may not deliver.

The brand was first introduced to India in December 2014 and has sold over a million
phones across the country, thanks to the ever loyal OnePlus community. OnePlus
mobile phones came to India to popularise a phone with excellent design, specs and
experience without burning a hole in the consumers’ wallets. It has become one of the
most popular smartphone brands in the country, giving big brands like Apple, Nexus
and Samsung and more than 150 other brands, a run for their money. A survey even
states that 85% of smartphone users have switched from other leading brands to
OnePlus.

OnePlus marketers use the Lean Startup Methodology (Build > Measure > Learn).
This kind of approach allows the campaign to adapt to the market. It involves
quick implementation, examination and adjustment. A genius move on the part of the
company was to discard traditional advertising at the time of launch. The idea was to
restrict expenditure on advertising in order to give customers a cost benefit.

The growing tech-tuned community of the world gave OnePlus just the opportunity it
needed to gain traction. OnePlus has managed to keep it creative in terms of
marketing campaigns, which has also given them a competitive edge. They offered
free shipping on purchases over £60. And in London, they even conducted a ‘Delivery
in 60 Minutes or Less’ campaign where every OnePlus phone had to be delivered
within 60 minutes or it would be free.

OnePlus customers are men and women between the ages of 15-45 from metropolitan
cities. With a pro-e-commerce consumer market who are willing to buy their products
online, traditional marketing schemes seem less enticing for brands like OnePlus.
They use only their in-house team to conduct campaigns and have been wary of
conventional marketing techniques.
Compared to others in the business, who spend millions buying media; taking the
unconventional marketing route helped OnePlus cement their place in the industry.
Let’s take a look at some of their campaigns in the Indian market which contributes to
40% of their revenue.

1. Invite System

The invite system created viral waves. Remember being in high-school and everyone
wanted to be invited to the most happening party of the year? OnePlus invites made
you feel just like that. The invite system first could only be accessed by OnePlus
employees and associates who could then send it to whoever they wanted to. This
helped create a group of influencers who would promote and get other people to
engage with the brand. This strategy helped them gain exclusivity in the market.

2. Influencer Marketing
Taking influencer marketing to a whole new level, OnePlus built an online forum for
technology enthusiasts who could use the platform to discuss various Android app
development related queries. This paved the way for these enthusiasts to become the
first adopters of OnePlus. Without enforcing themselves on their now 800,000-
member-community, they were able to become one of the best-selling phones in
India.
3. Tie up with Amazon, Ola & Air Asia
When the very first OnePlus phone in India was released, the tie-up
with AmazonIndia helped OnePlus sell over 20,000 phones in no time. They even
came up with a unique strategy of allowing Ola and Air Asia customers to request for
the phone just to experience it. And during the launch of the OnePlus X, they even
created a campaign where the consumers could purchase a OnePlus device through
the Ola app and have it delivered within 15 minutes.
4. Unboxing Ceremony
OnePlus mobile phones garner a lot of attention, but unfortunately the ‘unboxing
ceremony was not one of their best ideas. It was quite similar to iPhone unboxing
campaign but failed to have the same impact. Nonetheless, the first video
featuring Biswa Kalyan Rath deserves credit for its amusing take on unboxing videos.
5. Celebrity Endorsement
Big B wants the One.Though they tried hard not to succumb to traditional methods of
advertising, the Indian market can be quite challenging. This is probably why they
decided to join hands with actors Amitabh Bachchan, Sushant Singh Rajput, chef
Vikas Khanna, comedian Vir Das and more. Picking artists selectively from a variety
of industries was an excellent move on the part of OnePlus to appeal to the masses.

6. #NeverSettle

Through its marketing campaigns, OnePlus aimed to take their customers on a

journey where they can experience the ‘Never Settle’ way of life. The #NeverSettle
hashtag proved that you don’t need necessarily need big bucks to make an impact. If
you have a great product, customers will be drawn to your brand.
At the back of OnePlus 6 success, OnePlus has become the number one smartphone
seller in the premium segment in India, according to IDC latest report.

With its community-building activities and high decibel promotional activities on

social media platforms, it has in the Rs 29,000 plus (USD 500) price segment clocked
highest ever shipments surpassing giants like Apple and Samsung in 3Q18.

Apple’s iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max were unable to create much demand in the
opening quarter due to its high pricing in the India market, said Upasana Joshi,
Associate Research Manager, Channel Research, IDC India.

For the first time, the quarter also witnesses the smartphone market coming at par
with the feature phone market. With a 2.1 per cent YoY growth, the feature phone
market registered shipments of 43.1 million units.
Overall smartphone market reached an all-time high of 42.6 million-unit shipments,
registering 9.1% year-on-year (YOY) growth, added Quarterly Mobile Phone
Trackerreport. Xiaomi grew to a new high by selling 11.7 million units on the back of
its successful Redmi 5A and Redmi Note 5 Pro series and refreshed Redmi 6/A/Pro.

In terms of market share, Xiaomi and Samsung still rule the market with 27 and 22
per cent respectively. The rise in shipments was driven by e-tailers sale events and
cashbacks in the festive season.

Despite the online channels aggressive push, the offline channel still continues to
dominate with around 60% of the India smartphone market, added the report.

According to the company, the said facility will play a critical role in the development
of artificial intelligence and machine learning software for its products as well as
drive local innovations.

Vikas Agarwal, who is heading OnePlus India, had earlier revealed the company’s
plan to set up a dedicated R&D team in the country that will focus on India-specific
developments, alongside plans to open its second global headquarters in the country.

OnePlus said that it chose Hyderabad for the R&D facility because the city offers a
sizeable talent pool, especially in the area of emerging technologies. Hyderabad is
also one of their fastest growing markets in the country.

The company also announced that it will soon initiate campus hiring program at a
number of universities including the IIT Delhi, and IIT Mumbai this year. While
discussing the company’s plans in India, Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus, said:

IN THREE YEARS, WE PLAN TO GROW THE NEW R&D CENTER IN

HYDERABAD INTO OUR BIGGEST GLOBALLY. WE PLAN TO RE-FOCUS
OUR R&D EFFORTS ON A LARGE SCALE AND DRIVE INNOVATIONS IN
INDIA FOR THE GLOBAL PRODUCT, ESPECIALLY ON THE SOFTWARE
SIDE WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND
MACHINE LEARNING.
India is currently one of the biggest markets for OnePlus. According to IDC report,
OnePlus held a 37 percent share in the Indian market for Q3 2018, outperforming
majors brands like Apple and Samsung.

The company is hopeful that the facility will play a crucial role in development of
artificial intelligence and machine learning in OnePlus products and also drive
innovations that are centric and relevant to its Indian users, it said in a statement.
OnePlus zeroed in on Hyderabad as the site for its R&D centre, as the city houses
active startup ecosystem and offers a sizeable talent pool. "We plan to re-focus our
R&D efforts on a large scale and drive innovations in India for the global product,
especially on the software side with special emphasis on artificial intelligence and
machine learning, OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau said.
Hyderabad is among the fastest growing markets for OnePlus, and the company is in
the process of expanding its offline presence in the region, in line with the expanding
user base. "India is not only one of the biggest markets for OnePlus but is also the
benchmark for creating globally successful products. With a growth rate of more than
100 per cent, the country is well on its way to becoming a centre for product
innovation," the statement added.
OnePlus said it is committed to long-term growth in India, and with the
commencement of operations at the new R&D centre, it is seeking to integrate and
dive deeper into the Make in India' strategy. "The centre will also contribute to
nurturing and giving opportunities to fresh talent as the company initiates the campus
hiring programme at number of universities including IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai this
year.
ANALYSIS BASED ON FOLLOWING MODELS

Four pillars of Brand Equity Models

OnePlus has stepped with THE FOUR PILLARS OF BRAND EQUITY model and
they have worked it out well. Every pillar is well planned and executed.

Differentiation A brand’s distinct personality or features.

Relevance A brand’s awareness and fit with personal needs.
Esteem A brand’s degree of recognition and respect; how easily consumers
can forgive the brand.
Knowledge A brand’s ability to influence the behaviour, actions, and lifestyles
of its consumers

OnePlus has defined each pillar very precisely and thus it holds a strong structure for
their product, which altogether gives a Premium positioning in the minds of the
audience. Gap is identified for strengthening the four pillars.
Research Overview

OnePlusOne has more than four decades of experience conducting research on

relationships and putting the findings into practice.

As well as conducting original research, we monitor and evaluate the wider evidence
base through comprehensive literature searches and summaries. Evaluation of the
products and services we create ensures continuing refinement and relevance, and
using rigorous methods of investigation and analysis, such as randomised controlled
trials, we measure their impact.

This accumulated knowledge is essential to the delivery of high-quality, evidence-

based products, including publications, training resources and web services, for both
professionals and families.

The past couple of years have seen numerous smartphones — low, mid and high range
— flood the market. One brand that stands out is OnePlus, a Shenzhen-based smartphone
brand, which entered the Indian market in December 2014. The mid-ranged smartphone
is different from the rest available in the market in numerous ways. Firstly, one cannot
just order it online or buy it off the shelf. It can be owned by an invite-only set-up.
Taking the cue from Facebook, which was started with Ivy League Universities to test
the waters, OnePlus as a startup wanted to expand gradually to confirm that it had a
product- market fit. “The invite-only model also helped us to build a close-knit
community of OnePlus fans, who created a lot of buzz through word-of-mouth,” says
Karan Sarin, head of marketing
– India, OnePlus.
The second factor that makes the brand unique is its marketing strategy, due to which it has
managed to create its niche in the market in a very short span. Not chasing volumes, it
has challenged the industry status quo by approaching the smartphones market in new
ways, and not accepting the prevalent logic of how a premium smartphone should be
priced, distributed or designed. Building a digital-first brand with limited resources, it is
necessary to understand where the audience is, why they are there, and what should be
done in order to build the brand. Therefore, OnePlus didn’t just look at the platform with
the biggest reach, affinity or targeting, but chose the one that can best prove its
effectiveness.
“We apply The Lean Startup Methodology (Build > Measure > Learn) to all our
marketing campaigns. Lean marketing is basically a non-linear, adaptive marketing
approach, which involves starting with a little strategy, implementing it quickly, examining
results on the fly, adjusting and continuing to learn,” explains Sarin.
OnePlus believes its devices offer the best value proposition to its targeted user
groups: flagship series for tech savvy users and the X series for design and style-
conscious users. India is among the top three markets for OnePlus, the others being the
US and Europe. When it launched OnePlus 2 last year in August, it received over five
million registrations for invites within the first three weeks of launch. Currently, the brand
is at a stage where it is crossing the chasm between early adopters and the early
majority. Early majority users are more concerned with the reputation of the company
— trust, reliability and ease of use. Hence, this year its focus is twofold — one, to build
greater brand awareness and two, to strengthen its service infrastructure and provide
world-class after-sales experience to Indian users.
Taking forward its #NeverSettle philosophy, it has launched its campaign in India on
YouTube. “The rise of social media is changing the entire landscape. You don’t need a big
budget to launch,” asserts Sarin while elaborating that if one has a good product,
information can go viral because the ecosystem for it exists already and online word-of-
mouth can be the best marketing strategy.
The campaign stays away from the typical smartphone ads, which are driven by
product features and pricing. With this campaign, OnePlus wants to send out its brand
message and build that philosophical connect with its community and future users and
get them to be a part of the Never Settle way of life. Conceptualised by Orchard
Bengaluru (part of the Leo Burnett group), the film has been shot by Seventy Agency,
and has crossed one million views so far on YouTube. The brand could potentially air
TV spots. Other media vehicles in the campaign include display ads, along with a social
media hashtag #OneMore, where OnePlus will encourage users to take photos illustrating
the Never Settle spirit.
As per the report published by the International Data Corporation(IDC), the OnePlus
company has joined the powerhouses like Apple and Samsung and is honored with
the highest brand in the premium segment in the April- June quarter. According to the
latest research by Counterpoint Market Monitor service, OnePlus currently holds 40
percent in India market share retaining its No.1 position whereas to the surprise,
Samsung stood at 35 percent and the Apple at 14 percent pulling down to the third
position.

Last year Apple’s iPhone faced a downfall in the market for many reasons giving a
chance to the other devices to spin money. There is a need to grow in Apple’s
business in India as it is the prime target market. Out of many reasons one straight
reason is its price which is more than any product.

Apple CEO Tim Cook implied the downfall of iPhone sales in the emerging markets
in the company’s recent earnings call with analysts. He also mentioned the strength of
the US dollar that made their products more expensive in many parts of the world.

The other reason for the slack performance is the products like OnePlus maneuvered
strategically by offering all the prominent features at a reasonable cost to the
customers and increasing the capacity of the device features made OnePlus devices to
be considered as a sensible best selling premium brand of 2018.
The brand has grown vividly and got its business even to smaller cities. There is a lot
of growing demand in places like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Currently, OnePlus has millions of users who had to forgo the previous mistakes by
them and made them the power packed product.

OnePlus, added one more material to the whirling success. This year it plans to
launch “OnePlus Television” where it strives to set a high benchmark from being a
product to bigger brand.

Apart from these, OnePlus has announced deals on oneplus.in, and exclusive offers on
Amazon.in with no-cost EMI on all debit and credit cards. It even offers a cashback of
worth Rs 1500 on ICICI Bank credit card and Rs 1500 off with an exchange of the
mobile with an older OnePl
 CHAPTER NO 3
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Aaker (1991) defines brand or name awareness as “the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or
recall that a brand is a member of a certain product category.” Therefore, it is important that a link
between product class and brand is implicated because the scope of brand awareness is very wide,
ranging from an unsure sensation that the brand name is recognised, to a conviction that it is the
only one in the product class. Brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand’s presence in the
consumer’s mind. It is a measure of the percentage of the target market that is awareness can
provide a host of competitive advantages for the marketer.

Androulida kis; G Kandus (2001) correlated the brand of mobile phone to user’s security practices.
Users show different behaviour in an array of characteristics, according to the brand of mobile
phone they are using. As such, there is a categorization of areas, different for each brand, where
users are clearly lacking security mind, possibly due to lack of awareness. Such a categorization
can help phone manufacture enhance their mobile phone in regards to security, preferably
transparently for the user.

Aaker (1992) associations represent the basis for purchase decision and for brand loyalty. Brand
associations consist of all brand-related thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences,
beliefs, attitudes and is anything linked to a brand.

RevathyRajasekaran, S. Cindhana and C. Anandha Priya Department (2018) Smartphone usage

has proliferated in recent years. Nowadays people seem to become dependent towards
Smartphone due to its convenience, great camera features, easy applications installations, and
more importantly, it can do most of the computer functions

Androulidakis ; G. Kandus (2011) correlated the brand of mobile phone to users’ security
practices,. Users show different behavior in an array of characteristics, according to the brand of
the mobile phone they are using. As such, there is a categorization of areas, different for each
brand, where users are clearly lacking security mind, possibly due to lack of awareness. Such a
categorization can help phone manufacturers enhance their mobile phones in regards to security,
preferably transparently for the user
 CHAPTER NO.4
MARKETING STRATEGY

3.1 SWOT ANALYSIS

Oneplus is relatively a new company is a smartphone market and has a long way to go
in regards to achieve its long term goals and become something they all are working
for. In 2016, we have their latest flagship-killer, the oneplus 3 which stormed the
market, however the company has to consistently improve their model and analyze
their situation in the market in order to sustain. Here is SWOT analysis of oneplus
explaining their current situation as a company.

 STRENGTHS:
OnePlus smartphones will have a major strength in Oman as if it has a low
cost smartphones with high specifications. Also OnePlus is a rising as one of
the fastest growing companies. Oneplus also has a high market sale in terms of
exclusive partnership with e-trailer i.e.: AMAZON.
The company itself sold 30,000 units of the oneplus 2 in China within 64
seconds after launching the product sale.
It has a special Android platform oxygen OS is a big strength since it sets
them apart from other Android users.
Low cost smart phones with high specs.

 WEAKNESS:
OnePlus has a limited production capacity as the brand itself came in the
market in 2014 so it takes time to establish production house in other units of
other countries. It also has a new entrant.
In the modern era 2018 it has a highly competitive industry. It may also affect
the online sales eliminate offline audience. Limited production capacity. New
entrant. Highly competitive industry. Online sales may eliminate offline
audience.
 OPPORTUNITIES:
OnePlus has a Broaden geographical market base.
It has also many opportunities such as it can promote itself by hiring any
celebrity to advertise or can recommend any You-tube star to endorse the
phone. It resorts mainstream product advertising

 THREATS:
In the competition era there are lot of companies who sell their phones at least
price with high features and specifications new entrants selling equally
competitive phones at lower prices. Inability to keep up with the huge capital
involvement in the industry trend
3.2 PEST ANALYSIS (for developing country like Oman)

It is very important that an organization considers its environment before beginning

the marketing process. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and feed
all aspects of planning. A PEST analysis is a framework or tool used by marketers to
analyse and monitor the macro-environmental (external marketing environment)
factors that have an impact on an Organization.
PESTEL Analysis is a strategic management tool that "Oneplus Smartphone"
managers can use to analyze internal and external factors that impact the situations in
OnePlus: Crossing the Chasm in the Smartphone Market . PESTEL stands for –
Political, Social, Economic, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors that
impact the macro environment of the enterprise that it operates in.Oneplus
Smartphone operates in a dynamic environment where it is influenced by – increasing
environmental activism among consumers, increasing regulatory framework for
environmental factors, collective social trends, government decisions, technological
changes, regulatory framework, consumer spending behavior, and ever evolving legal
system.

Over the last decade data protection has emerged as critical part of not only privacy
issues but also intellectual property rights. Oneplus Smartphone has to consider
whether the country have a robust legal and technological mechanism to protect
against data breaches or not. Legal protection of intellectual property, patents,
copyrights, and other IPR rights in various countries. How Oneplus Smartphone will
be impacted if there is not enough protection.
 POLITICAL FACTORS:
The political environment revolves around the current government in a particular
country in which we manufacture or trade, and also laws/legislation operate within
your home market as well as overseas. The political factor of policy,
import/export or any interference will not take place for Oneplus mobile phones
but the government will make sure if the product is safe or not for the consumers.
Political factors are often related to the level of intervention and nature of
intervention of the local and national government in the business and economic
environment. Government policies and governance system plays a huge role in
nature and objectives of the policies.

 ECONOMICAL FACTORS:
The economic environment is a direct influence on Oneplus mobile phones.
Obviously if you are studying marketing there is a huge element of economics
within the topic itself, and you should be no stranger to the principles of
economics. The economic factor may arise of Oneplus in Oman by economic
growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of consumers
and businesses and so on. Based on the data in OnePlus: Crossing the Chasm in
the Smartphone Market
, the volatile exchange rate can impact Oneplus Smartphone investment plans not
only in the short term but also in the long run. Even though the consumer
disposable income has remain stable, the growing inequality in the society will
negatively impact consumer sentiment and thus impact consumer spending
behavior. I believe the economic performance of the markets that the firm is
present in - grow above 9-10% because of increasing government expenditure,
increasing disposable income, and increasing investment into the sector.
 SOCIAL FACTORS:
The areas that involve the shared belief and attitudes of the population. These
factors include – population growth, age distribution, health consciousness, and
Carrier attitudes and so on. Oneplus must be aware before launching the product
in Oman that it may not lead downwards or decrease the socio-cultural factors of
the country. Each society and culture has its own way of doing business. These
social factors can not only help companies like "Oneplus Smartphone" to better
understand the way of doing business but also in understanding the customer
preferences in the market it operates in. Social factors include – societal roles and
norms, gender roles, traditions, acceptance of entrepreneurial spirit, culture, health
& safety attitudes, attitude towards certain products and services, demographics,
and leisure interests.

 TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS:
We all know how fast the technological landscape changes and how this impacts
the way we market our products. With consumers of Oman our company will
produce those features and services which they Demand. As much as the
technology arises demand and supply of Oneplus will also increase this will lead
to high raising of Oneplus mobile phones in Oman. Technology is fast disrupting
various industries and Sales & Marketing is no different. Some of the
technological factors that are impacting the firm are– rate of technology driven
change, supply chain disruption because of technology, population access to
technology, innovation in customer services, access to mobile phones driving
empowerment, innovation in product offerings, access to greater information etc.
3.3 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

Barriers to entry (High)

Market entry in smartphone industry for phone manufacturer is getting extremely
tough because of various reasons

Proprietary learning curve: Mobile phone manufacturing requires patents and

proprietary knowledge. Even leading mobile phone companies are currently engaged
in battles over patent issues.

Brand identity and brand switching costs: Brand value is very important for mobile
phones sales. E.g. reports have suggested that HTC, which has produced very good
devices with excellent hardware specs on top of Android mobile platform, are
struggling to even maintain the market share. It has been established that it is because
of its diminishing brand value. Brand switching is not very predominant in the
industry, as a typical smartphone buyer tends to keep the phone for a considerable
amount of time ranging from 1-3 years depending on many factors including country,
age, profession, educational level etc.
High capital requirements and Economies of Scale: Differentiation factors among
mobile phone devices are getting fewer which is requiring companies investing
heavily in R&D costs, marketing spend, PR costs etc. Also, mobile phone production
require quite much capital in place for factory establishment with quite many raw
materials, R&D budget, supply channels etc.

Power of buyers (High)

Increased price sensitivity: Price difference is getting smaller and lower as device
manufacturers are facing fast changes in designs, technical and data capabilities
leading the buyers to price sensitive in their buying decision. With lot of OnePlus
competitors offering similar packages, the buyers are seeking out best value for their
money.

Low threat of backward integration: Some mobile operators have started building
their own mobile phones under their brand (e.g. Videocon in India) but still have not
been hugely popular. So the threat is still low. Most of the mobile phone
manufacturers have their own stores to directly sell to consumers; OnePlus is still
behind in this area too.

Power of supplier (Moderate)

Moderate impact of inputs on cost or differentiation: There is growing trend of
differentiation based on hardware specifications (dual-core processors, physical
memory, NFC support, wide-screen, screen glass etc.), which affects the final selling
price and margins. But overall, mostly margins are dictated by software and
application ecosystem.

Moderate switching costs of firms in the industry: Most of OnePlus competitors are
enhancing (not switching) the business model to Tablet space where they are reusing
the software stack, operating system, applications portability, application store, design
etc. among other things to enhance the competitive advantage and binding the users to
their brand (and thereby enhancing brand value.
Threat of substitution (Low)
Low Buyer inclination to substitute: Mobile phones have become necessity for
everyday lives of people and it’s hard to replace with any substitute products
especially when they are away from home.

High switching costs: There exist multiple substitute products e.g. for contacting
people, usage of social media, emails and VOIP systems are substitutes, digital
cameras for photography, TV/radio/iPod for listening music, tablets for internet
browsing, reading books, emailing etc. But potentially all the value from substitute
products could be derived from a single smartphone, needless to say each substitute
product might cost more than the mobile phone and need to be carried all the time.

High price-performance ration (value): No other substitute product has the ability to
make phone calls, send messages, surf the web, reading a book, listening to music,
use GPS services, communicating via social media and many more in one device. The
idea of being in constant communication with someone at anytime and anywhere
makes the mobile phone a very important device to people and the perceived value by
user (price- performance) ratio is very high.

Rivalry between competitors (High)

Industry growth: Intense competition is forcing many vendors and operators to
drastically change their business models or risk dropping out of the market as
economies of scale, segment leadership, brand power and distribution become key
determinants of success.

High margins: The smartphone segment offers the largest returns for many in the
mobile value chain, and it has therefore become the most competitive – attracting all
the major vendors competing across various operating systems and price tiers. Huawei
has set an ambitious goal for itself: to ship 60 million smartphones in 2012, an
increase of 200% year-on-year.

Brand identity: Brand identity is vital for long-term success in mobile phones market.
But there is still growing competition e.g. from Chinese ‘micro-brands’ and grey
market (mainly in the emerging regions like India).
 CHAPTER NO. 5

DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION & PRESENTATION

From the following survey questionnaire I have collected response from sharing the
questions to consumers and other people and on behalf of their choice and
answered the questions and on those questions I will interpretate each specific
questions and answers.

Q.1. Age group

1. 15-20.
2. 20-30.
3. 30-40.
4. Or above.

21%
15-20
55% 20-30
20% 30-40
40 OR ABOVE
4%

from the above diagram it represents the age group in which the consumers who uses
their phone.
Q.2. which brand phone do you own?

1. Samsung.
2. Oppo.
3. Vivo
4. IPhone.
5. One plus.
6. Nokia.
7. Others.

16% SAMSUNG
26% OPPO VIVO
8% IPHONE
ONEPLUS
10% 10% NOKIA
OTHERS
8%
23%

From the following pie chart there is the number of users who use different brands of
their choice.
Q.3. how often do you change your mobile?

1. every one year

2. every 6 months
3. once in a month
4. after 2 years

16%

6% every one year

2% every 6 months
once in a month
after 2 years
76%

from the above demonstrate there are the consumers who changes or exchange their
old phone and purchase new mobile phones in specific period of time.
Q.4.is the design of a mobile phone important for you?

1. Yes
2. No

12%

yes
no

88%

The most important thing and question for consumers that is the phone design
important for them? The majority of them said yes and the rest said no. the percentage
of yes and no is given above.
Q.5.is phone features and specifications important and most required to you?

1. Yes of
2. No

6%

yes
no

94%

The commonly asked question: is the features important for any consumer the most
answers were yes because every consumer wants goof features and new
specifications.

The above diagram represents the percentage of yes and no.

Q.6.what features do you look upon before buying a phone?

1. Storage.
2. Camera.
3. RAM.
4. Processor.

12%

37% storage
camera RAM
31% processor

20%

Basic and most required features which every consumer wants to have in his/her
smartphone. The above pie chart has percentage of consumers who mostly prefer
features of their choice.
Q.7.you often use your phone to?

1. Call.
2. Messages.
3. Internet.
4. Social media.

20%
Call. Messages.
0%
Internet.
53% Social media.

27%

The above diagram is the usage of daily needs which a consumer uses in his/her phone.

Mostly according to the survey people use social media nowadays as compared with others.
Q.8. are you aware of one plus mobile phones?

1. Yes.
2. No.

2%

yes
no

98%

The main highlight of the survey question that if the consumer is aware of one
plus mobile phones. The above pie chart shows that 98% of people are aware that
they know about one plus mobile phones.
Q.9. how did you hear about one plus mobile phones?

1. Friends.
2. Advertisement.
3. Word of mouth.

29%
Friends.
Advertisement.
53%
Word of mouth.

18%

Here the diagram represents that how the consumer came to know about one
plus mobile phones. There are several consumers who might not be aware of one
plus mobile phones.
Q.10. Do you agree that one plus mobile phones provide various features in low
price?

1. Yes.
2. No.

37%
YES
NO
63%

Most of the consumers believe that one plus provides a lot of high features in
low price well some don’t agree with that.
Q.11. what quality you think that one plus should improve?

1. Phone battery.
2. Camera.
3. Earphone jack.
4. Processor.

20%
31%
Phone battery.
Camera.
Earphone jack.
27%
Processor.
22%

The above demonstrate of all consumers response states that which quality or
enhancement should be made in one plus mobile phones because customer
feedback is also important for a marketer.
Q.12. Will you plan to purchase one plus mobile phone in future?

1. Yes.
2. No.

26%
YES
NO

74%

The consumers who are willing to buy one plus mobile phones in future are high as
compared with who are not willing to buy it. Majority are 74% who want to buy
and 26% are those who are not interested in buying.
 CHAPTER NO. 6

FINDING &

RECOMMENDATIONS

To understand how satisfied users are with their current smartphone, whether they’ll
recommend the same brands to others or not, and the issues they face with their daily
drivers on a regular basis. Before we get to the specifics though, let’s set the context.
Note that the findings of this survey are representative of the 70+ entries I received.

 Objective

With this survey on smartphone ownership, we wanted to get an idea on the following:

 The way user preferences are evolving

 Common issues faced by smartphone users
 How satisfied users are with their current devices

 Demographics

Since the survey was conducted online, the demographics of the respondents would
be as follows:

 Online savvy.
 Young, estimated to be in the age group of 18-30.
 Primarily male.
 Enthusiastic about smartphones.

Note: as per the survey data, almost 50 percent of the respondents have owned their
smartphones for over a year.
  Survey methodology

 The survey was conducted via a Google form, which was shared via
GMAIL and by WhatsApp group share.
 For analyzing the data, I have only considered smartphone brands which
got more than 70+ entries, which explains the exclusion of some brands
from the analysis.

 Brand quotient and ownership

By analyzing the responses to questions on the smartphone brands the survey

respondents owned earlier, the ones they use currently, and the ones they’d like to buy
next, we were able to come up with quite a few interesting insights.

ONEPLUS ONE TO ONEPLUS 6: THE JOURNEY OF THE

FLAGSHIP KILLER

Oneplus the technology startup best known for its ‘flagship killer’ phones, has
arguably lived up to the hype, at least in India. OnePlus’ first flagship, the OnePlus
One, made its India debut in 2014. With a highly competitive price tag of Rs 21,999,
OnePlus One was among the first to offer 64GB storage on mid-range device, a
feature that was limited to premium smartphones with a price-tag of around Rs
50,000. OnePlus continues to disrupt the smartphone market by giving users good
value for money android devices that can easily take on high-end phones.

For instance, OnePlus 2 had a new alert slider, while oneplus 3 got the company’s
Dash charging technology. Of course, the latest processor and a top-notch camera has
been consistent features on all OnePlus phones. OnePlus 6, the company’s latest
flagship, will be announced globally on May 16. As OnePlus 6 launch nears, we trace
the company’s journey, highlighting that extra feature in each of its flagships that
gave it an edge over competition in the price range.
What set OnePlus One apart from other mid-segment devices of 2014 was the
introduction of a 64GB storage variant. At a time when users could only get 8GB,
32GB storage options on phones in the price range of Rs 21,000, OnePlus One offered
much more at no extra cost.

The biggest change on OnePlus 5 was the introduction of dual rear cameras that also
support the ‘Portrait’ mode. OnePlus used a combination of 16MP primary wide-
angle camera and a 20MP telephoto lens. Though OnePlus 5 continued with a metal
unibody design, the antenna lines on the back cover were muted and dual cameras are
aligned horizontally. Notably, the phone resembled the iphone 7 plus in terms of
design. Under the hood, OnePlus 5 packed the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
coupled with 6GB/8GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage.

OnePlus’ flagship for 2018 – OnePlus 6 – will come with an all-glass design and a
glass back, the company has confirmed. OnePlus 6 will also be the first OnePlus
phone to offer a massive 256GB storage. For the first time, OnePlus is expected to
introduce water-resistance on its smartphone, something that has hinted by the
company in an official teaser. The phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 845
processor and it will feature a Full display but with one big change – a notch on top of
the screen.

OnePlus says it has tested over 1000 apps on the google Play store which are
compatible with the notch and the company will even let users disable it during
gameplay as well as landscape mode. Wireless charging is also expected for OnePlus
6, which will be launched in London on May 16.

 FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY

As I did survey of oneplus mobile phones around from 70+ users most of them where
used to be a phone addict consumers who want new features and specifications in
every 1 year and most of them loved to purchase those phones which give high
features and specifications and quality in low price. Majority agreed that oneplus
mobile phones provide better quality of features in low price but few of them were
disagreed. I founded that people are needy for new features, processor, camera quality
and RAM in a phone with good quality and features and specifications in low cost
price,
It’s clear that while some brands fare better compared to others as far as satisfaction is
concerned, there’s a lot more that smartphone manufacturers need to do to ensure
their users stay loyal.

The Indian smartphone arena will continue to be quite exciting in the time to come,
and is bound to throw up lots of interesting trends and insights. Needless to say it will
be on top of it, and will keep coming up with more of these insightful reports.

RECOMMENDATIONS

According to all my survey and responses which I got from the consumers I will
recommend them to purchase oneplus mobile phones in future. The reason is that,
oneplus will give them a high quality of speed and processor, with all this
information, we can conclude that the OnePlus has a strong hold on their
fundamentals. Their strategy, execution and implementation are aligned with the
mission, vision and values of the organization. The process of positioning the brand in
the mind of the customers is well defined. They managed to get a space in the minds
of the consumer and the brand projected out, got positioned. There is no error of
under, over, double and confused positioning. They are crystal clear in what they want
to be and where they want to be in the mind of customers.

As the brand itself says “the speed you need”, the brand focuses on speed and in the
day to day life people needs and wants are of high speed of phones in processor and
quality. Oneplus gives high quality of speed in its functions and features and
enlighten us to attract to it to buy. I would highly recommend to buy oneplus mobile
phones in any of their variants.
 CHAPTER NO.7

CONCLUSION

Devices that excel at everything usually fetch a hefty price but occasionally users
will have a tougher riddle to solve. The OnePlus One is a great device with an
even better price tag. You probably want it but can't get it. Bummer. This flagship
killer's biggest problem is there may not be flagships left to kill by the time it’s
done handing out the invites.

Yet, the One is your kind of phone if you like surprises - and believe in delaying
pleasure. It's the phone for Android purists and modders, running the highly
customizable Cyanogen Mod with over the air updates.

If that's Android how you like it and phablet size isn't a deal-breaker, the One
also comes with flagship-grade hardware at the price of a mini, at most. For
$350/€300 you get Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM, 4K video recording, a Full
HD 1080p display and a whopping 64 gigs of storage - that's a respectable list by
any standard.

Beyond the mechanical sum of specs, the OnePlus One truly handles well - the UI is
buttery smooth, expected from a blend of pure Android and CyanogenMod, the screen
is nice and sharp, the battery does well, the camera is excellent, the speakers are extra
loud and the hardware costs more than they charge.
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