An important objective for marketers around the globe is to create value. This can be done through differentiation, hence branding allows a product to be unique. Thus a strong brand guarantees future business where the enterprise can thrive and prosper. Branding is an invaluable asset that every business wishes to achieve in order to fulfill its goals. One such successful brand that has accomplished this feat is Nokia.
Nokia is a
multinational corporation which was found in 1865 in Finland. The company focuses
on mobile phone technology. At the initial stages Nokia relied on
the Symbian platform for operation of their phones. The platform was a success
and accepted by buyers on a global
scale. Nokia, as a brand focused on the
corporate brand mainly. At the initial stages of
their marketing venture, the main image of Nokia was to "connect
people" because they focused on interaction between people. Hence, their consumer
base strengthened over the years and more people began to see them as a trusted
friend. They could relate themselves to
the products and appreciated the user-friendly interfaces that the phones
offered. For their positioning strategy, Nokia used a combination of
benefit-based, aim and emotional appeal.
Tagline
“We call this human
technology”
Nokia was the largest
mobile vendor till 2012 but since then their market share fell significantly
due to the growing number of competitors such as Samsung and Apple. To sustain
their position, Nokia launched Lumia in 2011 which was marketed by them. These
phones caught the attention of the mobile users but were not significant enough
to save the reputation of the corporation. Since 2013, Nokia started to
position them as a "challenger". Their main motive was to create awareness of
the Lumia Brands.
On the other hand,
Microsoft who were in partnership with Nokia, purchased Nokia recently on 25th April 2014.Now the marketing strategy
of Microsoft is to promote Windows Phone
experience by integrating the platform
onto Nokia phones. However the logo of Nokia still exists in the phones which
represents the company, conserving their brand name. In addition to that,
Microsoft promotes their product through online campaigns to attract more local
customers in different markets, focusing less on global marketing strategy.
In my opinion, Microsoft should promote these
handsets in such a way that the consumers feel that it is easy to use and consumer can relate with their day to day activities. As a result this will automatically enhance the
brand equity of Nokia. Nokia Lumia has POP (point of parity) with Samsung, Sony
Xperia and other Smartphones and they created POD (point of difference) that they
have Windows Phone Operating System. However, this did not give them the advantage
that Android phones have as these phones are more user-friendly and hence have
retained a better position in the market.
References:
1 1. Joseph, S. (2014, June 26). Nokia puts social at the heart of global to local marketing shift. Retrieved
from MarketingWeek: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/technology-and-telecoms/news/nokia-puts-social-at-the-heart-of-global-to-local-marketing-shift/4010947.article
2 2.
Nokia -
Building A Powerful Technology Brand.
(n.d.). Retrieved from BrandingAsia.com: http://www.brandingasia.com/cases/nokia.htm
3 3. O'Reilly, L.
(2014, September 4). Nokia marketing shifts focus further towards Microsoft
services. Retrieved from Marketingweek: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/technology-and-telecoms/news/nokia-marketing-shifts-focus-further-towards-microsoft-services/4011550.article
