We’ve already heard HTC is in the process of revamping its marketing strategy, following the appointment of new Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Ho at the start of 2013. When Ho joined the company, CEO Peter Chou said it would be, “Refocusing,” its marketing efforts into a new strategy known internally as Marketing 2.0. At the time it was hinted its Quietly Brilliant tagline would be dropped, which has now been confirmed.
Benjamin Ho has been meeting with selected members of the press, and has been quoted as saying the company is making, “Big changes,” including dumping the unassuming phrase. “We have a lot of innovations but we haven’t been loud enough,” said Ho according to the Wall Street Journal, before pledging Marketing 2.0 would be, “Bolder.”
HTC is going to increase its media spend by 100 percent over 2012, and its digital marketing spend by a massive 250 percent. Research carried out by Kantar Media recently shows HTC spent $46 million on U.S. advertising in 2012, which can be put into context by comparing it to Samsung’s $401 million total.
The announcement of a higher spend and the promise of a new marketing philosophy is the latest in a string of changes designed to elicit a change in company fortunes. In January, HTC sent outside advertising agency Mother on its way, deciding it would handle future advertising campaigns in-house. Earlier this month, James Atkins, the head of marketing in the UK, left the company and so far, a replacement has not been formally announced.
HTC attacks the competition
After the excess of the One X’s skydiving photo shoot advert created by Mother, HTC will focus on the phone itself with its HTC One ads. We’ve yet to see many, but we can assume this early – and rather identikit – spot was produced in-house. HTC’s other endeavors seem to be far more in your face, with the company going all out to make its presence known in Times Square at the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4.
In addition to providing waiting journalists with HTC-branded hot chocolate, reps were also flashing the HTC One around to passing members of the public. It has since released the video you can see below documenting the event. On Twitter, it attacked the Galaxy S4 using the hashtag #TheNextBigFlop, which is not only almost certainly going to be inaccurate, but it also sounds more than a little desperate. Here’s hoping for more refined marketing decisions in the near future.
However, public perception is only part of HTC’s problem. The launch of the HTC One has been delayed by a short time due to supply problems related to the specially designed camera module, which is billed as having Ultrapixels and not megapixels. Apparently, the delay is caused by suppliers not considering HTC a, “Tier one manufacturer,” meaning they’re are less inclined to meet tight deadlines.
HTC has now confirmed the HTC One will go on sale this week in the UK, Germany and Taiwan, with the U.S. following before the end of April.
