HTC Kicks Off Ad Campaign — It’s All About You
Those of us involved in covering the smartphone world know HTC, the company behind such phones as the Hero, Touch Pro, Touch Pro 2, G1, myTouch 3G, and the list goes on and on. What most people don’t realize is that HTC is the third largest smartphone maker in North America. I have remarked on HTC’s campaign to remove the platform from the public’s eye by producing its own Sense UI that works on both Windows Mobile and Android phones. The production of its own UI has poised HTC for the next stage of the program to bring public awareness to its products — the “Quietly Brilliant” ad campaign that is kicking off this week.
The ad campaign is a serious effort by HTC to put its phones front and center in the public’s eye. The ads will center around the reality that the phone is “all about you,” and are designed to make everyone aware that HTC is a big player on the smartphone playing field. The campaign kicks off today in the UK and later this week in Asia and North America. HTC wants to touch the consumer with the philosophy that “you don’t need to get a phone, you need a phone that gets you.”
It is going to be fun to watch HTC try to remove the platform and the carriers from public awareness. It doesn’t want you to just buy a Sprint Hero — it wants you to get the HTC Hero that happens to run on the Sprint network.
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As far as I can tell, this business of a “Sprint Hero” seems to be unique to US mobile phone companies – I’ve certainly never come across it anywhere else. It is interesting that HTC would try to undermine this strategy in the US because it seems to be a problem that they’ve helped to create by modifying their hardware to suit different carriers tastes.
The problem is they must do that as that’s the way the game is played in the US. Look at the first Android phone- it’s the T-Mobile G1, not the HTC G1. Thus the ad campaign which will help folks realize how big HTC is.
I think it’s a brilliant campaign… I’m all about marketing that puts a focus on the product, not the company, not the competition, and doesn’t feel a need to criticize their opponents directly. Sell YOUR product for its benefits, and HTC phones have LOTS of benefits!
I think the phones are made in Taiwan not North America.
There is an article in todays Seattle Times about HTC.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010136146_brier26.html
Yes they are a Taiwanese company. The statement I gave is true- they are the third largest smartphone maker in the North America market.
As a European following from the sidelines this whole discussion seems surreal. The only time I think we’ve ever had carrier exclusive launches here is with the iPhone. In my country that lasted about a year and now three out of four 3G carriers sell the iPhone 3GS.
The combination between being tied for years to your carrier and having to balance a decent network with a nice phone must be truly frustrating.
It can be very frustrating indeed.
Sprint HTC Hero takes on the Motorola Droid http://bit.ly/1P6HWe
Just saw this ad on television, it is brilliant, had to look up who is talking about it.
Btw the song is Felix Da Houscat’s “Heavenly House Mix” of Nina Simone’s Sinnerman, available on the excellent 2003 album Verve Remixed2.