Transferring the success of a brand in one region to another where it is practically unknown is not an easy task, but vivo, the Chinese smartphone company, has managed to position itself as one of the most relevant in Mexico based on attractive features and soccer.
For Diego Altúzar, regional director of vivo for Mexico, the balance after a year in the country has been positive, because despite being a little-known brand in the region, it soon established itself as a benchmark for national consumers, mainly in the mid-range and with options in the premium sector.
According to data from The Competitive Intelligence Unit (CIU), at the end of 2021 vivo ranked as the seventh most important smartphone brand in the country, with a market share of 1%. The data is relevant, however, since at that time he had barely arrived in the country six months.
“Entering Mexico has been quite fruitful worldwide because it is a spearhead country for Latin America,” explains Altúzar. From here they determine the characteristics that may be liked in the region, in addition to the fact that they consider that the market is so open that they can test launches of new technologies, such as some wearables.
One example is the phone’s light-based color change feature, already present in the Asian market, based on anti-reflective fluorite glass that enables users to change the color of their device by exposing it to the sun, and which will be available in Mexico from the end of this year.
Soccer as an entry element in Mexico
Soccer is one of the most important points in vivo’s marketing strategy worldwide. In 2021 they were sponsors of the European Championship and this year they will be sponsors of the World Cup in Qatar, which will have a strong impact in Mexico due to the passion generated by the national team.
With the international tournament, the company wants to obtain more brand recognition in the country and climb positions among the most popular phones. Vivo currently promotes free trips to the World Cup with the purchase of its devices.
For the third and fourth quarters of the year they expect to see the results with a higher percentage of sales, says Altúzar. Vivo’s objective in Mexico for its second year is clear: “Reach the top 5 in the national smartphone market, expand distribution channels and obtain greater brand recognition so that, in the medium term, we rank among the three most popular”.
5G, one of the brand’s global commitments
The company recently announced that Mexican users with a V21 device will be able to connect to Telcel’s 5G network with the latest software update, however, the company’s plans for the latest generation of mobile connections are more ambitious.
Rakesh Tamrakar, an expert on vivo’s 5G standards, mentions that there is an environment of trust in the company about what they can deliver in terms of 5G technology in mobile phones and even for other industries.
The specialist mentions that vivo’s 5G technology works both in large industries, where it contributes to process automation, and even in consumption focused on people’s creativity.
Tamrakar points out that his main motivation in developing this technology is to make it accessible to the majority of users around the world. And it is that if they have a large user base in smartphones, they should take advantage of it to bring the latest standards to the majority.
The company thinks that there may be uses related to the internet of things and beyond smartphones, such as wearables or smart appliances.
Although it highlights that there is already significant progress in the telephone industry to support 5G technology, the main challenges remain, such as the initial investments for infrastructure development.
