Introduction
–
Nokia Corporation is the world's
largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with a worldwide market share of about
27 percent, far surpassing the number two player, Ericsson, which has about 17
percent. About two-thirds of the company's net sales are generated by the Nokia
Mobile Phones business group. Nokia's other main business group is Nokia
Networks, which is responsible for about 30 percent of net sales. Nokia
Networks is a leading global supplier of infrastructure for mobile, fixed,
broadband, and Internet Protocol (IP) networks. With a sales network that spans
130 nations, Nokia Corporation generated more than half of its sales in Europe,
a quarter in the Americas, and about 22 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
Over the course of its more than 135 years in business, the company has evolved
from a concentration in pulp, paper, and other basic industries to a focus on
telecommunications.
NOKIA AS A BRAND IN INDIA
Nokia has played a pioneering role
in the growth of cellular technology in India. Nokia started its Indian
operations in 1995 and presently operates its offices in five main cities
namely, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmadabad. Its Indian operations
include handsets and network infrastructure business in which Nokia
Siemens (Nokia merged its telecom network operations with Siemens. They also
agreed to merge their equipment division into a joint company) has made a significant
progress in realizing business opportunities and increasing market share. The
Nokia Siemens Network is a key supplier to all the top GSM operators including Bharti,
BSNL, Vodafone, IDEA, BPL. Since then the Nokia brand has been steadily growing
and has gained wide acceptance in the Indian market. India is the third largest
market for Nokia, in terms of its net sales as of 2006. It is the most trusted
brand in India and leads other cellular phone brands in terms of market
share, advertising and customer service.
Brand Positioning –
Besides,
Nokia was the market leader in mobile communication devices in India. The
company has been carrying out sales & marketing, customer care and research
& development activities in the country. Nokia considers India to be one
of its most important markets. The company's Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) facility is located in Mumbai and provides software and technical
support to CDMA consumers in India and other Asia Pacific countries.
In 2004, Nokia was chosen as the
most respected consumer durables company' by Business world. The magazine
wrote, This Finnish Company debutant the top of the heap says two things. In
2005, Nokia was recognized as the Brand of the Year' by the Confederation of
Indian Industry, India's apex industry association. The company was chosen
for this award because of its high brand recall, well established distribution
channels and being 'most preferred' by the consumers. A survey on consumer
awareness was conducted by The Environment Protection and Consumer Rights
Organization (ECOCON), a student body of Symbiosis Societies Law College.
The survey has acted an effective tool in their attempt to understand the
mind of the consumer. In the cellular phone handset category, Nokia is clearly
the most preferred brand.
POSITIONING -
Nokia newly
released high-end phones aimed at both the consumer and business user and is
showing strength in both emerging and mature markets.
Nokia
has been successful in differentiating itself in the crowed and highly
competitive mobile communication industry and its newly targeted battle of
internet industry. Nokia emphasizes technology innovation, fun spirit, design,
and ease of use to build a “trusted relationship” with customers. The
brand has lived up to the vision of its “Connecting people” and “Human
technology” slogan. Nokia’s strategy can be easily spotted on
company. 'consumer-first mindset' remains at the core of everything at Nokia.
This approach is communicated down to Nokia’s employees including designers who
sketch a new mobile phone concept and hardware engineers who design complex
technology enablers such as multi radio and video sharing.
Nokia
offers mobile phones in five categories: broad appeal, lifestyle products,
entry, CDMA and Vertu. Nokia ensures that every phone it offers can answer
customers’ needs.
Nokia’s strategy is to build trusted consumer
relationships by offering compelling and valued consumer solutions that combine
beautiful devices with context enriched services . Example would be Nokia
phone’s faceplates and different colors that suit user’s personality, mood and
lifestyle. By owing the “human” dimension of mobile communications, Nokia has
taken the best position for itself, leaving its competitors behind pondering
what to own to position them.
Conclusion –
I would like to
conclude this assignment that brand positioning plays a very important role in
any organization success and Nokia positions its brand in the crowded mobile phone marketplace, its
message must clearly bring together the technology and human side of its offer
in a powerful way. The specific message that is conveyed to consumers in every
advertisement and market communication (though not necessarily in these words)
is "Only Nokia Human Technolgy
enables you to get more out of life."
In many cases, this is represented by the tag line, "We call this human
technology". This gives consumers a sense of trust and
consideration by the company, as though to say that Nokia understand
what they want in life, and how it can help. And it knows that technology is
really only an enabler so that you-the customer-can enjoy a better life. Nokia
thus uses a combination of aspirational, benefit-based, emotional features, and
competition-driven positioning strategies. It owns the "human"
dimension of mobile communications, leaving its competitors wondering what to
own (or how to position themselves), having taken the best position for itself.
