'Our smartphones are all set to replace the DSLRs': an interview with Ali Kakvi, Marketing Director OPPO Pakistan

Ali Kakvi is the Marketing Director of OPPO Pakistan. Ali has been an integral part of OPPO since 2017. He is at the forefront of all and marketing planning and public relations at OPPO. Ali completed his BSC Hons in Economics & Political Science from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2014.
Following are the edited excerpts of a recent conversation with Ali Kakvi who walked us through OPPO's operations and success story in Pakistan:
BR Research: Tell us about OPPO's operations in Pakistan.
Ali Kakvi: OPPO came in Pakistan in 2014; and in less than five years OPPO has made a huge mark in the country. In such a short span of time, we have built it as one of the most loved and trusted smartphone brands in Pakistan. In 2018, we were ranked as number two smartphone brand in the country. That was a great achievement for us. Our OPPO F5 was actually number one android seller smartphone in Pakistan in 2018.
2018-2019 has also been a great year for us in terms of localiisation because we believe it is important for every brand. To connect more with our Pakistani audiences, we have introduced a lot of innovative localised marketing campaigns starting from last year.
BRR: What is your target audience and what kind of localized marketing strategy are you talking about?
AK: Our target audience is the youth. So our strategy is to connect with our target audience of 18-35 years of age. This age group usually connects through sports, entertainment, and fashion, and whenever we are planning a localised marketing campaign, we do it through these mediums.
We have showcased through different channels. It's the age of digitalisation, and people look up to celebrities and youth icons. We have collaborated with them because people can relate more. We collaborated with PSL last year and we got some cricketers on board; Hassan Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed were our ambassadors for PSL. We collaborated with fashion designers like Ali Xeeshan and introduced a fashion collection on the colours of our phone.
We launched our F9 starry purple in collaboration with Mawra Hocane. That was a very original and generic collaboration, and we showcased the phone and its beauty through the collaboration and advertisement. Now, as official local sponsors of the ICC World Cup 2019, we have taken Shoaib Malik as our Pakistani ambassador.
It takes a lot of effort and energy to connect with your customers. We have a great system ranging from the marketing to the retail setup. We have introduced for the first time a network of trainers and promoters who are present in the market and interact with the customers. That's a very direct engagement between us and our target market. Then we have a strong social media presence to further engage with them.
Innovation is what I believe is essential even when we are trying to connect with our target audience; we are always looking for attractive and unique ways not done in the past. And I believe that this ATL and BTL approach has worked for us immensely. I am a true believer of 360-degree marketing where the presence of the brand and its recall plays a key role.
BRR: Tell us about OPPO's global presence.
AK: OPPO is basically a Chinese company headquartered in Shenzhen China. In ten years of its global expansion, OPPO is now in 40 countries worldwide; last year we entered the European market, and this year we have entered UK, Poland, Turkey. We are one of the top five leading smartphone brands in the world, and we are not just another smartphone brand. After the low end and mid-tier phones, we have entered the premium market. In 2018, OPPO was the number four premium smartphone brand with exemplary growth of over 800 percent in the premium segment. We are also the first company to launch a 5G phone in Europe. We are also involved in global collaborations; we are the global partners of ICC and FC Barcelona; and recently we have partnered with all England Tennis club - Wimbledon.
BRR: Can you walk us through the thought process behind the new logo and re-identification of OPPO?
AK: OPPO's new brand identity showcases an exciting evolution in the company and its ongoing growth and success. The new brand imagery reveals a much simpler, symmetrical logo. With characteristic curves, the new logo is distinctive yet elegant and offers a design, which leaves ample, room for imagination. Our basic thought process behind this change is to showcase the growth and wider reach of OPPO as it continues to expand into more diverse markets and environments worldwide.
BRR: What is OPPO's USP and what sets it apart from the clutter?
AK: For any brand to succeed, innovation is the key. If you have at your back end strong R&D and if you are innovating continuously and offering amazing specs in an affordable price range, you ready to compete and conquer the market.
OPPO's USP from the beginning has been its camera. We have been called the camera phone because we have always been the first in innovating when it comes to the camera. We have almost 1800 patents in photography alone; that is why we are always bringing in new features. Then the selfie revolution came, and we introduced a lot of features in that category be it world's beautify feature, the 16-megapixel camera, the world's first 25-megapixel camera, introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in selfie camera or rising-selfie camera that we introduced last year where the camera pops out of the phone. Today, OPPO has become synonymous with camera. It just all goes so well with our target audience- the youth that has been the largest user of selfie cameras.
However, we are not just a selfie expert anymore. Now we are focusing on the rear camera and we have just introduced F11 and F11Pro that have 48MP+5MP dual rear camera with an ultra-night mode that takes brilliant pictures. Again, for me as a marketer it is important to showcase the features well for which we have recently collaborated with a fashion photographer in Pakistan - Ushna Khan where we did a complete editorial shoot. It's a first of its kind editorial shoot done with a phone camera only. It was an attempt to test the phone and show to people the real results. I can actually say that now our smartphones are all set to replace the DSLRs. Very soon we are launching our Reno series, which has been launched globally, and now we are introducing the 10x lossless zoom technology in the smartphone itself, which will be a game changer.
BRR: What can you tell us about the Reno series and the launch?
AK: The Reno series is targeted at creative young trendsetters with a passion for self-expression and imagining the unimaginable. Engineered for creativity, we expect the Reno series to be loved by the youth and set new standards for the smartphone industry in Pakistan for the next ten years. In line with this vision, the "I'm Reno" brand campaign has partnered with renowned artists globally and now boasts of a new product concept, design philosophy, and communication model. The Reno hosts unique features that amalgamate technology and art, it has the shark fin rising camera, 10X Zoom, 48 MP Rear Camera and many more exciting features with the most premium hardware in the market. OPPO Reno has been launched globally and is getting immense praise by media and techies. We are launching in Pakistan next month and are expecting nationwide praise for the first of the new series.
BRR: What is the estimated number of mobile phone users in Pakistan? Could you give us a split between smart and feature phones in this market?
AK: There are 151 million mobile phone users in the country with 22 percent smartphone users, 25 percent feature phones and 53 percent basic phones.
BRR: What is OPPO's market share? Any estimate of smartphone market share of top five brands?
AK: By Q1 2019, OPPO's market share stood at 16.11 percent, and the smartphone market of top 5 brands is around 65 percent.
BRR: How do you time your launches in Pakistan with respect to what OPPO is doing globally?
AK: Basically, there are different series of OPPO - F-series, R-series, A-series, and it all depends on what is the requirement of the market. Pakistan is more of a mid-tier market, so we are more focused on our hero products, which is the F-series. F5 was a top seller here; in F9, we introduced the fast-charging feature for the first time in Pakistan. The R-series and the Find X-series are the premium series and we have introduced them in Pakistan as well. Our price point starts from Rs 18,999 and goes up to Rs 130,000 where our most expensive phone is the Find X, which is a global premium phone.
BRR: What are the distribution points of OPPO in Pakistan?
AK: We ourselves are the sole distributors from China. Then we have a network of retailers, wholesalers, agents and chain stores. We have over 5000 plus point of sales networks right now. Another thing that we take pride in and are the pioneers in is our company outlets; we have a hundred company outlets of OPPO exclusive in Pakistan - we are the only brand to have this number of company outlets in the country where you get the whole one-on-one experience of the brand.
BRR: Do you have any plans of assembling locally?
AK: Not as yet. But let's see what the future holds.
BRR: What are OPPO's plans for Pakistan for the next three years.
AK: Our main goal is to become the number one smartphone brand in Pakistan not only in terms of sales but also in value. This is what we are working on and we are very hopeful to achieve this goal. We will continue to introduce innovative features and specs in our smartphones backed by strong research and development. Our localised marketing strategy will be a key in moving ahead with our goal to be number one. The product is the hero in the end. But what comes before are different strategies on how you connect with your audience. You need to stand out from the crowd in all aspects.