TOPIC: ONE PLUS 7 Pro

Program & Batch: PGDM 2019-21

Term: SECOND
Course Name: MARKETING MANAGEMENT II
Name of the faculty: Mr. Prof. Elkana Ezekiel
Topic/ Title: Marketing Management 2 Project
Brand: One Plus
Product Category: Smart Phone
Group Number: 7
Group Members: Sl. Roll No. Name
1 B.Sai Ram Susheel
190103044

2 Sangh Vijay
190103190

3 Naman Gupta
190101135

4 Swadha Kashyap
190103224

5 Tauseef Rasul
190101128

6 Arpit Bapna
190103177

For this project we have selected Brand as ONE PLUS and the product category is Smart
Phone.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL.NO CONTENT PAGE

NO

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 ORGANIZATION CULTURE 3

3 PRODUCT MIX 4

4 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS 5

5 PRODUCT LIFECYCLE 6

6 PRODUCT LAUNCHES 7

7 SERVICES OFFERED BY THE BRAND 8

8 MARKETING STRATEGY 8

9 PRICING STRATEGY 9

10 CHANNEL STRATEGY 10

11 E-COMMERCE STRATEGY 10

12 ONE PLUS TILL NOW 11

13 RECOMMENDATIONS 12

14 REFERENCES 12
INTRODUCTION

OnePlus is a Shenzhen-based Chinese smartphone manufacturer founded by Pete Lau (CEO)

and Carl Pei in December 2013. The company's main goal was to design a smartphone that
would balance high-end quality with a lower price than other phones in its class, believing
that users would "Never Settle" for the lower-quality devices produced by other companies.
Lau explained that "we will never be different just for the sake of being different. Everything
done has to improve the actual user experience in day-to-day use."

The smart phone industry is a high growth industry with 23% CAGR in India with One Plus
being one of the top contenders to capture the premium segment along with Samsung,
Apple & Google. India is the second largest market globally for smartphone after China. In
2018, 161 million smartphones worth over $28.5 billion were sold in India growing both
sales volume and value by 19% and 21% respectively. This was when the global smartphone
industry was seeing a downtrend in sales, highlighting the potential of Indian smartphone
market to the companies round the world.

The major players along with their products in premium smartphone category are:

 Apple 11 series by Apple

 S series and Note series by Samsung
 Pixel 4 series by Google

Organization culture:

It all started in the winter of 2013 with a simple, bold idea: make a better phone. But, not
just a better phone – a better way of doing things. A new kind of tech-company that works
hand in hand with users to do something amazing, something meaningful.

• Gathering exceptional talent from all over the world with various backgrounds,
beliefs, and perspectives, but sharing one common dream: change things for the
better and leave a mark on the world.

• Pursuing the highest standards professionally, personally, and ethically.

Empowered by a bold mind set, while creating products that transcend geography,
customs and cultures.

• Striving for improvement and aim to provide the best value to users. For the
remaining introspective, looking to improve ourselves before demanding or
criticizing others.
 • Dreamers who always reach for the most ambitious goals.

• Enthusiasts who love what they do.

Most importantly, Never Settle at OnePlus.

CURRENT PRODUCT MIX (PRODUCT PORTFOLIO) OF ONEPLUS

 Mid-range smartphones
1. One Plus 6
2. One plus 6T
3. One plus 7
4. One plus 7T
 Premium range smartphones
1. One Plus 7 Pro
2. One plus 7T Pro
3. One plus 6T McLaren Edition
4. One plus 7T Pro McLaren edition
 Accessories
1. One Plus Bullets wireless
2. One plus Type-C Bullets
3. One plus Explorer Backpack
 Smart TV
1. One Plus Q1
2. One Plus Q1 Pro
Competitor analysis of One Plus 7 Pro

One Plus 7 Pro Samsung S10+ Apple iPhone 11 Google Pixel 4

 Snapdragon  Snapdragon
855 chipset 855 chipset  Apple A13  Snapdragon 855
 128 GB  128 GB Bionic chipset chipset
Storage storage  64GB storage  64 GB storage
 4000 Mah  4100Mah  3110 Mah  3700 Mah
Battery Battery battery battery’
Product
 48MP+16M  12MP+12M  12MP+12MP  16MP+12.2MP
Specification P+8MP P+16MP camera setup Camera setup
camera camera  6.1 inches  6.3 Inches Display
setup setup display  6 GB Ram
 6.67 inch  6.4 inches  4 GB Ram
display display
 6GB Ram  8 GB Ram

Rs. 57,900
Price Rs. 48,999 Rs. 69,990 Rs. 64,900

Placement Premium Premium Premium Premium

One Plus brought For S10+, Samsung Apple ran an ad Google leveraged their
in international launched a campaign highlightingnew product with a
movie star Robert worldwide their lightning fast promotional video
Downey Jr. to campaign with the Face recognition and showing new tech
promote its 7 title ‘iChanged’. an all-day battery life.
coming to next-
series around the The campaign They also claimed that
generation Pixel. This
globe via you tube aimed to showcase they have a better tech enables two new
Promotion and television ads. the beauty of water resistance for features – Motion Sense
One plus also breaking away their device that their
and face unlock –
roped in Amitabh from what people competitors. helping you to get things
Bachchan think ‘you should done without having to
specifically to cater do’ and embrace Along with the ad touch it.
to the Indian one’s true self by campaign they also
consumers. For pushing the gave discounts up to
social media, one boundaries and Rs. 19,000 when
 plus brought in doing what you buying the phone with
various tech think you can’t. a HDFC card.
influencers from
you tube, twitter As part of its
and Instagram to promotional
promote the strategy Samsung
product gave away Galaxy
airbuds, worth Rs.
8,999 as a gift to
the buyers.

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS – ONE PLUS 7 PRO

OnePlus operates in the smartphone segment where the estimated average life of a phone
is 2.5 years. With technological updates taking place at an unprecedented rate, the lifespan
of phones is also decreasing. OnePlus operates in the premium segment. It launches
approximately 2 new mobile phones ever year with latest features and technology, slowly
bringing an end to the older models.

OnePlus 7 Pro is the recent phone from One plus after having launched One Plus 6 and One
plus 5 series. Increase number of unique features, set it apart from the previous versions is
that it has beautiful rounded edges, also fluid AMOLED display which is first time launched
by one plus for its products and pop-up selfie camera which stood out from other premium
competitors. Another feature that makes a huge difference is the camera which has the
ultra-wide-angle option which stands out from the competitor at that time. An extra layer of
texturing is another element that gives the 7 Pro more of a premium feel than previous
model. Not forgetting to mention, the 7 Pro has “TEST THE DROP PROTECTION” where the
pop-up selfie camera closes automatically in when the phone fells down which a
technological breakthrough and a clear point of difference is.

With all these features, the phone took off well in the market, leaving behind the older
version of One plus 6 series and 5 series. Till now One Plus series phones were priced in the
30k-38k range but for the first time one plus went beyond 40k range and it was priced at
48k , but still it made good sales and created demand in the market and proved to be a
sensible alternative for those who were willing to spend the same amount, but on
competitors’ product. This is an introduction phase of the phone and it is expected to go
upwards from here.
Gradually as the promotion campaigns hit and more customers become aware of the
product, its innovative features and its price point, the product entered its growth phase. As
customers realize that a brand name such as OnePlus, whom customers trust blindly for its
software’s and camera, launched a product with innovative features and isn’t that hard on
the pocket, sales picked up. The product also turned into a mini DSLR, because of the dual
camera which is given i.e., 48MP Sony lens and the wide-angle camera, a 90 Hz screen and
also an pop up selfie camera and hence the sales even grew more, and is expected to grow
even more.

So after this stage, as the maturity stage arrived , the OnePlus invested heavily in continuous
research and development and introduced innovative features for the upcoming phones like
OnePlus 7T pro where it gave an triple camera option as well as added a pop up camera that
enabled the users to have a larger screen. This marked the beginning of the maturity phase
of the product, owing to some improved features by the new products.

As newer and better products in this segment make their entry into the market, One Plus
may reduce the prices of this product to extract as much margin as possible and this will
essentially be the decline phase of the product.

PRODUCT LAUNCHES

One Plus 6 & 6T

Both One plus 6 and 6T was the company’s first attempt to hop on the ‘Notch’ bandwagon.
The ‘Notch’ as a trend was started by Apple to maximize the screen to body ratio of a
phone. One plus launched OnePlus 6 with a notch similar to Apple while OnePlus 6T was
launched with an even smaller drop like notch. These products were launched with the
latest technology available at the time. They both had the latest version of android and the
fastest processor available in the market. The T version has the legacy of coming out six
months after the base model has been launched, updating the device on whatever new
hardware and software has come up in those six months. The main aim of these products
was to keep up with the competitors such as Samsung and apple as it has become an
industry norm to release an updated model of your flagship product in each category every
year.

One Plus 7:

One plus 7 was another strategic launch by the company to maintain their USP as a mid-
range premium smartphone while they were lining up a higher price variant of this product
with some key differentiations. This product didn’t differ much in looks compared to 6T. The
upgrade was in terms of camera, software and processor.

One Plus 7Pro:

One Plus 7Pro was launched together with OnePlus 7 but with a wildly different form factor.
It had a pop-up camera for the front facing camera. This technology has only been tested by
other Chinese company such as Vivo and Oppo. The direct competitors of One Plus were still
relying on the notch design. This was the first time that the form factor was a key
differentiator for a one plus product. Samsung had its Note series to produce innovative
designs and Apple was the first to launch a notch design. This was done by One plus to reel
in the customers who liked the pop-up camera but didn’t trust the en-masse brands. To
make the offering more attractive One Plus also installed a 90Hz refresh rate screen on this
phone, when the industry norm has been 60Hz. It enhanced the viewing experience of the
consumers by a big margin. This move actually kickstarted the trend to provide a 90Hz
screen on premium phones. All of his was offered at a price point of Rs 48,000 which was a
big leap from the incremental increase they had to their price over the years.

SERVICES OFFERED BY THE BRAND

 One Plus service center

 One Plus Care
 One Plus software updates
 One Plus online troubleshooting

Here, the service centers and online troubleshooting is an industry standard. Currently One
Plus has 62 service centers across the country. The number is a far less than Samsung which
has around 3000 of them around in India. OnePlus is far ahead than Apple who opened up
its stores in India quite recently. Google on the other hand does not have any service
centres but they only provide door to door service in around 30 major cities such as Delhi or
Mumbai. With only about two products releasing every year compared to Samsung which
has 5 different series of phones, the number of service centers One plus has is on par.

One plus care and One plus updates are the differentiating factors for the company. One
plus care provides one year extra warranty for the device at a price of Rs. 600. Also in this
scheme, you can get a battery replacement for half the price. This program also offers a
minimum value for your older one Plus phones if you trade them for newer ones.

One Plus has also been the leader in software updates where they provide android updates
for two years and security updates for three years. Google is the only company that matches
these figures as thy also own Android, the software used to run around 90% of the total
smartphones in India. For reference, Apple and Samsung provide updates for a maximum of
18 months as it is written in their terms and conditions.
MARKETING STRATEGY

Online
One Plus has utilized the following tools to market their products online
1. Invite only: In the beginning when the company set their mind to provide the
the best of what a smartphone has to offer at a very low price, it decided to
cut its advertising cost. The alternative the company found was to make the
sale of their product invite only. Only a previous owner of the product can
invite someone else to buy its product. In time, this created a buzz around
the product because ultimately the product was of high quality. The company
has since then stopped utilizing this method but this is considered a key
factor in the company’s initial success. No other direct competitor has
applied this method to market their products in the past.
2. Influencer marketing: One plus has sponsored various Youtube and
Instagram celebrities and influencers to produce their content and plug in
their brand during in the content. One example of this is One Plus sponsoring
a youtuber named ‘PowerBang’ who creates online gaming content. OnePlus
provides the latest device to him to play on so that his viewers can see the
performance of the device first hand. This creates a sense of trust among the
potential consumers. Also, they provide their products to tech reviewers on
social media to give their honest reviews. Influencer marketing has become a
norm of the industry and all of the competitors of OnePlus has picked up on
it in some form or other.
3. Social media campaign: Oneplus’ “#NeverSettle” has been an ongoing
campaign for OnePlus to remind its consumers to never settle for less for the
price they are paying. This channel is also common among smartphones
manufacturers although one plus is the only one to consistently keep the
same message for the last six years.

Offline
1. TV advertisements: OnePlus has famously rolled in high profile movie stars
such as Robert Downey Jr. and Amitabh Bachchan to advertise their product.
2. Pop up stores: OnePlus realized that many people in the Indian market like to
touch and experience the device before purchasing it. To cater to this need,
OnePlus set up several pop-up stores in a number of malls and on the high-
streets in metro cities. They even entered a partnership with Croma, allowing
users to experience the product first-hand.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing of OnePlus has always excited the lower priced segment to focus on the premium
space, demand for which has jumped in the last couple of years. One Plus also looked at
increasing local production gradually, keeping pace with its forecast that India’s
manufacturing scale could reach global levels in around 5 years. One Plus has built its brand
equity on the promise to provide premium product for low price. As of right now Its top
product is around 30 to 40 percent cheaper than that of its competitors. As for one plus 7
pro, even though its price was about Rs. 13,000 additional than its predecessor, it actually
became the fastest selling premium phone on Amazon in the first seven days. This shows
that the increase in price didn’t have an ill effect on the sales. Although, it has to be noted
that One plus & pro was providing something innovative for that price point.

An increase in price for the next base product (for example OnePlus 7 this year) they launch
is to be expected, but only by 10% to 15% as has been the norm for the company for the last
six years. Sharper rise than this will alienate the loyalist as it can be seen as moving away
from their promise to never settle. Although products such as One plus 7 Pro which brought
in something that added immense value to the offering can have a slightly steeper price. As
per this year’s sales, it can be safely deducted that users are willing to pay a premium for a
premium offering.

OnePlus as of now can afford to decrease its price but only If their bottom-line allows for it.
This is because they are marketed as a cheap premium phone. Although If they are already
providing the lowest price possible and decreasing price might mean to decrease the quality
of the phone then the company cannot afford to do this. As they only have two to three
launches per year, any hit in sales can affect their profit margins to a large extent.

Any major change in price is not advisable. Too much increase in prices might lead to shift of
consumers to other brands. One plus is known for providing quality phones at affordable
prices and increasing prices too much might hamper the value proposition of the company.
At the same time, any major decrease in prices could also be bad for the company as people
might start perceiving the products of low quality and might not buy it as the brand value
might go down. So, any major change in price could lead to reduction in sales volume (even
a major reduction in prices could reduce sales volume) and might hamper the brand equity
as well.

Channel Strategy
OnePlus expects e-commerce to remain its biggest sales channel in India over the next five
years, a top executive said, even as the firm announced plans to open more offline stores.
The Chinese premium smartphone maker mainly uses two online platforms to sell in the
country. These are its own website and Amazon India, which is currently its biggest sales
channel.
Although the smartphone maker has an online-first approach, its Bengaluru store, which
opened a year-and-a-half ago, has exceeded all expectations, the firm said. That success has
given it enough reason to expand its offline footprint.
OnePlus India plans to have four offline experience centers and 10 authorized stores in total
by the year end. It has one experience center in Bengaluru. The second experience center
will be opened in Chennai, while the company is considering Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad and
Mumbai as options for the other two this year. The firm also plans to strengthen its third
sales channel in India—Croma stores. OnePlus started selling its phones at Tata group’s
electronics retail chain Croma last year. That decision was a strategic shift in the phone
maker’s strategy, which until then had been almost solely focused on e-commerce through
Amazon. It now wants to create dedicated OnePlus sections in all large-format Croma
stores. This year, they also plan to set up store-in-store at Reliance digital stores before
expanding to any new outlets.
The Shenzen-based company, which wants to make India its second headquarters, also
plans to set up a research and development center in India later this year, which will focus
on customizing OnePlus’ products for Indian conditions and consumer requirements.
E-commerce strategy
OnePlus along with selling their products Amazon have also started their own store
OnePlusStore .in to build a more personal experience for their customers. Their model of
business has been based on the Lean Startup Methodology (Build > Measure > Learn) where
they try to implement the feedbacks received from the users into their next stage of
product development. Online feedback is the fastest way to gather customer insight about
their product.
Prior to their own website, OnePlus stuck to Amazon as their only online seller so that it
doesn’t have to retail fee to different sellers. The company has also kept its base pricing
consistent along all platforms for each of its products since the beginning and there has
been negligible gap between online and offline prices too. But when it comes to online, for
the current OnePlus 7 pro, they are offering discounts up to Rs.15,000 for using particular
bank’s debit or credit cards or offers such as zero cost EMI from a particular bank. These are
strategic tie ups that almost all big-name brands do to make the offering lucrative. On their
own website, along with these offers, OnePlus also attempts to pair its smartphone with
other products that it has to offer such as earphones and branded merchandise.

One Plus till now

OnePlus is leading the premium smartphone segment in India this quarter consolidating
42% of the market share, taking the lead back from Samsung. This is OnePlus' higher ever
market share in the Indian market. It's also the first time that OnePlus has a 26% market
share in the ultra premium segment after the launch of the One Plus 7 Pro cracking the
45,000 plus category of phones.
OnePlus has more than 60% market share in the ₹30,000 - ₹45, 000 segment and with the
launch of OnePlus 7 Pro, we have a 26% market share in the ₹45,0000 plus segment.
Collectively we have 42% market share overall, with a clear lead in ₹30,000 - ₹45,000
segment. Samsung slipped to 22% market share in the segment registering an yearly drop in
shipments of 16% and now is on par with Apple at 21% market share.
 Indian Premium Smartphone
Segment Market Share - Q2 2019
45
40
35
30
25
20 42
15
10 22 21
5
0
One Plus Samsung Apple

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ONE PLUS:

1. Improve after sale service: As the brand is focused on the long-term growth, it is crucial
for the brand to retain and grow its customer base. This requires an efficient network of
after sale services, which is both accessible and provides quick resolution. This can be
achieved through expanding the number of exclusive store network across market.

2. Increase Offline Availability of phones: The brand needs to target increased sales in its
premium phone segment markets by increasing the offline availability of phones. Since the
value proposition of OnePlus phones revolves around providing premium experience at
competitive price, in order to further enhance its presence, the brand will need to expand
offline stores. Also, global brand tie-ups and niche marketing campaigns would help
increase the customer base in the premium phone segment.

3.Tapping Other Segments: As One Plus has tapped TV segment recently, it must also target
other segments like Smart Watches which is trending right now. It can also look into
branching out to mass segment to diversify their revenue streams. This will take the pressure
of their flagship product to generate the maximum amount of revenue possible.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.oneplus.in/7pro?from=head#/
2. Euro monitor Reports
3. https://www.businessinsider.in/oneplus-smartphone-sales-in-india-are-nearly-double-that-of-
apple-and-samsung/articleshow/70465846.cms
4. https://www.gadgetsnow.com/compare-mobile-phones/OnePlus-6T-vs-OnePlus-7-Pro
5. https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/oneplus
6. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/smartphones-worth-
over-28-5-bn-sold-in-india-in-2018-report/articleshow/68147133.cms?from=mdr