1.

Consumer-first approach and improvisations  

The company has a specific term for its community of users. Anyone who owns a boAt

product is anointed as boAthead and made a part of the clan. This gives users a feeling of

belongingness. The company believes in closely observing the needs of users and

developing products accordingly. Its first product was an indestructible Apple charging-cable

and charger. The product was developed after the founders sensed it’s urgency. 

Sanjeev Mehta said, “The Apple cable used to break near the charging end (near the

connectors). People used to make do, by taping over it. So we launched a tough, braided

cable, with a life cycle of 10,000 bends”. Some of the key insights over the past three years

have been that people are increasingly looking for sports and fall-proof headphones, and

that boAt’s products were getting boring. The start-up, therefore, launched fall-proof

headphones and introduced interesting colors for their products.

2. Portrayal as a lifestyle brand

The company portrays itself as a lifestyle brand rather than calling a consumer electronics

brand. We have tried to change the consumer mindset. We don’t sell our products as

electronics only. We sell them as lifestyle accessories. We are trying to portray that

our products can be a part of your everyday fashion. This strategy was on display at the

2019 Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai where boAt products were the only accessories

sported by the models when they walked down the ramp for one of the designers.

3. Continuously expanding catalog 

After launching the indestructible Apple charging-cable and charger, the second product they

brought was an audio range, which included earphones. The company used critical insight

on consumers to decide that Indians love bass. Their first earphones were

called BassHeads. 

The organized earphones market was estimated to be between 30 billion to 40 billion, and it

was growing at 20-30% annually. In 2018, boAt launched speakers and, in 2019, soundbars

and home-audio systems. The soundbar is priced at 9,000 and it sells 30 to 40 units a day;

its sales were expected to hit 200 million to 300 million in 2019. 
4. Right targeting

boAt lifestyles are reckoned as millennials’ brands. The company provides stylish and

affordable products that attract the youth. Also, the brand ambassadors are all young faces.

Much of the buzz boAt has picked up can be attributed to its brand ambassadors who

represent India’s most-followed passions (and obsessions) - Bollywood and cricket. The

company even develops products specifically for young people. For instance, Sports

Earphones and Bluetooth Speakers have caught the fancy of India’s increasingly fitness-

focussed millennials. Consumers pick and choose accessories that fit in their workouts,

trails, hikes, basically their lifestyle.

 
5. Online marketing

The company has stuck to online modes to market their products. The brand has stayed

away from conventional media such as TV and print. They have mostly run their campaigns

on Facebook and other social media networks. One of the founders cited the reason being

millennials mostly online. Pankaj Mirchandani, managing partner at Rhythm Corner

Alaknanda (RCA), a marketer and distributor of electronics in India, says, “What has worked

for boAt is the community of fans they have built online, which is quite commendable”. There

is now an online community of boAtheads with around 80,000 members at present. The

company also uses Celebs word-of-mouth as their marketing strategy.