High-impact launches, cricket & youth connect – Lava’s festive season gameplan

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Amidst a global trend of escalating smartphone costs, Lava International is making waves with its Blaze X series. By prioritizing affordability, premium design, and exceptional value, the brand is catering to a wide spectrum of consumers. Lava recently unveiled its latest disruptor, the Blaze X, at a roundtable, showcasing high-end features at an incredibly accessible price point. To amplify the launch, the brand collaborated with cricket icon Gautam Gambhir on a humorous digital campaign, #BlazekaCraze, aimed at engaging the enthusiastic fan base of the Lava Blaze series.

In this exclusive Ag Talk interaction with Adgully, Puravansh Maitreya, Head of Marketing, Lava International, speaks about how the mobile brand is geared for the festive season this year, association with cricket and other sports, strengthening the youth connect, and much more.

How is Lava sharpening its key marketing strategies to capitalize on the festive season this year?

We’ve started the festive season with our first launch, Blaze X. Beginning this month, we have a series of high-impact launches lined up, including our flagship Agni Three, which follows the success of Agni Two last year. That model really put Lava back in the spotlight, showing that it is possible to create world-class smartphones in India by an Indian brand. Agni Two was one of the top sellers during last year’s festive sales on Amazon, particularly during the Great Indian Festival Sale in September-October.

This year, we’re building on last year’s successful strategies. We’re focusing heavily on reaching out to our consumers, especially the youth. For Blaze X, we’ve partnered with Gautam Gambhir, who perfectly embodies the underdog spirit – he has been a crucial player in the 2007 and 2011 World Cup-winning teams. His association with our brand has resonated well with our target group (TG), who appreciate our aggressive communication style. We’re leveraging digital platforms where young people spend their time, like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, working closely with Meta and YouTube teams to ensure our communication reaches everyone.

Our sponsorship of the India-Sri Lanka Cricket Series is another key element of our strategy. As a major sponsor, this event is helping us reach our audience during July-August. Additionally, we have significant plans around August 15, a day of great importance for us as an Indian brand. Last year, we set a Guinness World Record by creating the largest Indian flag using 1,300 smartphones.

What other initiatives are you undertaking to connect with your target audience?

We partnered with the Kings XI Punjab team as their official smartphone partner during the IPL season, which is a big draw for young cricket fans. Continuing with Gautam Gambhir for our current campaign, we’re also sponsoring the India-Sri Lanka series.

Beyond cricket, we’re working closely with influencers on social media. Last year, we significantly increased our engagement with top YouTubers and Instagrammers, which helped shift the perception of our brand among young people.

We’ve also made strategic partnerships during key events, such as the general elections, where we were an official partner with a leading news channel. This partnership amplified our reach during the two-month election period.

Last year, we had Kartik Aaryan as our brand ambassador, and this year, we’re continuing with Gautam Gambhir for the Blaze X campaign.

Could you share some insights into Lava’s broader marketing plans and strategies for the rest of the year?

We’ll be focusing heavily on the social digital space, using faces that appeal to young people. Cricket remains a significant part of our strategy, but we’re also exploring football, which is gaining popularity. Our partnerships and associations are based on deep insights into what our target demographic is watching. For instance, our Yuva series caters to the under Rs 10,000 segment, while the Blaze and Agni series target higher price points.

We’re also very focused on our marketing channels. While the smartphone industry is highly competitive, with brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi having deeper pockets, we’re confident in our understanding of our consumers. We’re targeting specific channels and executing our strategies efficiently and effectively.

What features make Lava phones stand apart in the market, especially in such a competitive landscape?

Our features vary across segments, but innovation is a constant. For example, the Blaze series was the first in its segment to offer a glass back design under Rs 10,000. With the Blaze 5G, we made 5G technology accessible at a lower price point, starting at around Rs 11,000-Rs 12,000, catering to the needs of young gamers and online streamers. The Agni series, especially Agni Three, continues to push the envelope with cutting-edge features at competitive prices. Our core philosophy is to offer the best possible value, ensuring that even cost-effective models feel premium.