 |
| Myphone Android |
By tapping directly into the Filipino psyche via customized identifiers linked to the myphone brand consumers can easily identify with, that combined with affordability and the common features offered by foreign brands, Solid Broadband seemed sure of clinching the market in its favor.
The my[phone-Pinoyphone was launched last year with contents reflecting the Filipino culture, like the audio versions of the Holy Rosary, Stations of the Cross and Novenas, Pinoy jokes, bugtong, salawikain, alamat, and popular movie lines, original Pinoy music, food recipies and trivia.
Pinoyphone was the sub-concept of my[phone that delves into purely Pinoy matters, said Jingo Fermin, president of Mytel Mobility Solutions Inc., also a unit of Solid Group, that handles the sales and distribution of my[phone.
"We know Filipinos are very attached to foreign brand names when it comes to cell phones, according to Carlo Umali, business development manager of Solid Group Inc., the consumer electronics firm that brought such global brands such as Sony, Samsung and Aiwa in the local market.
The Ninoy and Cory collectors' edition phones were also launched last year, loaded with audio trivia, biographies, famous speeches, life stories, inspirational messages, Ninoy's letters and poems, Cory's personal prayers and testimonials, and thumb nails of Cory's paintings that could also be set as wallpaper.
When the movie New Moon of the Twilight saga was shown in local cinemas, my[phone was its official partner with specific interface, wallpapers, ring tones, SMS tones, animated icons, screen savers and actors' profiles.
"The New Moon phones made good sales returns, but after the hype the sales also took a downturn," said Fermin. "We regarded this move more of building a marketing image for us. This has proven that even though we are small, we are more flexible, unlike the big companies that turned down the opportunity."
MySolid Technologies also created other ventures for my[phone through custom made content, like the my[phone-Pinoyphone of Taguig City Mayor Sigfrido Tinga, who ordered 1,000 phones for his constituents.
With unique content packed into my[phone, MySolid Technologies was able to carve non-traditional channels of distribution, including religious institutions like Caritas, Radio Veritas, Word of Joy, Family Land and Couples for Christ, with a percentage of the sales allotted to support their advocacies. Father Anton Pascual, executive director of Caritas and Radio Veritas also asked MySolid Technologies to supply the needs of priests of San Carlos Seminary's Bahay Pari and the Caritas micro-finance group, Salve.
Efforts by the first Filipino mobile phone company that made the dual-SIM technology affordable are starting to pay off, as consumers are stopping in their tracks for practical reasons and added value offered by a homegrown brand.
Banking on its newfound strategic advantage, MySolid Technologies has made it a point to capture the qwerty phone market. Apparently, qwerty phones are emerging as the preferred choice among phone users because of the single-press typing mode in writing text messages, and is fast becoming the choice handset for the social networking addicts. Based on the appeal of the more expensive brands, the my[phone Qwerty has a full keypad and wide LCD for web viewing, and is Java-equipped for online applications.
In a swap challenge in Davao, consumers exchanged their handsets for a myphone Qwerty so they could surf, e-mail and chat. With hundreds joining the swap, over 2,000 handsets were taken for less than the P2,990 price tag.
The myphone Qwerty now accounts for 46 percent of the company's monthly sales, according to Fermin. "With Qwerty models, we have hit the sweet spot that delivers safe margin where we could not only survive but also expand."
First posted on July 6, 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment