SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF BPHONE MARKETING STRATEGY

2.2. Bphone brand.

➢ Analyze the failure of Bphone's marketing strategy.
Bphone is one of the smart phones designed and manufactured in Viet Nam by BKAV
Company. However, Bphone failed because of its marketing strategy.
* Bphone's marketing process: BPhone was first revealed in January 2015 when BKAV
unexpectedly brought its first smartphone to CES 2015 - a technology event of large
scale, prestige and gathering of countless big brands in the world, held in the US. Taking
advantage of the attention of technology followers, BKAV has created a sensation with
Vietnamese consumers who have never appreciated domestic branded products. BPhone
was also introduced by BKAV’s CEO as "one of the world's most beautifully designed
smartphones". Immediately this "explosion" of BKAV created a strong reaction in public
opinion, on forums, social networks or newspapers, there were fierce debates, people
discussed why. BKAV dare to loudly compare himself with the world's leading phone
line? Is BPhone worth it? Countless comments from technology people broke out, some
of which were commendable, but from a marketing perspective, it brought a "unique"
effect.
* Advantages and disadvantages:
- Advantages:
+ Bphone is confirmed as a product of "pure Vietnamese technology - world class". This
is a bold affirmation because no Vietnamese phone company has dared to be so
confident. This directly hits the national pride and low self-esteem of Vietnamese people
that Vietnam is inherently very weak in science and technology, now they will be
surprised and curious and mixed with pride because BKAV was able to own Owners
master such world-class technologies through the way they communicate product
features. This is also 18 a strong blow for other Vietnamese phone companies that only
go to China to buy goods and change the label.
+ Although there are many errors, it can be said that BKAV's method of communicating
for Bphone is very methodical, willing to pay. From the stages of making viral clips,
creating public opinion on social media to the elegant and well-organized launch
ceremony, BKAV learned how to do and practiced quite methodically, giving everyone a
different perspective on the potential of this corporation.
- Disadvantages:
+ Price isn’t suitable: In the context of the competitive smartphone market, especially
smartphones from Chinese brands like Lenovo, Xiaomi or from famous manufacturers
like Asus, HTC all have the same configuration as Bphone but the selling price of
products is more affordable for domestic consumers.
+ Distribution form: Phones are still a valuable asset and a self-affirming jewelry of
Vietnamese people, so at a price of nearly 10 million VND but only sold online, not
giving buyers the opportunity to try, hold and check then they won't be very excited, even
suspicious.
+ BKAV is proud of the technology and wisdom of the Vietnamese people, but the way it
communicates and launches the product has so many big errors that they don't understand
why they don't notice it. From the CEO's attire, which is said to be copied from Steve
Jobs, to the silly mistakes in the presentation slides that make potential customers feel
doubtful about the product's quality.
+ Quality is not as expected: When introducing its products, BKAV constantly compares
Bphone with high-end and well-known phones in the market. Bphone is likened to a
phone in the high-end segment and has many outstanding features, but it's all just "too
much" advertising. Right after the product launch of Bphone, customers were very
disappointed. When customers experience and use Bphone, they feel disappointed
because the quality of the product is far from advertised and the price they pay to own
this phone.

➢ Lessons learned from Bphone.

Although BKAV's Bphone product was launched in Vietnam, it was a failed brand in the
"home field". The failures of Bphone also bring many valuable lessons for brands in the
future. First, after the product launch, Bphone made a huge mistake in product pricing.
As a product sold on a popular market like Vietnam, Bphone has a very high price.
Gradually causing the company's sales to decrease because the price was too high, and
finally Bphone had a serious drop in price. Second, attract the attention of consumers
with overly aggressive product promotion strategies. Bphone has advertised the brand
and communication "excessive". The mistake is that BKAV compares Bphone with other
high-end phone brands in the market, making consumers willing to spend a lot of money
to experience the product, but its quality is not as expected. The failure of Bphone is
dishonest product advertising leading to disappointing customers. Third, Bphone's next
mistake is to be proud of being a "Made in Vietnam" brand, hitting consumers' minds
about national pride when using technology products from Vietnam. But Bphone forgets
that quality is the most important thing and gets the most attention from customers. When
customers use Bphone phone products, they feel very disappointed and their trust is
misplaced. In short, Bphone's mistakes are also valuable lessons for future companies.
CONCLUDE
Marketing activities are always necessary for any business today. A good marketing
strategy is a key prerequisite for a successful firm. "The market is the battlefield," which
means that if a company wants to survive and grow, its leaders must strive to be the best.
Each step, no matter how small, has a great influence on the survival of the business.
Therefore, businesses need to be cautious before making a decision, and at the same time,
each business needs to identify its risks and potential to create an initiative in the market.
Before marketing a product or service, firms must evaluate the market in which they will
promote and determine the demands of consumers in order to develop a viable marketing
strategy. Following that, firms must decide what form of marketing they will promote to
clients and devise precise and meticulous programs to attract people. The great success of
Shopee and the effective marketing strategies of Shopee have brought us many valuable
lessons. Other businesses can apply the same type of marketing mix as Shopee to
increase profits and attract customers to their business. Contrary to the success of Shopee
is the failure of Bphone. From the failure of Bphone, we draw a memorable lesson that 20
businesses need to survey the market where they promote their products before marketing
and carefully consider the needs of consumers to plan marketing properly. Through two
examples of Shopee and Bphone, the author finds that meticulously and carefully
planning a marketing plan to promote customers is an extremely important and necessary
issue. Therefore, each business needs to constantly improve and perfect its marketing
strategy to attract potential customers and beat competitors to assert its position.