Nokia Brand retention is great and lower end budget satisfies basic need and durability which makes Nokia 3310 different from other popular brands. For example and without going in deeper details. All the present mobile phones have a wider and larger screen comparing with the legend Nokia 3310. There came a trend when everyone was carrying two cellphones: one with all the latest technologies - an android phone and another - the simple and the cheapest to make calls. It might be because of the battery issue which has been almost resolved in the new android phones but other could be people still embrace the simplicity of the old technologies like NOKIA 3310.
This is going to be an option for those - - who does not do text messaging or use less keyboard - who does not play high-end games - which does not use GPS much - who wants to get rid of social media - who wants to spend less money on mobile phones - senior citizens - easy option for gift at least for 1 year - who wants to use this as an extra - for school going students who just need to be connected with their parents, doesn’t want to spend more and still wants to look cool among friends - for people who are tired of spending around 100$ as an average per year on phone - small business owners, retailers, shop owners who prefers battery backup more than smart features in short it has different market comparing to other smart phone.
Making a Dead Brand like Nokia 3310 Alive
Marketing is all about the audience and reaching them where they seek information - not “old” and “new” media, we need to stop categorizing channels. This sounds more like a product to revive the brand than to capture (re-capture) market share. Apple can tell you that answer. They were set to go the way of Atari before the iPod was introduced. Old Brand become relevant with new ideas that innovate. IBM went from Business Machines (Punch Card Reader) , to Stand Alone Computers, to Consulting. It is always possible to come back until your investors, employees, and customers stop believing in you completely. One of the clearer example of that is the legend VW the beetles in 60’s and 70’s of last century comparing with the new beetles. Depending on past legend is not enough to survive. There is always a second round! Doesn’t matter how old is the brand or the person, never hesitate! A mobile phone - even if its cheap, though in this case it isn’t really - is a high involvement category brand, given its high functional role. Same goes for Beetle or Ambassador, etc.
Price Point is What Marketing is All About
Nokia has a fair chance of coming back strongly if they learn from their mistakes and produce android phones similar to Samsung. Looks like the game is on and they will soon be one of the most popular brands in no time. Nokia is definitely using the launch of the 3310 to bring attention to their brand and other Android devices launching this year. Since they were bought out from Microsoft they have taken ownership for mobile design, sales and marketing etc. As per Pakistani perspective… cost of 3310 will define its survival. If cost comes to 3500-4000 PKR, then it will have a great chance of boosting up its past glory. Anything above, will not do favor to customer. If pricing reaching to 6000-8000 PKR, the customer will automatically move to Android.
Nokia 3310 are 2G yeah? Isn’t 2G nearly extinct?
If they can explain their story well, definitely works. Even a low end smart phone today is miles ahead of where Nokia was when it went off the market. The legacy of that model was attributed to different abilities which is far far away from present abilities. Does that mean they shall be virtually useless in most parts of the world? So, if the brand has not been a fundamental disaster, has relevance and is priced right ( remember, even though the brand name remains the same, when brands come back after a hiatus, the TGs end up changing to a significant extent), old brands have every chance to succeed. The old brand is not a hindrance; in fact, could be a help. And as we speak, there’s a glowing example in high-involvement category itself. Suzuki’s Baleno! Baleno in fact, was a failure and Suzuki has brought it back in a different - if not a new category - class, but it has succeeded and how! Suzuki offered a great looking, really contemporary, new age product with really sensible pricing and its been speeding up and up!
High-involvement Category Brands
Conceptually speaking, we need to differentiate between just the brand name and such superficial brand aspects with product aspects of the brand. As it isn’t really just a ‘brand name’ issue. Customers are smart and also - particularly in India - keen to get the most value rather than worry about a name.Iconic brands became iconic for the one simple reason - RELEVANCE! If Nokia 3310 can be relevant now then they have a choice. The new Beetle failed, they changed the way it looked and made it unreliable! Look at the Mustang… it has retained its rugged machismo yet has a touch of modernity to it! It is mostly for the people who had one of them and want to remember those glorious days. Here in this category, a brand is much more than just the name. The idea that it should be sold in supermarkets also and not just mobile store really does make a lot of sense considering the fact that the smart phone users are constantly struggling with battery life… 3310 can be a good second phone in such scenarios. If it has decent interface for google maps it would a great accessory to people on the road because GPS kills smart phone battery big time.
Low or not-so-high Involvement Category Brands
People today are crazy after 4G network and touch phones. It does not look wise commercially at a price point of Rs. 8000 to bring in 3310 unless its technology ready. The look / feel of the newer version and the marketing ad campaign is appealing, but will be tough to generate the required sales numbers. The icon is back for sure, but in a growing market for smartphones the ones who just need a device to make a call are a minuscule percentage. Why would you target the dwindling audience and not create relevance with the old body and add new features into it?! Make it so cool with features that allow people to think of Nokia 3310 as an option! Instead of competing against strong brands in smart-phone industry, Nokia made a very smart movement targeting a different level of audience who doesn’t want to pay a lot and doesn’t expect so many smart features and likes nostalgia (who likes pushing buttons :))
No Future without Past
To the average user and probably any other user, 3310 was like the iPhone of the early 2000s and it was status thing..till of course the Razor came..anybody who was everybody had 3310 before advancing on. Now we just might buy one for nostalgia sake but the technology they have will not excite anyone as we have seen it all. A 3310 with some quirky new features would have probably got more sales going. So, as long as the functional aspects, like the product is relevant & useful, pricing is right, etc., Brands, which faded out, not because of quality issues or lack of functionality or terrible customer service or some such really basic/hygiene issues, can absolutely come back. In fact, there’s indeed some - maybe just a little - additional value/premium to an old classic brand. Nokia phones, like 3310, were a success for several reasons. It’s not 3310’s fault that Nokia the company did not take the brand quickly enough into smartphones and/or new-age functionalities & features. Can not wait to see if it can revive itself or not.