Nokia's Lumia hits stores in India today; leaving no stone unturned to make it a success

Nokia has unleashed its biggest-ever marketing campaign in India for the launch of its Windows-based smartphone Lumia on Friday, so as to keep itself relevant in a market being swarmed by Google Android phones such as Samsung Galaxy range. Called The Amazing Everyday, the campaign includes impromptu dance performance by a foreign troupe in Mumbai; a luxury helicopter ride for consumers in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai; exclusive premiere for pre-bookers with tennis star Sania Mirza at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon late on Thursday; a mega musical event in Delhi on Friday, and toll exemption for more than 15,000 cars at DND Freeway connecting Delhi and Noida on Friday, among several others including aggressive advertisement across different media platforms, to connect with the young consumers across top cities. "It's a gamechanger for us," says Nokia India Marketing Director Viral Oza. "We have redefined what we mean to the consumers." Analysts call it a desperate attempt to reclaim ground in the smartphone market. "Nokia is desperate to make Lumia work," says Saurabh Uboweja, director of brand consulting and design firm Brands of Desire. "If Lumia flops, Nokia is likely to become conservative in marketing." Lumia is Nokia's first serious offering in smartphones comparable to Apple iPhone and top Android phones of Samsung, HTC and Motorola. And the Finnish firm, which still dominates the Indian handset market with a 30% share, is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to make Lumia a success. Apart from an extensive experiential marketing, the handset major rolled out an internal campaign for its employees from December 12-16. So, it was WOW Monday for Nokia staff, who discovered a giant life-size Lumia in office and were asked to tap on it to get gifts such as chocolates, laptop stickers and Rubik cubes. On Kinetic Tuesday, scooties were placed around office for employees to have fun rides; on Surprise Wednesday, employees went around office hunting for magic boxes; and they put on their dancing shoes on Foottapping Thursday. On Friday, the office will remain closed and all employees will be in the market to attend the big launch events. Abhishek Chauhan, senior consultant (ICT practice) at Frost & Sullivan, says Nokia's first Windows-based smartphone will get a momentum from the extensive marketing campaign. "But the momentum can be sustained only if the product works," he says. And, not many experts see Lumia as a game changer. "Lumia might pose serious competition, but it's definitely not a game changer," says Uboweja of Brands of Desire. "There is nothing so exciting in the product that is way beyond or different from other smartphones." Experts are particularly critical of Nokia's decision to use only Symbian and Windows platforms for its phones, and leave the world's most popular Android OS out. This is the first product under the Nokia-Microsoft partnership and the stakes are high for Nokia. "Nokia may get the knockout punch if Lumia fails to inspire consumer imagination," says Uboweja. source