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HTC kicks off new marketing strategy

A free fall fashion shoot will kick off HTC’s new global ‘As Recommended By’ marketing strategy.

HTC challenged two amateur photographers to capture a fashion shoot taking place whilst falling from the sky at 126 mph on mobile phones from the HTC One series. Prior to the event, photographers Nick Jojola and Tony Mac had never shot any commercial photography or sky dived before.

The new handsets used in the challenge, the HTC One X and HTC One S, boast the ability to take high quality images in low light conditions, auto focus, backlight high dynamic range (HDR) technology and the ability to take stills from previously shot HD video footage.

The new strategy unveiled by HTC, which will follow in all its subsequent campaigns, is to only advertise its products with real people using them in real-world product demonstrations. This rule will be carried through to digital, social media, PR and retail channels.

Devised by ad agency Mother and filmed in Arizona, the ad will launch in the UK on April 4 and will run in more than 40 markets. The aim is for the ad to be treated as a personal recommendation.

“In a world where consumers have more say and more means to share their opinion than ever, personal recommendations are one of the most important factors in purchase decisions,” says HTC vice-president of marketing Greg Fisher. “We wanted to give consumers the chance to make their own minds up about HTC and so enabled them to harness the power of personal experiences with the aim of turning them into personal and authentic recommendations.”

As part of the strategy, HTC is planning to deliver over 1,000 handsets to HTC fans, consumers and influencers for trials ahead of retail launches. Participants will be invited to share their experiences through social media, PR and word of mouth.

HTC has run social media activities before and the strategy builds on the local market meet ups, where HTC fans could spend time with new products ahead of their launches.

David Hing, London