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Declaring themselves “quietly brilliant” is hardly a modest statement, but HTC has earned the right to strut their smartphones with some swagger. For the past several years HTC has been putting out some of the hottest handsets and they have been the undeniable leader of the Android charge.
You’ve probably seen banner ads on Phandroid and AndroidForums with a white background and YOU in huge text – that is part of HTC’s new campaign. The concept is that “You don’t need to get a phone, you need a phone that gets you.” That is indeed a quietly brilliant statement.
Check out 2 videos/commercials based on the new campaign that we really dig:
I’m really, REALLY digging the “You…. and you… and you… and we are HTC” endings. Pretty sweet if you ask me – well done HTC.
The Quietly Brilliant slogan of HTC rings true – they consistently put out hot handset after hot handset that sell like crazy yet are still viewed as some sort of underdog in the smartphone market. I think this campaign will help to maintain that “underdog” image that everyone loves to align themselves with while making a confident and assertive statement that they’re better than everyone else.
Here is the press release we received via Email:
HTC Unveils global Advertising campaign
and new “Quietly Brilliant” Brand PositioningYOU campaign brings new approach to mobile industry;
represents HTC’s focus on each customerTAOYUAN, Taiwan – October 26, 2009 – HTC Corporation, a global smartphone designer, today unveiled a global advertising campaign that is based on HTC’s new “Quietly Brilliant” brand positioning. As HTC’s first global advertising campaign, the YOU campaign is being rolled out across 20 countries in the coming weeks and features the tagline, “You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you.” This represents HTC’s commitment to focus on people, their needs and how they work and live to ensure that HTC devices suit them.
“‘Quietly Brilliant’ is doing great things in a humble way, with the belief that the best things in life can only be experienced, not explained,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer, HTC Corporation. “The YOU campaign is the perfect embodiment of ‘Quietly Brilliant’ and is core to HTC as a company, innovator and partner.”
The YOU campaign is focused on driving broad, global visibility and understanding of HTC’s unique brand promise – that it’s all about YOU, the consumer, and in fact not the device. HTC worked with Los Angeles-based advertising agency, Deutsch LA Inc. to create the YOU campaign that will employ an integrated-media approach to reach consumers via television, print, outdoor and online. HTC’s design expertise will be echoed throughout the campaign, with commercial spots highlighting the unique functionality of HTC smartphones.
“We’ve come to have a very emotional relationship with our phones. Many of our key experiences in any given day come through this one device and yet most of the advertising in the category is still about utility,” says Eric Hirshberg, co-CEO and chief creative officer, Deutsch LA.
“HTC’s whole design philosophy is very personal. They make phones where your experience is completely unique, so we think there is a connection between how people feel about their phones and how HTC makes them.”
HTC worked with London-based creative consultancy, FigTree to create the “Quietly Brilliant” brand positioning. The “Quietly Brilliant” positioning was inspired by HTC’s culture of putting customers first, born from a heritage of creating breakthrough products and continued innovation. As part of HTC’s culture, the “Quietly Brilliant” positioning will be rolled out in all forms of communication and brand touch points across the company.
“Some of life’s most brilliant ideas started with a simple doodle on the back of a napkin,” said Simon Myers, CEO of Figtree. “HTC’s new look uses this visual language of doodles to explain all the quietly brilliant features and benefits of HTC devices in a simple and human way.”
Whether or not you like the Dream/G1, Magic/MyTouch, HTC Hero or any of HTC’s other upcoming Android phones, the ‘Droid movement in general should be extremely thankful for HTC. They got the ball rolling. They instilled a sense of urgency in their competitors. They are the reason competitors were rushing to put together a huge collection of awesome Androids. They helped the public, the market, the EVERYone see why the vision of Android was so promising.
I think they’re entire approach to Android could be summed up by their new slogan. Quietly Brilliant? Definitely.
*sigh* they’re fine commercials, but they don’t make it seem like anything better than your average phone. Like why bother getting the Hero when you could just get the LG Versa or Instinct?
So far none of the android commercials really step it up like that. It does however look like Verizon might pull it off. We’ll see.
HTC single handedly set Android back 2 years because of the useless and unanimously hated G1, who are they kidding? HTC sucks.
As far as I can see, it’s not a Hero commercial. They don’t mention the Hero, they are selling the HTC name on it.
I realize it’s not specifically a Hero commercial. I’m just saying that Android commercials really need to setp it up.
Not sure about the Instinct, but any LG touchscreen phone goes nowhere in selling itself in-store. If you’re looking for budget, then LG it is. But you get what you pay for. After trying Sprint’s Hero, it’s light years ahead of any LG touchscreen phone on the market.
@QuantumRand
You stated you know its a HTC ad campaign, but you talk about Hero and Android…so yeah what?
@mindo
Kinda negative for an android site, don’t you think? Everyone I know who has a G1 loves the thing, it’s the only thing out there that has a hardware keyboard that’s an android. I’ve owned my Sprint Hero since it was released and I wouldn’t trade for anything… maybe a bigger better Android from Sprint!
This is to give HTC more brand-awareness and not a commercial for the G1 or Hero. I think it is really cool and is going to help HTC to grow. The HTC devices are by far the best Android devices on the market and the other vendors will always be a step behind…
Glad to find out what this is. I saw a YOU billboard last week and could only say WTF…
This is a brilliant commercial. From a marketing stand point, specifically with how they are pushing HERO/Sense UI, I think its very effective. The marketing blitz has already begun with the countless billboards showing up and down the East Coast. HTC will become a house-hold name real soon.
Personally, I really like them. Both of them, I see them as more of a story playing out, I like that approach. It’s more personal, much more personal than iphone’s commercials.
I do think that android itself should be represented in a commercial somewhere. Everyone is starting to know, HTC Hero, Moto Cliq, ect. But do most people know it’s Android behind the scenes?
“HTC single handedly set Android back 2 years because of the useless and unanimously hated G1, who are they kidding? HTC sucks”
Huh?! What the hell are you talking about? I still have my G1 and I love it. Everybody I know who has one loves it. It’s starting to show it’s age a bit now, but as far as I’m concerned, until the Droid officially hits the market, it’s still the most interesting Android phone out there (because I want a physical keyboard). I look at it just the opposite way as you… the G1 was the first true Android device which kicked off the whole thing and got it started. I still impress people with some of the things my G1 can do. Your statement was out of line.
@john
There will be a Android campaign Verizon is going to run this, but not only with HTC devices : http://www.droiddoes.com
This will be build up from here…
It’s interesting that they chose the Sprint Hero for the commercial.
@Rob its the european hero in Europe for the end frames.
I think its time for some “Android inside” marketing too.
@Jeff
The ad just made me think of the Android ads thus far. My comment wasn’t for this ad directly. This is an Android site after all…
I think it’s a great introduction into the brand but I hate commercials that don’t actually show you the phone. The reason the iPhone is so successful is because they promote what the phone can do and show it to you and make the average (mainly not the people on cell phone blog sites) think that only that phone can do it.
Love the commercial! It is truly brilliant how they target soo many markets in just 30 seconds.. I think in 30 seconds they hit the nail on the head with not targeting one specific group like what I usually see in ads.
mindo = idiot
Good ads but I’d like to see more hints about app possibilities with at least one hint about gaming. Also, HTC’s Android phones are UGLY, unlike the upcoming Snapdragon-based Android phones from Acer and Sony-Erricson
@BeansOnToast – Some would argue that the reason the iPhone is so successful is because its part of the Apple machine; which has done a world class job since the conception of the iPod selling chic over substance. How many millions of these phones were sold in the first quarter of its release without half of the market push we see now for the phone.
I feel like they are taunting me!! Wheres my HTC Android on AT&T?? Hope the rumors are true.
Seriously people, think about it. Against all odds, Apple enters the mobile industry and reinvents it as we know it and walks away with the biggest piece of the smartphone pie. HTC on the other hand has been making handsets for years, has Apples model to go by which is huge because they are not “inventing” or risking anything. Then they are backed by google and given the OS which was much easier to create for google because Apple did all the hard work, google just made it better. Then sprint or whatever crap carrier gives them the exclusive, so basically ensures the money’s in the bank at this point. And all they could come up with was the G1? Their answer to the iPhone was the G1? Plain and simple it sucks.
Telling me that it rocks makes you sound like Vista fanboys talking up their pos with false numbers from MS.
@Mindo – Come on man. If you’re going to have a discussion, it helps to have your facts straight.
1) “Against all odds”? What were these crazy odds apple was against? An uncluttered and not especially cutthroat smart phone market?
2) “biggest piece of the pie”? Seriously, where do you get your figures? Nokia has the biggest piece of the cellphone market pie, and Apple definitely does not have dominant market share in the smart phone market.
3) Are you seriously claiming Google ripped of Apple’s iPhone OS? Android OS is different from the ground up (see system with customization, much higher compatibility/adaptability requirements to different hardware bases).
4) How would a deal with Sprint insure the “money’s in the bank”? Last time I checked, Sprint is always in 3rd or 4th in the big 4 network rankings in terms of coverage and user base, and would therefore be a *gasp* riskier partner! And on top of that, all of HTC’s androids have been introduced into an increasingly competitive market (Sorry I didn’t specify a specific model, because you are seemingly trying to knock the G1, but then you talk about Sprint, which would be the wrong network for that one my friend . . .) So, do you mean T-Mo?
Next time, can we play nice and perhaps talk about fact instead of accusing people of being “fanboys”, and subsequently exposing yourself as one?
this shouldn’t have HTC’s name on the end of it, i could care less about HTC, i want ANDROID’S name on the end of it! Verizon’s the only company that even bothers to kind of mention Android, and it’s a start! If Android were better advertised in commercials and even more so on the phones (just a super tiny android logo on the front of the box of the phone or something), it would sell more i bet. People would go “oh, that Android things looks cool and this phone has it! i’ll get this”