After the rapid growth in sales in third- and fourth-tier cities, OPPO mobile phones are trying every means to conquer the most difficult first-tier cities.

On September 12, OPPO announced that it would jointly release a brand TVC (commercial television commercial) with Zhang Zhen. This can be said to be OPPO’s first celebrity marketing attempt in terms of branding. Prior to this, OPPO had signed multiple spokespersons for products such as Li Yifeng, Yang Mi, and TFboys.

As a movie actor, Zhang Zhen has always had a low-key and hard-working image in the eyes of the public. Zhang Zhen has played a series of roles including Xiao Si in "Guling Street", Luo Xiaohu in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and Shen Lian in "Xiu Chun Dao", and has endorsed many international brands such as Chevrolet Malibu and Cartier. “OPPO has some connection with my personality, so I decided to cooperate with OPPO. ” Zhang Zhen said.

OPPO Vice President Wu Qiang said that the company recognizes Zhang Zhen’s strict requirements in the entertainment industry. Zhang Zhen’s elite image is also very consistent with the quality of life and spiritual demands of today’s picky young people. Unlike previous product spokespersons, this cooperation with Zhang Zhen is at the OPPO brand level.

OPPO is not the only mobile phone company that engages in celebrity marketing. Since this year, many companies have accelerated the pace of signing celebrities. In April, vivo signed popular Korean star Song Joong-ki. In June, Gionee also signed Feng Xiaogang and Shawn Yue to endorse the M6. In July, Huawei Honor also found domestic star Kris Wu to endorse its new product Honor 8.

The more important point of OPPO’s choice to cooperate with Zhang Zhen is that by leveraging this more influential star, OPPO, which grew up in third- and fourth-tier cities, can quickly become known to first-tier city groups.

Among the stars previously signed by OPPO, including Li Yifeng, Yang Mi, and TFboys, they are all born in the 80s and 90s. In comparison, Zhang Zhen is born in the 70s, and the audience who pays attention to him is also more mature.

According to Wu Qiang, Zhang Zhen’s personal characteristics and influence are mainly among people in first-tier cities, so this cooperation will mainly choose the Internet platform for communication, and the target audience is also young consumers in first-tier and provincial capital cities.

As offline channel sales pick up, OPPO’s sales have grown rapidly in the near future. According to IDC data, in the second quarter of 2016, OPPO surpassed Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and other brands and became the second largest smartphone manufacturer in China.

However, compared with Huawei, which ranks first in sales, OPPO’s shipments are mainly in third- to fifth-tier cities. According to data from market research organization Strat-egyAnalytics, in the second quarter of this year, 109 million smartphones were shipped, of which offline channels accounted for more than 80%, while domestic fourth- and fifth-tier mobile phone sales accounted for 47.8%. These areas are OPPO’s advantages.

Huawei has relied on its continuous investment in mid-to-high-end mobile phones in recent years and has laid a foundation in the most difficult first-tier cities. Yu Chengdong once said that in third- and fourth-tier cities and county-level channels, the channel layout of friendly merchants is ten times that of Huawei. Although Huawei still has an advantage in sales in first-tier cities, it has already felt the threat from OPPO and vivo in the remaining domestic channels.

Wu Qiang also admitted to Jiemian News reporters that OPPO’s influence in first-tier cities is weaker than in other regions. However, since last year, OPPO has released R7 Plus and R9 successively, and has begun to increase its influence among first-tier people.

“There is a big difference between first-tier cities and third- and fourth-tier cities. In the early years, more people favored overseas brands. However, as domestic brands have become more popular, more and more first-tier city groups have become aware of OPPO. Wu Qiang told Jiemian News reporters that many people only know about OPPO but are not interested. He hopes that through Zhang Zhen and this commercial, consumers can change this situation.

In terms of operational tactics, there are some differences between first-tier cities and third- and fourth-tier cities. As of 2015, OPPO has more than 200,000 offline stores. However, due to high store costs in first-tier cities, OPPO's large-scale offline store approach may not be effective.

“The channels in other regions are mainly small and medium-sized retail stores, but first-tier cities are mainly chain stores, so OPPO will make sure the relationship between stores is in place. Wu Qiang said that OPPO is still looking for locations suitable for opening stores in first-tier cities.

In terms of specific measures, OPPO will start to open a large-scale flagship experience store on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, and begin to cooperate with other brands to hold various brand activities in first-tier cities. In addition, OPPO has recently begun to place large-scale outdoor advertising in subways, airports, etc. in first-tier cities.

Wu Qiang also explained that OPPO is not as embarrassed as imagined in first-tier cities. Now its retail share in first-tier cities has reached 13.9%, ranking second after Huawei.

To read more about technology, please click View>>.