A boat company from India has captured the attention of millions of Indians with its affordable boat accessories. How did they manage to gain such popularity? What marketing strategies did they use?
In order to achieve its growth targets, a brand must work hard for several years. However, a strong marketing strategy will make the brand reach its target and succeed on the market. In this article, we are talking about BoAt Nirvana is India based consumer electronics device brand.
Today BoAt became the biggest market brand in consumer electronics in India. The boat is the brand which comes to mind if you're looking for an affordable, lux earphone device. Also, consumers are so fond of the brand that in just the fourth year of the brand, it built a community of 800,000 customers, which is still growing.
This company has managed to build a strong brand image over the years. In addition to the affordability factor, they also offer excellent service to their customers. This is why they are known to be the preferred choice in India.
In FY2020 The boAt crossed 500 crores in revenue. Their outstanding performance is because of BoAt’s strong marketing strategy. Let's see how BoAt's marketing strategy captured the Indian market.
BoAt - You are now plugged into Nirvana
BoAt is a startup founded by entrepreneurs Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta. Sameer Mehta owns Redwood Interactive, which has computer gaming peripherals under the brand RedGeara and Aman Gupta, the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) was also fascinated by electronics and gadgets and has also worked at JBL ("James B. Lansing Sound" )for two years. Sameer completed his MBA (Masters in Business) degree from the Indian School of Business (ISB).
boAt started its journey from a cable manufacturer and has now leveraged its brand into also selling men's grooming products. boAt has a huge range of electronic product categories which includes Bluetooth speakers, wireless earphones, headsets, smartwatches, mobile accessories, home audio devices, and many more.
boAt is creating a strong position in the market from being a homegrown product established in 2016 today it has become a well-known brand in the Indian market. It is globally the fifth largest electronic wearable brand.
The Marketing Strategy of Boat
BoAt is experiencing huge demand and is popular for its products in recent years. Now let's understand what strategies Boat is using for its growth and success in the Indian market.
Before the brand revolutionised itself, earphones, headsets and headphones were the only complementary items that came with mobile phones.
The boAt is experiencing a huge demand for its products in recent years. Let us understand what marketing strategies BoAt adopts for its tremendous growth.
1) Selling electronic products like accessories
Before 2014 BoAt was selling charger cables, earphones and headphones were sold in the Indian market as electronic products. Soon BoAt realized design elements started getting attention from customers. But what Boat thought of doing business beyond design. It sells its earphones, and earbuds like a fashion accessory.
2) Premium quality at an affordable price
Premium quality product earphones and headphones at an affordable price. One of its marketing strategies, Boat forced its competitor rivals like JBL, and Sony to cut their prices.
One of the reasons for BoAt’s colossal success is its product’s durability and decent pricing incline customers towards the brand. Also, the quality that BoAt offers in its audio products is expected from some premium quality brands only.
3) Celebrity & Influencer marketing
It takes several years for a brand to get endorsements from popular celebrities and personalities but in the case of boAt the brand is doing great, then it is just a matter of a few years. BoAt has a huge list of brand ambassadors.
The boAt started selling its electronic products as a fashion accessory and partnering with people from the fashion industry. boAt collaborated with celebrity Designer Masaba Gupta to launch a limited-edition collection of spunky headphones at the Lakmé Fashion Week in 2020.
Together, they have launched a line of products to cater to a huge audience, bringing back the disco style of the 70s.
For cricket fans, BoAt collaborates with cricketers like Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandeya, and KL Rahul and with actors like Jacqueline Fernandez, Kiara Advani, Kartik Aryan, and as well as content creators like Prajakta Koli, Harsh Beniwal, and Bhuvan Bam are on board to promote the products of boAt.
When a brand is related to music accessories, then it ought to have ambassadors from the music industry. The two biggest Musicians like Harry Sandhu, Neha Kakkar and Diljit Dosanjhare are also Boat’s brand ambassadors.
4) Innovations
One should learn from how BoAt creates innovative product types in different ways. The marketing strategy of BoAt also involves continuous innovation, and creativity of products in its different product ranges.
BoAt keeps introducing new products in the market at affordable prices with an innovative variety of designs and keeps getting attention from its customers.
BoAt offers various earphones and headsets, be they wireless, Bluetooth, Airdopes, earbuds and many more. Its product range includes all the innovative varieties which also attract young youth.
5) Customer connect
BoAt knows how to connect with its customer's good affordable price is not enough when it comes to selling a brand product. It also creates a good relationship with its customers.
The boAt has given a name to its loyal customer community as boAT Heads.
Customers are important in any marketing strategy, and the marketing strategy of boat values its customers and its boAT heads the community to create new products and that’s how it has increased its customer base from 0.8 million in 2018 to 2 million by 2020.
6) Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a big strategy in the marketing strategy of the company. Here are some digital marketing lists by boAt:
a) Mobile Marketing
Using this multichannel online marketing technique boAt reaches out to its customers through its mobile application and SMS marketing.
b) Email marketing
boAt sends personalized messages to its existing and potential customers who agree to share their email to receive updates from the brand. They send quirky, catchy, and crisp emails which get an audience. Whether it is updating the audience about a new product, offers and discounts, sales or communicating their message.
c) Social media marketing
boAt has a presence on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn brand creates:
Unique hashtags:-
-#whatfloatsyourboat
-#boatheads
-#trebelwithboat
-#levelupwithboat
-#raisethebar
Instagram stories:-
Brand illustrations have been made and shared on Instagram stories, and Instagram videos and get the attention of comic lovers and the gen-z audience the most and are getting a niche audience of their own to integrate the product with the culture and lives of skaters, street artists, and more.
Youtube video
Kiana Advani, Bani J, Raja Kumari and other strong women out there with an upbeat music video with the title "I am a rebel" song. The range of TRebel has a direct link to the marketing campaign. Digital marketing help boAt to reach a massive audience at the right time.
7. Event Marketing
Boat also adopts an event marketing strategy where it is promoting its brand at various live events. Event marketing is a great way of promoting a brand to a large audience, and even you can directly interact with them. Do collaboration with the most famous events to showcase its brand.
a. boat x IPL
boAt announced their official partnership with six IPL teams this season in 2022 – Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, and Mumbai Indians.
boAt also launched limited-edition earphones, headphones, and speakers inspired by the insignia and design theme of the teams, to truly bring the stadium home for cricket fans.
b. boat x Sunburn
When the product is about music brand music events? Sunburn is Asia’s largest music festival, and BoAt sponsors this event as well. The boat will be running a 360-degree marketing campaign for fans and musicophiles giving them a chance to attend all the Sunburn and Bollyboom concerts pan-India in 2019-2020.
c. boat x LFW
Boat is a part of the fashion event, which is Lakme fashion week. In the fashion event, the brand is promoting its product as a fashion accessory. The models walk the ramp wearing the Boat’s products on the ramp.
d. Republic day (boAt Made in India)
boAt grab a perfect moment to announce the launch of the following products which are Bassheads 100, Bassheads 152 and Rockerz 255 Pro starting from 27th January 2021. To fulfil the vision of 'make in India' and manufacture other mobile accessories in India, focusing on Atma Nirbhar Bharat's mission.
e. Two-way communication marketing
BoAt Sunburn Collaboration ( Sunburn festival in Goa - 2019). BoAt gives an experience to the people that they can't forget through concerts. Engaging the audiences in two-way communication marketing, the most common elements in all these partnerships, concerts and tours were photo booths and nirvana zones for the audience to be encouraged to participate.
The boAt shared the stories of its audiences on its official page on Instagram, making an emotional connection and building a loyal fan base for the brand. Through this, they generated buzz and gained media coverage.
8. Community-based marketing (#Amboathead)
Engaging the community on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and youtube by sharing the pictures clicked by them for their boAt products on their Instagram stories is a great way of building a good of the community; it also has its own hashtag, #Amboathead.
They also have giveaways for their products and contests to keep the relationship with an audience. The hashtag #IAmboAthead has more than 500 posts on Instagram. The boAt is surely building its own tribe.
Summary
BoAt’s marketing strategy has created a leading brand in Indian marketing. BoAt is providing not just a product but a value customer chain. BoAt offers its products in a way that doesn’t seem like they're selling a local product, but like they are creating a valuable product that makes the customers satisfied.
In this article, we have maintained some amazing marketing strategies that boAt is applying to capture the Indian market.
FAQ's on boAt:
BoAt was founded with the "sole aim of bringing affordable, durable, and fashionable audio products and accessories which is termed the mission and vision of Boat company.
boAt is a leading brand in the ear wear category that generated a profit of Rs 78.60 crore last year in FY21.
BoAt’s Most Selling Products in 2021- 2022 are
Bluetooth Earphones
Wireless Headphones
Smart Watch
Wireless Speakers
Mobile Accessories
