Q] You’ve reintroduced Katrina Kaif as your brand ambassador. What influenced your decision to bring her back? Tell us more about this partnership.
Katrina Kaif’s persona and hard-working nature align really well with us. We first partnered with her in 2017, during Xiaomi’s transition from an online-only brand to retail. She joined us in November 2017 and worked with us until 2019, helping us achieve the perfect balance between online and retail presence. Now, as we shift focus to more premium categories across phones, TVs, and tablets, we are rekindling this partnership for the next phase of our journey.
Q] You mentioned that you have joined hands with Katrina for your journey towards premiumisation. What are the other steps that you are taking in this journey?
Our view of premiumisation goes beyond just increasing prices. Over these last couple years, we have been closely monitoring consumer preferences. Post-pandemic, we have seen several changes taking place. The Indian market is now aligning more with global trends, making this the right time to introduce our Xiaomi flagship series, including TVs and the Xiaomi Pad line, which have performed well globally. The first step in addressing premium customers is offering even better products at competitive price points. On top of that, we are expanding our AIoT range, not just focusing on core products but also on smart home solutions. Globally, Xiaomi is a major player in the AIoT space with over 800 million users, known for products that seamlessly connect. Our philosophy of “Human x Car x Home” reflects our vision of offering high-quality devices for personal use, smart home integration, and, eventually, cars, to enhance your life at home, on the road, or at work.
Q] Could you describe your marketing mix and how it aligns with your overall strategy?
We place our marketing mix around consumer patterns. In the early years of our journey, we focused on early tech adopters. And to reach them, we largely worked with our media friends to pass on our message. From 2017 to last year, I would say we were in the transition phase. During this timeframe, we expanded beyond basic digital and social promotions and went on to include BTL activities like tabletop displays and branding in multi-brand outlets. Our branded outlets have played a key role in our journey, offering a unique consumer experience with a wide product range. This transition also taught us a lot about retail consumer behavior and decision-making. Today, we tailor our marketing based on the product line and consumer. We use platform marketing for top-of-the-funnel awareness, especially for premium products like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which needs to reach new audiences. But for well-established mid-range products, we focus more on performance marketing across Google, Meta, and Mi.com, which continues to perform strongly. We have also increased our ATL efforts, particularly for premium products, investing in outdoor media at key locations like airports and cinemas. Then, we timed cinema ads with successful movie releases, achieving about an 80% hit rate. And obviously, traditional TV, radio, and print remain essential, especially during festive seasons. This year, we increased our ad spends by around 50% more than the last year.
Q] We are in the heart of the festive season. Do you have any special campaigns or initiatives lined up for this period?
We have a few fairly big campaigns lined up for this period, and we are investing a lot in marketing. We are ramping up our marketing efforts because our offers and products this year are valued at nearly INR 1,000 crore, marking our largest initiative to date. We are focusing on a campaign talking about our premiumisation drive, helping us revamp our brand archetype. We’ve noticed that many of our consumers view Xiaomi products as almost magical. To quote Arthur C. Clarke, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” A great example of this is when we introduced our robot vacuum cleaners, people were amazed at how they could map entire homes, clean efficiently, and mop—almost like magic. With so many innovative products, we are transitioning our brand into the “magician” space. To mark this shift, we’re launching the “Bring Magic Home” campaign, just in time for the festive season. This is the best time to get our advanced products, with generous offers on Mi.com. Plus, there’s a chance to win every minute throughout the festival. With increased visibility and great deals, we hope more people will experience the magic of Xiaomi.
Q] You’ve mentioned the magic of technology frequently. How are you infusing that sense of magic into your premium tablets?
When we launched our first tablet in India, around 2016-2017, we realised that the industry wasn’t ready for it. But then in 2022, we introduced our Pad 5 in the Indian market. We believe that tablets will be the future of computing. Tablets have become more productive and creative tools in recent years, offering more than phones, although each has its own purpose. Phones are portable, while tablets offer a more relaxed, sit-down experience. The key is how well they work together. With the recent HyperOS update, you can seamlessly move data between HyperOS devices. For example, you can take a photo on your phone and instantly transfer it to your tablet. The goal is to make workflows more efficient, and the future of computing seems to be moving in this direction. The magic lies in this seamless integration.
Q] You held the position of market leader in the smartphone category in India in the Q2 of 2024 and are performing well globally as well. What strategies are you employing to maintain this leadership?
I wouldn’t really say that we are the global market leaders. We have just reached the number two level at the global stage. In India, it’s been on and off at the top position, but here, we are not actively focusing on the position. To be the brand of choice, we must focus on getting the fundamentals right, creating top-quality products, and effectively reaching consumers across all price ranges. Market positions are less important to us than ensuring we are moving in the right direction.
PROFILE
Anuj Sharma is the Chief Marketing Officer at Xiaomi India. He has spearheaded the transformation of the brand into a household name within the competitive Indian market. He also took charge of POCO India as the Country Director, where he managed the entire product and marketing portfolio at POCO before coming back to Xiaomi India. An industry veteran, Sharma comes with a rich experience of over 16 years. He started his career at Wipro Technologies and has also led marketing positions in renowned organizations such as Lenovo Smartphones and Motorola.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Xiaomi is a consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an IoT platform at its core. The company has also established the world’s leading consumer AIoT (AI+IoT) platform, with 589 million smart devices connected to its platform as of December 31, 2022, excluding smartphones, tablets and laptops. Xiaomi products are present in more than 100 countries and regions around the world.
