You're in charge of HTC. What to do going forward?

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Zaap

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2008
7,162
424
126
Yes, but it doesn't have to be so damn expensive.
If they really spent a billion then they got massively ripped off.

I think even Samsung and Apple only spend about half that advertising their entire smartphone line.

HTC just seems to have terrible leadership..
 

blairharrington

Senior member
Jan 1, 2009
767
0
71
And that's why we're typing these out on our Surfaces, right?

Having the best product for well over a year after the S2 release is the main reason Samsung is #1. Yeah, they used advertising to leverage that...

The Active and S5 are the first screens from this series that didn't make me wince. Obviously the S series has been a huge hit for Samsung but I honestly don't think those phone were significantly better than the Android competition. What sets Samsung apart in this fight is their name and how they advertise and market their product.
 

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
6,674
7
76
No they didn't. 1 billion was allegedly spent on the campaign he was headlining. His fee wasn't 1 billion dollars. It was 12 million for 2 years.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/21/robert-downey-jr-teaming-up-with-htc-in-12-million-deal
Cool.
So he charged HTC $1 billion to run a campaign he headed that didn't do anything except run about 4 different ads(which are all on YouTube) and pocketed $12 million for himself?

At this point, it's cheaper to just pay celebrities 6-7 figures to take a selfie like Samsung is paying them now.
It costs much less money, and you generate a lot of buzz.
 

SymphonyX7

Member
Oct 1, 2009
35
0
0
I don't know what HTC is doing in the USA, but they're doing really bad here in South East Asia. Doesn't matter which country you go to -- Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. Less and less stores are carrying HTC devices and HTC concept stores have closed down. The biggest problem I see for HTC here is their pricing. Their cheapest starts at around $200. That's not a good way to get market share. Another part of the problem specific to this region is the availability of "rebranded" OEM devices from China. For about $250 to $300 unlocked, you can get a MediaTek-powered phone (specifically the MTK6592) which has the bells and whistles of upper-mid range phones which cost over $450. 1080p display, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB ROM, 13 megapixel Sony Exmor RS camera with f2.0 lens, expandable storage, etc., all for around $300.

The first thing I'd do is restructure the product line-up and pricing. HTC has virtually zero presence in the low-end and their midrange line-up has terrible pricing due to poor specs. There are more than one ways to differentiate on Android, but completely ignoring specs is not the way to go. Apparently, HTC thinks they can sell poorly specced devices at premium prices simply because of a more premium build. Also, HTC has yet to create a brand image that can command such a price premium. A more robust spec sheet takes priority over finish and build at lower prices, especially if you don't have the "pedigree" of brands like Sony or Nokia.

Take the HTC Desire 610 and 700 for example. Their street prices here are around $340 and $420 respectively. You compare it to offerings from Sony, Samsung, Huawei and other competing international brands at the same price range and hardware-wise, they get trounced hard. And compared to rebranded phones at half their price, they still get trounced!
 
Last edited:

blairharrington

Senior member
Jan 1, 2009
767
0
71
Cool.
So he charged HTC $1 billion to run a campaign he headed that didn't do anything except run about 4 different ads(which are all on YouTube) and pocketed $12 million for himself?

At this point, it's cheaper to just pay celebrities 6-7 figures to take a selfie like Samsung is paying them now.
It costs much less money, and you generate a lot of buzz.

What are you talking about? HTC made the decision to spend a billion on a campaign. Not Downey. HTC decided to have Downey be the face of said campaign. I have no idea if those ads were shown beyond YouTube. I'm assuming they were.

I'm also not saying HTC made a smart move. In fact those Downey ads are shit IMO. Marketing is a clear weakness for HTC. Even the Oldman ads aren't that good.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
I'm also not saying HTC made a smart move. In fact those Downey ads are shit IMO. Marketing is a clear weakness for HTC. Even the Oldman ads aren't that good.
They apparently just hired a big former Samsung marketing honcho. Should have spent the $12 million on *him* last year.
 

desura

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2013
4,627
129
101
HTC will be making an 8 inch Nexus Tablet. http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20140421PD204.html They followed my advice. :)

yes, that is a good step. probably the best thing they can do right now is to dominate the Google nexus line.

Overall what they need to do is to stop with conventional advertising campaigns like the Downey campaign, and focus more placement that carries a halo effect, like building a Nexus device, or even having product placement in action shows like 24
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
having product placement in action shows like 24
Did you see the new Captain HTC movie?

Anyway, the Nexus will fail if it's too large and heavy ("premium metal") like previous HTC attempts.