Lowe Lintas to handle Xiaomi India's creative duties

The account will be managed by the agency's Bangalore office.

Lowe Lintas, the creative agency of MullenLowe Lintas Group – India, has bagged the creative mandate of Xiaomi India. The account will be handled by the agency's Bangalore office.

Speaking about the win, Raj Gupta, CEO, Lowe Lintas, says in a company statement, “It is a proud privilege for us at Lowe Lintas to be chosen by Xiaomi... We will strive to reinforce this love and get more consumers to fall in love with Xiaomi.”

Hari Krishnan, president, Lowe Lintas – South, adds, “Xiaomi is a part of our case study to prospective partners as a perfect example of a challenger brand. A brand that has become the leader by not just talking innovation, but by living it. We are, like millions around the world, fans of Xiaomi. And it is truly a pleasure and privilege when you get to chart the course of a brand that you really look up to. This win, is special!”

Commenting on the appointment of Lowe Lintas, Xiaomi Spokesperson says, “...In Lowe Lintas, with its irrefutable experience and expertise in building lasting brands, we have found a perfect partner for the task at hand.”

A quick look at Xiaomi's journey in India so far: Headquartered in Bengaluru, the four year-old Chinese handset brand entered the Indian market in July 2014, and has adopted an interesting marketing strategy since. To begin with, Xiaomi tied up with e-commerce brand Flipkart and quickly built a consumer base on the back of its flash sales that reportedly crashed Flipkart's servers; ten thousand units were put up for sale initially. This strategy became popular and was widely analysed by marketing gurus. After sticking to a bold 'online only' sales strategy for three years, the brand entered the retail space in May last year.

The brand, led by Jabong founder Manu Kumar Jain in India (he is vice president, Xiaomi and managing director, Xiaomi India), launched its first TVC, well after most of its rival brands did, in September 2017; the campaign was created by Famous Innovations. Around the same time, Xiaomi announced an association with Hrithik Roshan's HRX for its ‘Mi Band’. Katrina Kaif currently endorses the brand's Redmi Y series. The brand, by the way, has consistently invested in print ads.

As per the IDC's (International Data Corporation) November 2017 figures, Xiaomi is the fastest growing handset brand in India and is giving stiff competition to Samsung. Other rival brands include names like Oppo, Vivo and Gionee, among several others; all have one thing in common – high decibel television-led advertising. Will Xiaomi's association with Lowe Lintas change its advertising, media and marketing outlook?

Recall that last October, the brand's Rs. 100 crore media account went to Madison.

A look at the ads released by Xiaomi so far: