Lava doubles down on social media influencers for the Blaze X launch

New Delhi: Indian smartphone brand Lava has announced the launch of its new model, Blaze X, with Gautam Gambhir as the face of it. This comes on the heels of their recent sports sponsorships like the Kings XI Punjab IPL team and the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series.

Targeting young consumers aged between 18-35, "this launch marks a broader strategic shift at Lava towards distinct smartphone series," said Lava's Marketing Head, Purvansh Maitreya.  

"Over the past couple of years, we have undergone a transition in our approach, launching three new smartphone series as part of our 2.0 journey. Each series — Yuva, Blaze, and Agni — offers a specific set of features designed to meet the needs of different types of users," Maitreya elaborated. 

Because Blaze X is made for a younger audience, Maitreya shared Lava’s digital-first content strategy with BestMediaInfo.com.

Lava acknowledges the importance of reaching its target audience online -- where they spend most of their time. Their digital focus includes strategic partnerships with YouTube influencers, Google, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), and payment aggregators like PhonePe. These collaborations ensure Lava's messaging reaches young consumers across various online platforms, from cricket matches live-streamed on YouTube and social media to product reviews and unboxings by popular tech influencers.

“These collaborations ensure Lava's messaging reaches young consumers across various online platforms, be it product reviews, unboxing videos by popular tech influencers and others,” said Maitreya. 

Lava is also partnering with popular YouTuber Saurabh Joshi for the Yuva series, specifically targeted at extremely young users.  

“This multi-pronged approach allows Lava to leverage the trust and influence these online personalities hold with their viewers, fostering a more personal connection with potential customers,” added Maitreya.

By understanding the power of online influencers and strategically utilising online platforms, Lava positions itself as a brand that resonates with the aspirations of young India. As Maitreya summarised their approach, “We are seeing that most of the marketing mix has moved online. But we never shy away from any platform.”

Lava International has released a digital film starring Gautam Gambhir for the launch of Blaze X.

The film: 

The film conceptualised and created by 82.5, an Ogilvy company, is laced with humour to create excitement amongst the audiences for the new phone designed and manufactured in India.

The campaign #BlazekaCraze aims to celebrate and connect with the fans of Lava Blaze, a series featuring prominent hits like Lava Blaze Curve, Lava Blaze Pro 5G, Lava Blaze 2 5G and Blaze 5G.

In the campaign, the brand has taken a creative leap where people, feeling betrayed by their currently owned phones when compared to Blaze X resort to violently breaking them.

The brand believes that Gautam Gambhir comes across as a very apt choice for the campaign as he is known for his aggressive demeanour and an upfront on-field persona.

The film unfolds in two parts – the first segment introduces Gambhir in an unusual temperament, creating inquisitiveness among the viewers. The second segment reveals the features of the new Lava Blaze X which is the brand’s latest offering to Blaze fans.

The first part:

Maitreya said, "The thought behind the campaign 'Blaze ka Craze' was to connect with the young audience of Blaze series and introduce a product that is powerful, great looking and a true value for money. The film rightly captures the excitement amongst the fans for the new Blaze X. I am grateful to Gautam for his support to Lava and the fans of Blaze series.” 

Chandana Agarwal, President - North & East, said, 'Lava is all set to change expectations from a phone, Blaze X is a perfect demonstration of this ambition, Gautam Gambhir, an epitome of discipline and prescriptive behaviour, is used bring alive the impact of this craze."

82.5 communication, Chief Creative Officer, Anuraag Khandelwal, commented, " It was a perfect collaborative effort between the client and us to create something clutter-breaking for a fantastic product like the Lava Blaze X. We wanted to do something that'll create conversations and buzz on social, so we went crazy, the passionate people at Lava backed it and Blaze ka Craze cha Gaya!"

The film will be promoted across digital platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

While digital platforms put forward challenges in the form of algorithmic pushes, e-commerce sales sprees offer a great opportunity to achieve marketing goals. Although “a 40–50% increase in ad rates” is expected during the festive season, “We will continue to partner with Amazon for our exclusive model launches and also increase our reach to other platforms for advertising campaigns," said Maitreya, reflecting on Lava making the most of its marketing mix. 

Agency credits:

• Kiran Ramamurthy - Chief Executive Officer
• Anuraag Khandelwal – Chief Creative Officer
• Chandana Agarwal – President North & East

Creative Team

• Preeta Mathur – Executive Creative Director
• Hemant Vashista – Creative Director
• Siddharth Kutty - Creative Controller
• Mansi Choksi - Associate Creative Director

Production House: Roger That

• Director: Venky Puthran
• DOP: Anurag Solanki