Although OPPO, the Chinese mobile manufacturers, have been a part of Pakistan’s mobile phone industry since 2014, it took the recent launch of their dual selfie camera smartphone, the F3 Plus and F3, to prompt them to actively start to advertise their brand.

In a market that accounts for over 140 million mobile phone users, currently only 16 million access the internet through their mobile phones (source: We are Social, StatCounter, 2015), indicating the huge growth potential of the smartphone market. Hardly surprising then that the number of smartphone internet users is predicted to rise to 110 million by 2019 (source: PhoneWorld, 2015).

According to George Long, CEO, OPPO Pakistan, the company has identified that “celebrating life and experiences through selfies has become an intrinsic part of young people’s lifestyles – and they comprise a huge part of our key target audience.”

Hence the launch of the F3 Plus and F3, as both will cash in on the selfie trend among young people. A quick look at the statistics indicates that this was indeed a smart move; of the 40 million smartphone users in Pakistan, 64% have photo and video apps on their phone. Furthermore, 77% of these users are in the 21 to 30 age bracket (source: Grappetite, 2015).

OPPO’s portfolio also includes the N1, F1 series and A57 – all introduced in 2016. Each of these is a selfie phone and all are still very much in demand; however, the F3 Plus and F3 have gone a step further by adding a dual selfie camera feature, which includes a 16- megapixel front camera for solo selfie shots and a 120-degrees wide-angle front camera for group selfies. The F3 Plus is priced at Rs 49,899 and the F3 at Rs 29,899. The main difference between the two is in the specifications of the processors used.

OPPO is confident that they are providing the best value proposition for their customers in terms of design, user experience, customer-focused product development and service. They are also committed to innovating selfie technology because at the core of the company’s culture is the mission to innovate in line with customer feedback.

According to Long, price was never a concern; the company are confident that they are providing the best value proposition for their customers in terms of design, user experience, customer-focused product development and service. He says that OPPO is committed to innovating selfie technology because at the core of the company’s culture is the mission to innovate in line with customer feedback.

“We believe that with OPPO’s pursuit of photography technologies, the F3 and F3 Plus will take the lead in the group selfie trend, just as their predecessors did in the solo selfie trend.”

Apart from providing the capability to take group selfies without using a selfie stick, the beautify function has been upgraded to enable customised preferences in terms of facial features, contours, tone and scenes.

“Making the selfie and group selfie experience more personalised, and therefore, perfect for our customers will be an ongoing challenge as the selfie trend becomes even bigger, not just in Pakistan, but globally as well.” In this regard, Long says that continuous innovation by working with customers to develop and deliver new products will help the company in bringing out new camera phones with better features. He adds that over 100 million young people across the world use OPPO camera phones; in targeting the young in Pakistan, the company has a clear strategy and will primarily promote the brand through activations.

In 2016, the company chose Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor as their brand ambassadors in India and this year, they have selected Deepika Padukone. In Pakistan, the brand ambassador will be Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, thereby adding a fashion statement to the brand persona of the F3 series. Other celebrities associated with the brand include Farhan Saeed, Momina Mustehsan, Sana Sarfaraz, Sarah Sarfaraz and Urwa Hocane, all of whom were present at the launch in March.

OPPO has also entered into strategic partnerships with the organisers of entertainment and sports events as well as with channels such as Geo and Hum TV. In this way, the brand hopes to strengthen their attraction among the young.

Thanks to their key feature differentiators, OPPO are set to compete with the big names in the market, including Huawei, QMobile and Samsung. Going forward, Long sees Pakistan’s smartphone market having a huge growth potential. In his view, a great camera experience and the use of superior materials, such as Corning’s Gorilla Glass for the screen and VOOC (Voltage Open Loop Constant Current Charging) Flash Charge for the group selfie camera in the F3 series has helped OPPO stand out in the global market and will be the core advantage in Pakistan’s market as well.

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