HTC 2015 Annual Report Download - page 24

Business operations
Business operations
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2015 was an exciting and pivotal year for HTC as we expanded from producing and marketing
world-class smartphones into the exciting technology of connected devices and virtual reality,
withleadingedgeproductoeringsintheUAHealthBox™andtheHTCVive™respectively.We
are strategically reinforcing the HTC brand across existing smartphones, while also leveraging
our brand’s reputation into new product categories. Our entry into these new and high growth
categories provides us with fertile opportunities to augment the HTC brand story and introduce
ourbrandtoentirelynewconstituencies.Morethanever,asweworktobuildourfuture,we
revisit the defining touchstones that have built and sustained us through both rapid growth and
challenging times: meaningful technological innovations, beautiful design, and outstanding user
experiences. Through our growing product portfolio and increasing diversity of our product
audiences, we aim to increase brand awareness and build greater confidence among current and
new HTC customers.
Smartphones
Bystreamliningoursmartphonelineup,wecreatedathree-familyproductstrategy(HTC
flagship, HTC One, and HTC Desire families) to simplify and bring brand messaging into align-
ment, and enable us to better target and communicate selectively with our audiences. As smart-
phones are become increasingly perceived as commoditized, we continue to dierentiate, evolve
and articulate HTC’s brand meaning to oer the market an appealing and unique identity. The
HTC brand continues to reflect this through ever emotionally relevant, relatable and creative
ways via messaging and consistent experiences.
FortheHTCOneM9launch,wedevelopedanewcampaignentitled,“WeAreOne,”which
leveraged the power of storytelling to amplify the message of our connectiveness to each other.
The social video campaign was eective at capturing real life, and served to get viewers
connectedonanemotionallevelwithHTC.Usingthehashtag‘#HTCOneMoment’,oursocial
postsengagedtop-performingorganiccontentoftheyear.TheHTCOneM9wasportrayedas
the critical lifestyle tool that enables profound human connection. We succeeded in hitting a
nerve with the market and elicited positive engagement and interactions with our target, with
more than 280,000 comments in social media channels. Additionally, key members of HTC’s
super-fancommunity,HTCElevate,wereseatedinthefrontrowofthelauncheventatMobile
World Congress 2015, followed thereafter by a larger meet-up that brought our most passionate
fans together on the day of our big launch, making the magic of our announcements palpable,
real and shareable.
InOctober,weintroducedtheHTCOneA9,ourmid-tiersmartphone,withthecampaign
theme:‘BeBrilliant.’TheHTCOneA9wastherstsmartphoneinthemarkettofeaturethe
latestGoogleMarshmallowOS.Ourstrategydeneditasarealalternativetotheusual
competitive oerings; we created a smartphone that brings together the best of HTC with
GoogleAndroid,andgrantsusersabilitytobettercontroltheirsmartphoneexperience.Inorder
to drive awareness and appeal of the HTC One A9 with the media and consumer market, we
teamed up with the Tidal music streaming service, celebrating their one millionth subscriber,
social influencer outreach, including several featured musicians tweeting on behalf of the HTC
OneA9andourlaunch.Thishighlyanticipated,sell-outconcertheldattheBarclaysCenterin
New York harnessed extraordinary global attention, and in using the universal appeal of live
music as a way to showcase the HTC One A9’s superior sound quality, camera and design, we
receivedmorethantwicethecoverageoftheHTCOneM9launch.
OursocialmediaobjectivewastocreatepassionatesocialconversationsaroundtheHTCOne
A9.WecreatedconversationsfortheHTCOneA9launchunderthehashtag‘#BeBrilliant’,and
naturally brought this brand message to life in social media as a series that evolved into a more
feature-forward iteration, illustrating how the HTC One A9 enables users to pursue their
brilliance and their own passions.
Connected Devices
HTC’s connected device product strategy was reimagined in
2015 with the partnership with leading sports brand Under
Armour®. Working closely, HTC teamed up our world-class
design and engineering and innovative approach to product
development with Under Armour’s rapidly growing power
brand in, and in-depth knowledge of, the health and fitness market. The first product of that
collaboration,theUAHealthBox,launchedattheConsumerElectronicsShowinJanuary2016,
and has built a strong brand presence in the connected health devices market, by
providing comprehensive holistic information to users, help them be more productive, more
resultsoriented,andinshort,maketheirpersonaltnessmorebrilliant.TheUAHealthBox
earned16awardsatCESandconsiderablepraisefrommediaandindustry,especiallyasit
competes with more established brands.
TheUAHealthBoxconsistsofatnessband(UABand™),UAheartratemonitor(UAHeart
Rate™),andasmartscale(UAScale™),acomprehensive,elegantlydesigneddigitaldashboard
that brings all goals and data into an actionable plan of fitness, sleep, activity and nutrition.
ThesethreedevicesallconnectedwithUARecord™,thatarmsuserswiththeinformationthey
need to create the lives they desire.
BrandbuildingisstronglysupportedthroughHTCsocialchannels.Topromotetheproduct
launch at CES, we published a mix of product info, video content, sponsored athlete mentions,
and awards highlights. Through launch week, our potential reach spiked over 18 million, and
customer and press responses were positive.
Virtual Reality
HTCVive™isthenewvirtualreality(VR)productthathassetthestandardfortheindustryto
follow.DevelopedinpartnershipwithValve®,theleadingbrandinPCgaming,Viveistheonly
room-scale consumer VR device on the market today. Acknowledging the critical importance of