Gionee Ropes in Virat Kohli as Brand Ambassador in India

[Toshi Tandon]

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee has roped in Virat Kohli (the captain of Indian cricket team) as its brand ambassador. This move will increase its presence in India. Currently, the Indian market is being dominated by multinational companies where the Chinese smartphone makers are having the lion’s share.

Gionee’s New Brand Ambassador:

Gionee Communication has already got its first made-in-India smartphone (Gionee F103) manufactured from a Foxconn plant in SriCity, Andhra Pradesh. And the company is looking to double its market share by March, from about 5% six months ago. Though Gionee did not disclose the contract value for Virat Kohli, it has concrete plans to increase the number of retail stores in India from the current 100 to 500.

Announcing the partnership, Mr. Arvind R Vohra, Country CEO & MD, Gionee India, said: “Gionee takes immense pride in having India’s biggest youth icons Virat Kohli and Alia Bhatt as its brand endorsers. With the two of the most loved icons in India, our motto of Making Smiles is bound to create a new benchmark across billions of young hearts.”

Aiming to reach a larger target audience base, the Shenzhen-headquartered smartphone maker is increasing its marketing budget. Earlier, the Gionee has been signed the “Udta Punjab” actress Alia Bhatt for endorsing Gionee brand for two years. Furthermore, the company has spent about ₹200 crore during Diwali festival in 2016.

Brand Virat Kohli:

Coming to Virat Kohli, everything seems to going fine for this Indian International cricketer. First, he bagged cap of the captain of Indian cricket test team and now he will lead the team in all formats of the game.

As a brand ambassador, Virat Kohli has endorsement deals with 24 brands including Adidas, Audi, Boost, Cinthol, Colgate-Palmolive, Fair & Lovely, Fastrack, Flying Machine, Herbalife, Manyavar, Mattel Toys, MRF, Nestle Munch, Nitesh Estates, Oakley, PepsiCo, Red Chief Shoes, Sangam Suitings, Smaaash, Tissot, Toyota Motors, TVS Motors, United Spirits, and Vicks.