LG Electronics’ Bluetooth Headset called “TONE’ Series passed 10 million in global accumulated sale last month. TONE Series is a market guidance-style product that pioneered ‘Neckband Bluetooth Headset’. I’ve met TONE Series global marketing leaders who captured 10 million citizens of the world by overcoming non-professional audio brand.
Department Head Oh Sae Chul of LG Electronics’ MC Business Headquarters’ IPD Business 1st Team summed up that secret of TONE Series’ success is due to victory of form factor. Form factor indicated hardware’s structure or arrangement, and TONE’s strength is its design that overcame previous headset’s inconvenience by neckband. He introduced that TONE’s appeal is its emphasis on usability that makes one to think whether or not he or she is wearing a headset.
Reaction came from everywhere especially from Saudi Arabia, where it is prohibited to play music in public places and people felt inconvenience when they wore headsets due to Islam’s indigenous clothes. This is why Saudi Arabia emerged as the third biggest market after the U.S. and Korea.
Assistant Director Park Do Young of IPD Business 1st Team added that they received praises not just from people who are in their 20s and 30s, whom they targeted at first, but also from older people, public areas, children, women, and etc.
Marketing strategy sublated material superiority and utilized online blogs and PPL. Section Chief Lee Ju Ho of LG Electronics’ HE Business Headquarters’ CAV Marketing Team said that they made people aware their products by making customers assimilate the use of TONE in daily lives and helped them to visit their stores. He also said that constant expansion of contacts with their customers helped them a lot.
They were able to overcome limitation that it is not an audio professional brand in American market by using standard tactic. Assistant Director Park said that they only focused on basic such as convenience. By utilizing characteristic of American mobile stores where they sell both cellphones by bundling, they emphasized on advantages that can be used in all Smartphones, application of Harman audio technology, exclusive app ‘TONE & TALK’, and convenience. It also increased distribution channels by adjusting to characteristic of American market for long period of time.
They corresponded firmly against ‘War against Fake Products’. Section Chief Lee said that they are implementing education targeting Korean and foreign customs because there are an increase number of illegal copies. He also announced that they are going to continuously push for Use of Real Product Campaign that promotes benefits of purchasing real products. This is all happening because they think that competitor’s imitation and fake products are disturbing the market as TONE’s popularity is increasing.
They all said that biggest strength came from their desires to make products that are not in the market. While TONE is keeping its share of 40% in American Bluetooth headset market, its sales volume is continuously increasing as well. Department Head Oh said that the reason how it jumped to number 2 after securing its combined share of 13.3% in all wired and wireless headphones and headsets in last April is by walking on roads where others have not walked on before.
There is green light in their future business because there seems to be continuous growth as market investigative company called Strategy Analytics is predicting that Bluetooth headset market will continuously grow 2 to 4% every year.
Staff Reporter Seo, Hyeongseok | hsseo@etnews.com