ZTE slammed for publicity stunt during Xi's US visit
Staff Reporter 2015-10-01 17:04
The ZTE smartphone on the table receiving Xi Jinping at the conference in Seattle. (Internet photo)
Chinese telecommunications company ZTE deserves criticism for pulling a publicity stunt during Chinese president Xi Jinping's appearance at an event in the United States last week, reports the technology website of Chinese online company Sina.
At the reception conference in Seattle for Xi's first US state visit (he previously visited California's Sunnyland ranch for an informal meeting with US president Barack Obama in 2013), a ZTE smartphone was photographed on top of a document printed with "Xi Jinping" in large font.
Despite the insinuation of ownership, it was later revealed that the phone was strategically placed there by ZTE North American sales manager Wang Lijiang as part of a marketing stunt.
It is not a smart strategy from a marketing angle, Sina said, though it has indeed generated a lot of publicity. However, once consumers discover it is a hoax and that Xi does not actually own a ZTE phone, it can become very difficult to rebuld their trust, Sina added.
ZTE had previously been the fortuitous recipient of free publicity when Xi's first lady, Peng Liyuan, was photographed using a ZTE smartphone in Europe last year.
ZTE's performance has not been smooth in recent years. Apart from several leadership changes, the company has found itself gradually marginalized in the telecom equipment industry, with its smartphones largely dependent on overseas markets as poor sales in China have pushed it way down the domestic smartphone rankings.
Following the emergence of Xiaomi Technology and the breakthrough of Huawei, ZTE's domestic ranking continued to fall, and such a performance is closely related to its marketing strategy, Sina said.
First, ZTE smartphones have in recent years simply followed the overall trend, without presenting some outstanding flagship models to dinstinguish itself from other ordinary smartphone manufacturers. Comparatively, Huawei smartphones have unique innovations in functions, while Xiaomi smartphones are comparatively cheap despite similar specifications.
Second, ZTE has fallen into pricing wars with competitors in the mainstream market, denting not just income and profits but also leading to restricted research and development and promotional spending. Over time, the company is losing its long-term competitiveness.
Moreover, after the traditional sales channels of telecom carriers have gradually weakened, Huawei and Xiaomi have aggressively built up their internet sales channels and their own sales networks. ZTE, on the other hand, has done almost nothing to respond to market changes.
While ZTE remains one of the world's top four telecom equipment providers and its smartphones are still ranked among the nation's top tier, the company will continue to risk disaster unless its management team can make serious improvements to its product innovation and marketing, Sina said.
