How Aman Gupta's MARKETING STRATEGY turned Boat into a 1500CR Company : Business case study
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the remarkable success of Indian brand Boat in the hearable market, highlighting its market share dominance over competitors like Noise and Realme. It attributes Boat's success to strategic market positioning, celebrity endorsements, and lifestyle branding. The script also draws parallels with OnePlus's rise in the smartphone market, emphasizing the power of aspirational value and the importance of identifying market gaps. Business lessons from Boat's strategy are outlined, encouraging viewers to consider market research and the impact of endorsements in crowded markets.
Takeaways
- 📈 Boat achieved a dominant position in the Indian hearable market with a 35.8% market share, surpassing competitors like Noise, Realme, and others.
- 💡 Boat's success is attributed to its strategic market positioning, similar to OnePlus's strategy in the smartphone market, identifying a gap in the market and filling it with competitive products.
- 🌟 Celebrity endorsements played a crucial role in Boat's brand recognition and aspirational value, with Hardik Pandya's endorsement significantly boosting its appeal.
- 📊 The power of perceived value in a commoditized market was leveraged by Boat, as customers often judge products based on brand image and endorsements rather than tangible differences in quality.
- 🎧 Boat's entry into the hearable market was well-timed with the rise of wireless earphones' popularity, the increase in screen time due to the Jio wave, and the removal of earphones from smartphone packaging.
- 🔑 Product differentiation was key for Boat, as it identified an unaddressed price range between 2,000 to 5,000 rupees and offered quality products within this bracket.
- 🏆 Boat's initial success with the Boat Stone speaker, which gained popularity without celebrity endorsements, demonstrated the brand's ability to deliver quality products at accessible prices.
- 📚 Market research is emphasized as a critical step for any new product launch, especially in crowded markets, to identify gaps and opportunities for differentiation.
- 🤝 Strategic collaborations and partnerships, such as with celebrity designer Mazhabba Gupta and the brand Beira, helped Boat to enhance its lifestyle brand image and appeal to a broader audience.
- 📈 Boat's business strategy involved starting with a solid foundation of affordable products and gradually expanding into higher price ranges, ensuring a loyal customer base as they grow.
- 🚀 The case study of Boat serves as a lesson in market disruption, showing that even established markets can be challenged by new entrants with the right strategy and product offerings.
Q & A
What is the market share of Boat in the Indian true wireless stereo (TWS) market as of Q3 of 2021?
-As of Q3 of 2021, Boat holds a market share of thirty-five point eight percent (35.8%) in the Indian TWS market.
How does Boat's market share compare to its top three competitors combined in the TWS market?
-Boat's market share is more than the next three competitors combined, which includes Noise at seven point seven percent (7.7%), Realme at eight point one percent (8.1%), and Bolt at five point three percent (5.3%).
What was Boat's revenue in FY21 and by what percentage did their profits increase since FY20?
-Boat's revenue crossed fifteen hundred crores in FY21, and their profits increased by sixty-one percent (61%) since FY20.
What is the significance of celebrity endorsements in Boat's business strategy?
-Celebrity endorsements play a significant role in Boat's business strategy by creating an aspirational value for the brand, making it more familiar and trustworthy to consumers, which in turn helps to differentiate it in a crowded market.
How did Boat's market positioning strategy resemble the rise of OnePlus phones in India?
-Both Boat and OnePlus focused on addressing a large, untapped audience segment in the market by offering premium products at a more affordable price point, which was previously unaddressed by competitors.
What is the importance of the Boat Stone speakers in establishing Boat's brand?
-The Boat Stone speakers were significant in establishing Boat's brand as they became popular without the need for celebrity endorsements or fancy marketing strategies, proving the quality and value of Boat's products.
What is the role of perceived value in the marketing of audio devices like earphones?
-Perceived value is crucial in the marketing of audio devices because most consumers cannot discern the subtle differences in audio quality. Therefore, the perceived value, influenced by factors like celebrity endorsements and brand image, often dictates purchasing decisions.
How did Boat capitalize on the growing demand for wireless earphones in India?
-Boat capitalized on the growing demand for wireless earphones by entering the market at a time when there was a significant gap in the offerings between ultra-premium and sub-premium categories, allowing them to capture a large audience with their affordable yet high-quality products.
What is the strategy behind Boat's collaborations with celebrities and designers?
-Boat's collaborations with celebrities and designers aim to build an aspirational value for the brand, positioning it as a lifestyle choice and differentiating it from competitors in a commoditized market.
What lessons can entrepreneurs and students learn from Boat's success in the Indian hearable market?
-Entrepreneurs and students can learn the importance of market positioning, the power of perceived value, and the strategic use of celebrity endorsements to differentiate a brand in a crowded market from Boat's success.
How does the script suggest using market research to identify opportunities in a crowded market?
-The script suggests conducting thorough market research, specifically looking at price points and competitor offerings, to identify gaps and opportunities to differentiate a product or service in a crowded market.
Outlines
📈 Market Dominance of Boat in the Indian Hearable Market
Boat has achieved a remarkable position in the Indian startup ecosystem, particularly in the true wireless stereo (TWS) market. Within five years, it has surpassed competitors like Noise, Realme, and others with a market share of 35.8% as of Q3 2021. The company's revenue has crossed 1500 crores in FY21, with profits increasing by 61% since FY20. The video discusses Boat's business strategy and how it managed to carve out a significant market share in a crowded market. It draws a parallel with OnePlus's success in the smartphone market, emphasizing the importance of market positioning and branding.
🎧 Boat's Strategic Marketing and Celebrity Endorsements
Boat's success is attributed to its strategic marketing, including celebrity endorsements that have built an aspirational value for the brand. The comparison with OnePlus's marketing strategy highlights the power of positioning in a price gap within the market. Boat capitalized on the popularity of wireless earphones post-Jio's surge in India and the discontinuation of earphones in smartphone packaging. It filled a market gap in the sub-premium category with its affordable and quality products. Celebrity endorsements, such as Hardik Pandya's, have played a crucial role in making Boat a familiar and trusted brand, contributing to its market leadership.
🚀 Boat's Growth Strategy and Expansion into New Markets
The paragraph delves into Boat's growth strategy, emphasizing the importance of product quality and market timing. The brand's foundation was built on the success of its Boat Stone speakers, which gained popularity without celebrity endorsements, showcasing the brand's commitment to quality. Boat's strategy includes expanding its price range and entering new segments like smartwatches. The video also discusses the rivalry with Noise, another player in the market, which is also investing in building an aspirational value for its smartwatches. The narrative suggests that Boat's focus on lifestyle branding and strategic collaborations has been instrumental in its success.
📚 Key Business Lessons from Boat's Success Story
The final paragraph summarizes the key business lessons from Boat's success story. It advises entrepreneurs to differentiate their products in crowded markets, highlighting the importance of market research and identifying gaps. The paragraph also underscores the impact of celebrity endorsements in creating a brand's perceived value, which can be a game-changer in a commoditized market. Lastly, it encourages viewers to engage with the content and subscribe to the channel for more business and political case studies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Indian startup ecosystem
💡Market share
💡True Wireless Stereo (TWS)
💡IPO
💡Market positioning
💡Aspirational value
💡Commoditized market
💡Perceived value
💡Celebrity endorsement
💡Lifestyle brand
💡Product differentiation
Highlights
Boat has achieved a dominant market share of 35.8% in the Indian true wireless stereo (TWS) market, surpassing competitors like Noise, Realme, and Bolt.
Boat's revenue crossed 1,500 crores in FY 2021, with a 61% increase in profits since FY 20.
Boat's market positioning is likened to OnePlus's rise in the smartphone market, focusing on a gap in the market.
OnePlus's success is attributed to its strategic pricing and endorsement by Robert Downey Jr., creating an aspirational brand image.
Boat capitalized on the unaddressed market for wireless earphones in the 2,000 to 5,000 rupee price range.
Celebrity endorsements, such as Hardik Pandya's, have been pivotal in building Boat's brand and market presence.
Boat's perceived value, built through marketing and endorsements, has allowed it to charge a premium in a commoditized market.
Boat's strategy includes collaborations with celebrities and designers to enhance its lifestyle brand image.
The foundation of Boat's success was the Boat Stone speaker, which gained popularity without celebrity endorsements.
Boat's entry-level pricing strategy has allowed it to capture a wide customer base, increasing loyalty and future sales potential.
Boat is expanding its product range to higher price segments and entering the smartwatch market.
The rivalry between Boat and Noise, with Noise using similar strategies of celebrity endorsements, is intensifying.
Lesson one from the case study is the importance of market differentiation in crowded markets.
Lesson two emphasizes the impact of celebrity endorsements in creating a brand's perceived value.
The transcript suggests reading 'The Alchemist' by Rory Sutherland for further insights into marketing strategies.
Cuckoo FM is highlighted as a platform for learning business stories through audiobooks in various regional languages.
The offer of a discounted annual subscription to Cuckoo FM's content library is presented as a resource for knowledge acquisition.
Transcripts
hi everybody board is one of the most
incredible brands in the indian startup
ecosystem and the most astonishing thing
about this company is that within just
five years they have achieved such a
strong position in the market that if
you look at the tws or true wireless
stereo market as of q3 of 2021 while
bolt stands at five point three percent
noise stands at seven point seven
percent real me stands at eight point
one percent board stands way ahead with
a market share of thirty five point
eight percent which is literally more
than the next three competitors combined
on top of that the revenue of the
company has already crossed fifteen
hundred crores in fy twenty one and the
profits have already shot up by sixty
one percent since fy twenty now
considering the fact that boat is now
going for an ipo the question is how did
board achieve such an extraordinary
position in the crowded hearable market
of india what exactly was their business
strategy and as investors in students or
business what are the business lessons
that we need to learn from mr aman gupta
and his wonderful team at boat this
video is brought to you by cuckoo fm but
more on this at the end of the video
people one of the most important reasons
for both success is its genius market
positioning and if you look at the rise
of boat it is very very similar to the
rise of one plus phones in india now
many of you must have seen that there
was a time when the oneplus brand was
just one of the most functional
underrated brands in india and it is
only popular among tech enthusiasts but
suddenly with the launch of oneplus 7
the oneplus tag became one of the most
popular brands in india and you could
literally see oneplus 7 phones
everywhere in 2019. in fact at one point
in 2019 oneplus was selling more phones
than apple and samsung combined now the
question is in spite of the phone market
being so crowded with vivo oppo samsung
huawei and apple how did oneplus become
a legend the answer to this question
lies in this pricing chart
now if you look at the pricing of phones
in india back in 2019 you will see that
iphone was the costliest with the
pricing of 85 000 rupees then we had
samsung s10 priced at 55 000 rupees plus
and then straight away we had oppo v1
other companies that were primarily
focused on selling phones below 25 000
rupees now although they had costlier
phones in india the focus of these
companies was more on 25 000 rupees and
below that price range now you see there
is a huge gap that's left out between 25
000 rupees to 55 000 rupees which was
only being addressed by samsung then as
we all know samsung phones do not offer
as much as a value for money as its
counterparts and this audience ladies
and gentlemen was the most premium
unaddressed and more importantly a large
audience that was left untapped
and here's where we saw the rise of two
phones number one was xiaomi mi 9 and 31
000 rupees and one plus 7 that was
priced at 35 000 rupees and both these
phones positioned themselves exactly in
between 25 to 55 000 rupees price range
and they both had insane specs and
offered way more value for money as
compared to samsung phones now the
question is why didn't mi9 become a
market leader like oneplus
well that is because oneplus built a
crazy level of aspirational value for
its brand because of getting endorsed by
none other than robert downey jr himself
now i don't know how many of you noted
this but then in the exact same year the
avengers end game hype was at its peak
because when endgame was about to
release in 2019 and everybody knows what
an insane fan base robert downey jr has
in india and this aspirational value is
something where xiaomi lagged because of
which oneplus won a huge market share in
india in 2019. now i'm not saying that
everyone bought one plus phones because
of robert downey jr but the fact is that
the aspirational value that robert
downey jr's endorsement got to oneplus
got enough people to see oneplus as a
premium brand because of which it got
enough people to buy the phone after
that when people saw that the tech was
genuinely the best that you could find
in that range it eventually led to
positive word of mouth and hence oneplus
7 became one of the best selling phones
in india in 2019.
now if you own a oneplus you must have
also noticed that you actually
considered buying an iphone but when you
saw the stupendous difference between
the price of oneplus and an iphone
oneplus by default looked like an
obvious and the most comfortable choice
of all
therefore the oneplus brand was able to
build an aspirational value in the minds
of the premium customers in india
because of which it was able to beat
xiaomi and was able to tap into those
users who were premium customers but
could not buy an iphone now the question
over here is how is this related to boat
and what does oneplus position have to
do with board
well if you look closely
after apple introduced the airpods in
2016 three important things happened in
the exact same year there was a sudden
boost in the fascination of wireless
earphones number two the jio wave hit
india in 2016 that led to the
skyrocketing of the screen time of
indians and most importantly many many
phone manufacturers stopped shipping
earphones along with their smartphones
and if they did these earphones were the
most basic versions in the market
and all these three factors created a
huge market for hearable in india so
from 2017-18 onwards many many companies
started jumping into the hearables
market and if you look at the pricing
charts of the most popular brands in
2018 this is what it looks like first we
had the ultra premium wireless earphones
category wherein we had bose and apple
that had a base price of 17 000 and 15
000 respectively then in the premium
category that is between 10 to 15k we
had only jbl as a significant brand with
its pod version being priced at 10 000
rupees then for sub premium that is
between 5000 to 10 000 we had
sennheiser's wireless earphones that
started from 6400 rupees onwards
and below this price point that is below
5000 there was no giant brand and yet
there was a huge demand for wireless
earphones in india
and this is where we saw four brands
come in mivi priced at three to four
thousand rupees skull candy priced at
two thousand rupees onwards we had both
rockers at one triple nine and then we
had noise shots priced at three triple
nine
and then we had several local brands
including bolt that were priced at 999
rupees and below now the question over
here is with these four competitive
brands what was so special about boat
that it is now market leader by such a
huge margin
well there are two specific reasons for
that while skull candy was only popular
among enthusiasts and a very limited
segment of the audience the other brands
like me and bolt were barely known in
the market whereas
boat had become far more popular because
they had roped in hardik pandya in 2018
and this is where the power of celebrity
endorsement comes in just like robert
downey jr's endorsement brought in an
aspirational value for one plus hardik
pandey's endorsement by default built an
aspirational value for boat as a brand
as a result in the two to five thousand
rupees category board became far more
familiar than its counterparts now some
people might say bro just because some
celebrities endorsing why will we buy
earphones we are smart enough to make a
good choice without endorsements well
you know what guys here are some basics
of marketing for you a customer
knowingly or unknowingly determines the
value of a product based on two types of
values tangible value and perceived
value tangible value is the real value
of the product as in if the audio sounds
great in one earphone it has a great
tangible value and perceived value as
the name suggests is basically the
judgment that you make based on how the
product is portrayed for example if a
restaurant looks like this you
subconsciously assume that it has a
clean kitchen and in our case the fact
about audio devices especially earphones
is that only trained yours as in only
the people who are involved in video
editing or sound editing can actually
spot the intricate differences in audio
whereas the knife ears will not be able
to tell the difference in audio quality
between two devices
as a result you can barely spot the
difference between two products as a
result the entire audio market from the
customer standpoint is practically
commoditized and since there is no added
tangible value to the product that you
can spot the only value by which you
will judge an audio product like your
phone is by perceived value so if i
place two earphones one of some random
brand and the other that is being
endorsed by hardik pandya you are more
likely to trust the latter than the
former even if you are not a diehard
hardik pandya fan so the only delta that
inclines you to purchase a product like
your phone is the perceived value of the
product now just to give you an idea
about how super powerful this is here's
some simple math
merely because of celebrity endorsement
if boat is able to charge an average
premium of just 200 rupees extra per
product here's what it looks like
with 16.6 million tws units shipped this
year and with boat having 35.8 market
share board would have shipped close to
59 lakh units
so if they got you to pay an average
premium of 200 rupees per product due to
celebrity endorsement
boat has already made 118 crores extra
in revenue fun fact is that the profit
of the company in fy21 itself is 78.6
crores
this is the power of building a
perceived value in a crowded
commoditized market this is the reason
why boat obsessively focuses on
presenting itself as a lifestyle brand
to build an aspirational value for
itself both with endorsements and design
so after hardik pandya they also roped
in risha panth shikhar dhavan bhumra and
prithi shawn 2019 followed by neha kakar
kiara advani and karthik aryan after
that they also signed up shreya shair
2020. secondly boat also collaborated
with celebrity designer mazhaba gupta to
launch a limited edition collection of
spunky headphones at the lakme fashion
week 2020 and now they're also
collaborating with beera which is again
one of the most favorite millennial
brands in india this is how just like
oneplus was able to present itself as a
far more premium product far more
familiar product as compared to xiaomi
mi 9
both through its collaborations has been
able to build the same aspiration value
to stand out from the rest of the crowd
and we also know from the jockey case
study how powerful this aspirational
value building is and secondly one of
the most underrated reasons for boat
success was also the foundation they
laid with an insane product called boat
stone and these speakers are by far one
of the best bluetooth portable speakers
in the market
and the reason why this is such a big
deal is because both stone became
popular without celebrity endorsements
or any fancy marketing strategy during
that time while jbl flip was priced at
four thousand nine ninety nine rupees
boston was priced at just two thousand
rupees and to my knife years both
sounded as good as jbl this is the
reason why boat is standing tall in
spite of powerful players like real me
and oneplus in the market
and even today at the entry level in the
earphones market boat is still priced at
a bare minimum of 299 rupees because of
which a student is more likely to buy a
boat and when he loves it three years
later after he graduates when his
purchase power increases he is more
likely to buy a boat product whereas in
case of oneplus the cost barrier itself
is very very high and now after laying a
solid foundation of positioning itself
as a lifestyle brand boat is slowly
expanding its price range to position
itself in the upper range of four to
five thousand rupees and secondly it is
also getting into smart watch segment
which is again a huge market to be
tapped into
and you know what's very very
interesting to note is that just like
boat created an aspirational valley for
hearables after apple created a huge
market for smart watches
noise is now getting ambassadors like
tapsi and rohit sharma and is even
spending a ton of money in social media
campaigns to build a spiritual value for
its watches and this is boosting not
just its watt sales but also the
hearable sales because of which it is
already the number two player in the
market right next to boat so now the
rivalry of noise and boat is something
that's going to be very very interesting
to watch this is how by building a
quality product by choosing a wonderful
time to enter the market by standing out
from the rest of the competition through
lifestyle marketing and through
strategic collaborations aman gupta and
team have turned both into a market
leader in the hearable segment of the
indian market and this brings me to the
most important part of the episode and
that are the lessons from the case study
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description moving on to the lessons
there are three very very important
things that you need to learn from this
case study lesson number one whenever
you launch a product in the crowded
market always try to figure out how you
are going to differentiate yourself in
the presence of the big guns in this
case if someone had told aman gupta that
dude there is jbl apple skull candy and
so many other brands then what is so
special about you
then on the outside it almost looks like
there is no room in the market but the
moment you take a pen and paper and you
start noting down their price labs you
will very clearly be able to see that
the 1000 rupees to five thousand rupees
lab is literally empty and you could
actually make your mark over there so my
homework to you is take a pen and paper
and do a thorough market research of the
smart watches market and you tell me how
noise and boat have a solid chance of
building a 1000 crore business in spite
of the presence of giants like titan
fitbit samsung and apple
lesson number two celebrity endorsements
although looks like a cash drain in some
cases even today it could be a game
changer in a crowded commoditized market
now considering this factor i've got one
question for you me we actually had
ambassadors like carrie and bb endorsing
their product right but boat went with
hardik pandya karthikarin and the rest
my question to you is do you think this
difference in choice of ambassadors made
a difference if yes then tell me why in
the comments section and lastly if you
find time please read this book called
alchemist by rory sutherland
that's all from my side for today guys
if you learned something valuable please
make sure to hit the like button in
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watching i will see you in the next one
bye bye
[Music]
you
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