How Aman Gupta's MARKETING STRATEGY turned Boat into a 1500CR Company : Business case study

Summary

The 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

00:00

📈 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.

05:00

🎧 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.

10:01

🚀 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.

15:02

📚 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.

Keywords

💡Indian startup ecosystem

The Indian startup ecosystem refers to the network of entrepreneurial ventures, investors, and support systems within India that are focused on innovation and growth. In the video, this term is used to highlight the success of the brand 'Boat' in a competitive market, emphasizing its rapid rise within just five years.

💡Market share

Market share is the portion of the total market for a particular product or service that is controlled by an individual company. The video discusses how Boat achieved a market share of thirty-five point eight percent in the true wireless stereo market, surpassing its competitors.

💡True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

True Wireless Stereo, often abbreviated as TWS, refers to wireless earphones that connect to a device without the need for any cables. The script mentions TWS to discuss the specific product category in which Boat has become a market leader.

💡IPO

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the process by which a private company goes public by offering its shares to be traded on a stock exchange. The video mentions that Boat is going for an IPO, indicating its growth and the public's interest in investing in the company.

💡Market positioning

Market positioning is the strategy a company uses to create a unique place for its product in the consumer's mind, relative to competitors. The video describes how Boat's success is attributed to its genius market positioning, similar to OnePlus phones, which carved out a niche in the smartphone market.

💡Aspirational value

Aspirational value is the perceived worth or desirability of a product or brand that consumers aspire to own. The script explains how celebrity endorsements, such as Robert Downey Jr. for OnePlus and Hardik Pandya for Boat, added aspirational value, making these brands more desirable and contributing to their market success.

💡Commoditized market

A commoditized market is one in which similar products are available from multiple sellers, making it difficult for consumers to differentiate between them based on quality. The video discusses how the audio market is commoditized and how Boat used perceived value to stand out.

💡Perceived value

Perceived value is the customer's assessment of the worth of a product or service based on their perception, which may not necessarily reflect its tangible value. The script uses perceived value to explain how Boat managed to charge a premium due to its branding and endorsements, despite the market being commoditized.

💡Celebrity endorsement

Celebrity endorsement involves a famous person promoting a product or service to leverage their popularity and influence. The video highlights the impact of celebrity endorsements on Boat's brand, as it helped create an aspirational and familiar image, attracting more customers.

💡Lifestyle brand

A lifestyle brand is one that markets its products as part of a larger lifestyle or way of life. The script mentions how Boat focuses on presenting itself as a lifestyle brand, which helps in building an aspirational value and attracting consumers who identify with that lifestyle.

💡Product differentiation

Product differentiation is the process of making a product unique and distinct from competitors' products. The video emphasizes the importance of product differentiation in crowded markets, as demonstrated by Boat's strategy to stand out with its unique offerings.

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

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watching i will see you in the next one

bye bye

[Music]

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