Interview with Oppo Italia’s CMO on the occasion of the launch of the brand’s first leaflet in Europe: this is why it is a megatrend destined to explode in a few years
Oppo presented its first foldable smartphone that reaches our market at an event in London: it is the model Find N2 Flip with clamshell closure. A form factor similar to the undisputed king of the sector, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 from Samsung, from which it differs above all thanks to a larger external screen that allows you to interact better with the phone when closed. “Find N2 Flip is a smartphone that makes its debut after three years of research and development, and for us it is an important message of innovation and entry into a young market, that of leaflets, where it is necessary to bring something more than the competition” , He says Isabella Lazzini, Chief Marketing Officer of Oppo Italy. “In particular, the 3.23-inch external screen with vertical form factor allows it to be used when closed for many functions that would otherwise require opening it. An aspect that gives a user experience that today’s so-called flip phones do not have. It is also very important that the N2 Flip has the largest battery in the segment, 4300mAh, in addition to Hasselblad cameras and the dedicated photographic computing processor, MariSilicon X”.
Apparently, therefore, that of leaflets is not a passing phenomenon, even though it still remains a very small segment today (about 1 percent of the sector). “The foldable market has been identified by various research institutes as a megatrend, and by 2026 there will be an explosion of a sector that is evidently still perceived as a niche market today”, explains Lazzini. “In Italy we are currently selling just 100,000 pieces, but the trend marks constant growth. It is a market in which Oppo wants to be there both to define the present technology but also in a future market perspective. The lot of foldable smartphones today is almost exclusively single-brand, with Samsung making it a market it is aiming for a lot and the presence of Motorola which is still in the background. However, as in all young markets, with the right technology it is absolutely possible to make room. The objectives that we have set ourselves regarding this particular product are primarily awareness, so that it becomes the emblem of innovation in Oppo. The market is young, so from a business point of view it will certainly not be the smartphone that will drive sales. But it’s perfect for those who want to explore the new and arrives in its category with that extra something that improves the experience and allows you to experience the product in a more complete way than the leaflets already on the market“.
The target audience of flip leaflets reveals a feminine preference with respect to this form factor, but not too sharply. In this regard, Mazzini says: “The data reveal that foldables are chosen in a slight prevalence by a female audience, by very little: we are on a 45% versus 55 in favor of women, more attentive to a form factor that stands out from the mass.It is certainly a type of smartphone that is conceived more fashionable with attention to design. Next week we will be at Fashion Week with a global project dedicated to Find N2 Flip, so this aspect is certainly important”. Meanwhile, on the main stage of the presentation event, the collaboration with the Milanese Qeeboo Design was announced to create exclusive themes for the smartphone, and it is only one of the many initiatives and collaborations that will be connected to the new Oppo flip.” The front screen allows new ways of experience of use but also new ways of expressing oneself and dressing the phone”, adds Lazzini.
Oppo has decided to launch on our territory only one of the two folding solutions already available on the Chinese one, where the Fold model was also released together with the Flip, a book, which opens to become a large tablet. The choice, which does not exclude the arrival of the Fold here too in the future, is based on various factors and on clear data from the market in this segment, as explained by the CMO. “If we look at the foldable sales data, 70% of the market is dominated by clamshell ones. The book design is even more of a niche, and aims at a completely different market, the business and much more masculine one”. Of fundamental importance for the company, then, is the development of a system for closing the telephone that is resistant in the In fact, Oppo explains that “this is the second generation of hinges that we are launching on the market, this one is even more advanced than the first N Fold model released only in Asia. The phone is certified for 400,000 opening and closing cycles, a long time if we consider an average of one hundred openings per day. The drip system allows not only to make the crease more invisible, but also prevents the entry of dust and dirt. This is the result of three years of research and development with which we wanted to give an effective response to those who complained about one of the most obvious limitations in leaflets”.
Source-www.adnkronos.com