Just short of a year since emerging market cellphone maker Alcatel One Touch announced plans to take on the South African market, the company has partnered with Swedish DJ-producer Avicii.
Alcatel One Touch - which falls under Hong-Kong-listed TCL Communication - hopes the partnership will appeal to the creative side of consumers. "The twice-Grammy-nominated artist will be the brand ambassador for the Hero and Idol lines," says the company, which is known for its low- to mid-range devices aimed at the aspirational smartphone market.
The firm says it was a "shared vision about the use of technology to enable people to express their creativity, including music" that inspired the partnership with the artist, who is known for international hits such as "Wake Me Up", "Sunshine" and "Levels".
Alcatel One Touch will sponsor Avicii's upcoming world tour and feature him as a brand ambassador.
Avicii says he is excited to be working with Alcatel One Touch, which is developing companion devices specifically aimed at the music industry. The Hero and Idol device lines have a heavy focus on multimedia features.
Comeback kid
Alcatel One Touch made its local comeback at the end of last year, this time punting its own brand as opposed to being more of a white-label product.
At the time, Ernst Wittmann, country manager at Alcatel One Touch SA, said the company wanted to be an A-brand again. "If Huawei can do it, with the marketing campaign they have launched to revive the brand, why can't we?"
Two months ago, Alcatel One Touch launched the Idol Alpha - a R6 000 Android smartphone it hopes will entrench the company's place on the local map. Yves Morel, Alcatel One Touch GM for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said at the time the company would focus heavily on the South African market.
"We have a solid strategy to address the South African market, with a solid product line-up [in the offing]. We are known for bringing affordable devices with all the functionality customers are looking for to market, and we will continue to do this. You can count on us for that."
Wittmann said Alcatel One Touch hoped to "take the market by storm" with the Idol Alpha.
Share