In conversation with Sushant Vashistha, Head of Digital Marketing, OPPO India
In the dynamic digital landscape, Sushant Vashistha, Head of Digital Marketing at OPPO India, shares how AI, machine learning, and data analytics are transforming marketing strategies. He discusses OPPO’s innovative approaches to customer engagement, the success of the imagineIF Photography Awards, and the rising trends of visual content and influencer marketing. Vashistha also highlights the role of consumer feedback in shaping future campaigns. Scroll down to know more.
Agency Reporter – How have advancements in AI, machine learning, and data analytics reshaped digital marketing strategies? Could you share specific examples of how OPPO India has successfully integrated these technologies to enhance customer engagement or personalize user experiences?
Sushant Vashistha – Advancements in AI, machine learning, and data analytics are enabling brands to engage with their customers more effectively and tailor experiences to diverse preferences. Real-time data provide insights that allow more precise targeting, personalization, and optimization of marketing campaigns.
At OPPO India, we have implemented a range of AI-driven tools and platforms that enhance our ability to understand and respond to audience behaviour. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, our marketing teams can analyse customer interactions and preferences, allowing for more informed, data-driven decisions all around. This enables us to optimize campaigns, ensuring that our messaging resonates with our target audience.
On the creative side as well, we are using new emerging technologies like AI to create interesting communication assets based on deep user insights which has helped in delivering higher engagement and better RoI in general.
Agency Reporter – Drawing from your experience, what unique consumer behavior trends have you observed, and how have you tailored OPPO India’s digital marketing strategies to address these differences?
Sushant Vashistha – Visual content, particularly short-form videos, are the consumers’ preferred mode of communication on social media platforms. Consumers are now more inclined to engage with brands through dynamic, visually rich content rather than traditional text-based messages. To address this, we’ve intensified our focus on creating high-quality, visually appealing content that leverages the power of storytelling. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube play a central role in this strategy, where we regularly collaborate with influencers and content creators to produce videos that highlight the unique features of our products in a way that is both informative and entertaining.
Additionally, we’ve noticed a strong community-oriented behaviour among Indian consumers, where they seek out and value the opinions of peers, influencers, and niche communities. To cater to this, we’ve designed campaigns that not only highlight our product innovations but also foster a sense of community. Our imagineIF Photography Awards in 2024, for instance, tapped into the passion of photography enthusiasts across India, creating a platform where they could showcase their talent, interact with experts, and be part of a larger creative community. This approach has helped us build deeper connections with our audience and drive meaningful engagement.
Agency Reporter – With the surge of short-form video content and influencer marketing, how does OPPO India stay ahead of the curve?
Sushant Vashistha – OPPO India has developed a dynamic strategy that focuses on driving our propositions to the target audiences through relevant influencers and KOLs. Our presence on platforms like Instagram is a cornerstone of this strategy, where we prioritise a content mix that resonates with our audience. By collaborating with influencers and creators who align with our brand values, we ensure that our messaging is not only engaging but also authentic and relatable. Our influencer strategy is closely aligned with our product series in that we have clearly defined and differentiated values and personalities of our different series of products and our influencer and content choices closely follow that. Additionally, we have deployed tools that help us discover new and trending influencers and topics to stay on-trend with what’s happening in the social media space in general.
A good example is imagineIF Awards, which have allowed us to harness the power of influencer partnerships to create content that excites and inspires our audience. Collaborations with prominent personalities like Raghu Ram, and SS Rajamouli have been instrumental in bringing our campaigns to life, making them accessible and appealing to a broad demographic. We also strategically engage with niche communities, particularly in the photography space, by partnering with experts and creators who have a strong connection with these groups. This targeted approach has been highly effective, as demonstrated by the imagineIF initiative’s success in garnering over 545 million views and reaching 238 million people.
Agency Reporter – What role do you foresee emerging technologies like AR, VR, and the metaverse playing in the evolution of digital marketing over the next 5-10 years? How is OPPO India preparing to leverage these technologies to create more immersive consumer experiences?
Sushant Vashistha – Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have been around for a while and have tasted varied degrees of success depending upon the use case. While on one hand they have enabled brands to deliver immersive and interactive experiences, transforming and expanding how consumers are engaging with products and services on the other hand the limitations posed by the pace of evolution and access to the best talent has limited their widespread adoption. As the scope of these technologies continue to expand, the ability to offer unique and personalised experiences is expected to increase and how well the technology fits a particular use case will decide how brands differentiate themselves in a cluttered marketplace.
At OPPO India, we recognise the transformative potential of these technologies and are proactively integrating them into our engagement strategies. We see these technologies as powerful tools for storytelling, product demonstrations, and community building. Moreover, in our view, the metaverse presents exciting opportunities for creating virtual spaces where consumers can interact with the brand, attend events, and connect with like-minded communities. However, it still needs to develop and evolve further to be able to deliver a true breakthrough.
We keep experimenting with new and emerging tech to deliver more engaging consumer experiences. For instance, for the OPPO Reno12 Series, we leveraged AI to engage with our consumers in an interesting yet personal way by allowing them to create their Avatars via our AI Studio in-built app. This effort got us in the Asia Book of Records the Record for generating the “Highest no. of AI Avatars created on a smartphone in a day.”
Agency Reporter – How does OPPO India utilise consumer feedback and market insights to shape both its digital marketing campaigns and product development?
Sushant Vashistha – The consumer is at the centre of our strategy at OPPO India and their feedback combined with market insights drive both design and feature development. Our approach is a continuous cycle of collecting feedback, analysing insights, and applying them to refine our marketing strategies and product offerings. We leverage feedback and market insights to craft digital marketing campaigns that resonate deeply and to innovate products that meet evolving needs. We have a very well developed system, that comprises a mix of tools, processes and approaches for collecting, collating and analysing consumer feedback and integrating it in different stages of product development as well as marketing campaigns. Be it pre-testing of product concepts, designs and features or campaign ideas or creatives, we believe in bringing in consumer-centricity to all aspects of our business and marketing.
Agency Reporter – In the future of mobile technology and consumer electronics, what digital marketing trends do you think will be most transformative? Are there any innovations or platforms that OPPO India is particularly excited to explore?
Sushant Vashistha – AR/VR will revolutionize user engagement by bringing in more interactivity in consumer experiences while AI will help brands deliver highly personalized marketing strategies by analysing user behaviour and preferences, tailoring content, recommendations, and promotions to individual consumers.
Influencer marketing, we feel, will evolve further to focus on authenticity and identifying “real” influencers to drive deeper collaborations to engage with niche audiences. These trends collectively promise to shape the future of digital marketing, driving innovation and delivering more engaging, personalized consumer experiences.
Agency Reporter – What motivated OPPO India to launch the imagineIF Photography Awards in India, and how do you see this initiative influencing the perception of mobile photography among both amateurs and professionals?
Sushant Vashistha – OPPO India launched the imagineIF Photography Awards to celebrate the talent and artistic vision of smartphone photography in India. By encouraging participants to capture and share their unique stories through their smartphones, we aimed to highlight the creative potential inherent in smartphone photography.
We are delighted to have received an overwhelming response, with over 34,000 entries in the opening round of the Awards. Out of these, the top six were awarded gold, silver, and bronze honours, with the Gold winner getting a chance to attend the Paris Photo 2024, an international photography fair, and taking home a cash prize of INR 5,00,000. This edition of the awards marked a step towards solidifying smartphone photography’s place as a respected and legitimate medium, inspiring consumers to engage with it and recognize its potential and also making it “cool” for the new generation.
Agency Reporter – With over 34,000 entries in its first year, the imagineIF Photography Awards clearly struck a chord with Indian photographers. What key factors do you believe led to this level of engagement, and how does this success align with OPPO India’s broader vision for mobile photography innovation?
Sushant Vashistha – The remarkable response to the imagineIF Photography Awards, with over 34,000 entries in its first year, is a testament to the strong connection between OPPO India and the thriving community of smartphone photographers in the country. With smartphones becoming more sophisticated and accessible, there’s a widespread enthusiasm for capturing high-quality images on-the-go. The imagineIF Awards provided a much-needed platform for photographers to showcase their talent and creativity using the devices they carry every day.
Additionally, the extensive reach and amplification of the initiative across our social media platforms played a crucial role. Garnering over 545 million views and reaching 238 million people, our strategic use of social media, coupled with collaborations with influencers and photography experts, helped create widespread awareness and excitement around the competition. The success of this initiative showcases OPPO India’s broader vision for smartphone photography innovation. We are committed to democratizing photography, making it accessible to everyone, and continuously pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with a smartphone camera.
Agency Reporter – What key trends in digital marketing and mobile technology do you believe will drive the next wave of innovation for OPPO India and the broader smartphone industry? How is OPPO India preparing to capitalize on these trends?
Sushant Vashistha – Artificial intelligence and machine learning are significant trends driving the next wave of innovation. With the rapid evolution of AI, OPPO India has begun integrating AI into our products while ensuring that our audience is informed by data-driven insights. This approach allows us to deliver hyper-personalized content and recommendations, making our brand interactions more relevant and impactful.
There is a growing expectation for brands to provide a cohesive and connected experience across all channels. The industry is focusing on utilizing trends like AR, VR, and 5G. Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly seeking brands that align with their values, particularly regarding environmental and social responsibility. OPPO India is at the forefront of this trend, investing in the creation of high-quality, engaging videos that highlight the unique features of our products while resonating with our audience’s preferences.
Agency Reporter – With the rapid evolution of mobile photography, where does OPPO India see the most significant opportunities for growth and innovation? What role do you envision the brand playing in setting new standards or trends in mobile photography?
Sushant Vashistha – OPPO India has strategically focused on several key areas to drive growth and innovation in mobile photography. Recent devices, such as the OPPO Reno12 series, highlight the brand’s commitment to advanced AI capabilities. The device is equipped with cutting-edge AI ground-up in the Reno12 Series camera to enhance light, colour and texture with advanced tone-mapping algorithms, and to eliminate motion blur with AI denoising and advanced stabilisation. At the same time, real-time facial recognition detects and enhances up to 296 facial features for aesthetic portraits.
In addition to AI advancements, OPPO India has introduced cutting-edge camera technologies, including high-resolution sensors. The company is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of mobile photography and delivering exceptional imaging experiences. By prioritizing user-friendly interfaces and tools, OPPO ensures that users of all skill levels can capture high-quality images effortlessly, thus democratizing access to advanced photography technology.
Furthermore, OPPO India has engaged in strategic partnerships and collaborations to advance its smartphone photography capabilities. Through these efforts, the brand aims to lead the way in mobile photography innovation and set new benchmarks for the industry.