Disruptor brand Kazam unveils smartphones
Kazam, the startup smartphone manufacturer started up by two former HTC executives, has launched its first range of smartphones that it hopes will disrupt the sector and make consumers feel they “don’t have to default to Apple or Samsung”.
The five Kazam Trooper mid-range and two Thunder high-end handsets will launch across Europe over the coming weeks. All Kazam smartphones are run Android and feature dual SIM, one year’s cracked screen replacement and a “Kazam Rescue” support service.
Kazam was created earlier this year as a brand to “disrupt the status quo” in the crowded mobile market. It was founded by James Atkins, former HTC UK head of marketing and former HTC UK head of sales Michael Coombes.
Atkins, now Kazam CMO, told Marketing Week the company “does not want to be defined as the customer service brand”, but as the brand that looks at things “in a slightly different way”.
“At the moment there’s a real opportunity to innovate and do something different in the support area. Next year and the year after that it could be innovations in logistics or design, it’s about being the brand that people say ‘says something about us’ and is doing something different,” Atkins said.
Marketing for the new range of smartphones will be “phased” to coincide with the phased rollout of availability of the devices across Europe. It will centre around digital media and PR.
Atkins said: “We have been quite bolshy in our communications that we are not going to be a vanity marketer, spending millions on a glossy TV ad. I call it set piece marketing, which is usually supported by billboards and print. Looking at it from experience, being told you are not doing marketing unless you’re doing TV or a billboard – I think there’s a time and a place. Digital gives us a great mechanic to talk to people and specific sets of people. We want to make sure we’re engaging around word of mouth and our earned status. It’s more than just b2c, it has to be a c2c strategy.”
Atkins said launching a range of phones at “disruptive price points” demonstrates how Kazam is not looking to target a specific segment, but rather a specific mindset.
He added: “Kazam is for people who are tired of spending money for a logo that they do not stand by, or do not even know what it stands for. People are waking up to whether the brands they buy are responsible, whether they are just lining someone’s pockets…we want to be there for that loud and proud consumer.
“All the [mobile phone brands beyond Apple and Samsung] are running after the big boys and if they do succeed, the best they can become is a second rate version of those big boys. I don’t want Kazam to be that.”
Kazam now has circa 40 to 50 staff across Europe and is prepared to scale up its support services, sales and marketing once demand reaches scale, which is hoped within a year.
