He said that influencers need to be honest about products. Ironically, Xiaomi refers to Mi users as its biggest brand ambassadors
Manu Kumar Jain (pic source – Twitter)Xiaomi’s India MD Manu Kumar Jain has questioned the authenticity of Media and product bloggers on Twitter. He, without mentioning the name of any smartphone brand or smartphone model, said that it is ironical to see tech bloggers getting up on stage at product launches.
His tweet read, “Ironical to see tech bloggers get up on stage at product launches, talking all great things about the product (maybe influenced by monetary payment). As a reviewer, users depend on you to be honest and open about any product. How can this be termed as ‘unbiased’ media?”
A blogger who goes by the name of Naresh Yadav (@nareshyadav0000) replied to Manu’s tweet and posted, “Some time check your bloggers also. You post you got this award and that award, they all are paid too. What you are today is due to the bloggers.”
Nikhil Chawla (@nikhilchawala) replied to tweet as, “Kiska baja? Samsung ka band baja. You startled the so called smartphone empire they had created by offering misleading specs at exorbitant prices to cover their media spends. On the other hand you guys built it with honest pricing and maverick marketing. Respect”
Xiaomi treats Mi users as brand ambassadors
The point worth remembering here is the fact that Xiaomi itself treats its users as Mi’s brand ambassadors and keeps posting pics of the same. In fact, Xiaomi, on its official blog in the past, has mentioned that Mi fan culture is one of its core strengths and key priorities.
One of Manu’s tweets posted on November 30, after a Mi fan meet had read, “Always a great pleasure meeting our brand ambassadors – Mi Fans! We have 10M+ Mi Fans across the world. These people have helped us become the most loved technology brand in India!”
Counterpoint, in one of its reports, had said that Xiaomi was able to capture 27 per cent market share during Q3 2018. This figure was up from 22 per cent that the brand held during the same period last year. Counterpoint mentioned that the brand managed to do this by driving sales from the new Redmi 6-series devices and by expanding its footprint in the offline channels.
Samsung M10 and M20 smartphones launched in India
Samsung, who was getting weak in the below Rs 15,000 segment, has recently announced the launch of two new smartphones in the Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 category. Many reviewers have posted good reviews about the Samsung M Series smartphones as well.
It will not be wrong to say that Samsung M Series smartphones are competing directly against the likes of Redmi Note 6 and Redmi Note 6 Pro in the country. Additionally Realme with its 2 Pro smartphone is also giving major competition in the same category. Honor, a sub-brand that works under the umbrella of China based Huawei, has also launched a smartphone in the same category.
Another Twitter user who goes by the name of Skylord replied to Manu Kumar Jain’s tweet and said, “Even Mi’s VP follows Samsung!”
