Micromax kicks off industry leading initiative to accelerate Smartphone adoption

-Brings together eco-system to overcome barriers and make ‘Digital India’ a reality

- Develops Special Bolt smartphones across price points with large screens, 3G connectivityand great multimediafunctionality: Bolt S302: ₹ 3199/-, Bolt D303: ₹ 3199/-, Bolt Q331: ₹ 4999/- and Bolt Q338: ₹ 6499/-

-Ropes in Kapil Sharma, the famous standup comedian and South sensation Rana Daggubati

-Offers WhatsApp free for first five months and partners with Firstouch for regional language UI

-TVC link- ______

New Delhi, October 14,2015-To accelerate the smartphone adoption in the country, Micromax Informatics, the clear leader in the sub Rs. 7500 handset category, today launched a 360 degree marketing campaign to encourage the 70 million new age consumers using feature phones to switch to smartphones. With a strong portfolio, the company is committed to deliver value to the consumers by focusing on 3 key levers: faster internet connectivity, large display, speedy processors at extremely affordable price points. To take its message to the nook and corner of the country and reach out to the first time smartphone users in the true Micromax way, the company roped in the most popular stand-up comedian, Kapil Sharma for North and the Bahubali sensation, Rana Daggubatifor South. The two stars will be seen in a series of films that give very tangible, easy to comprehend benefits of switching to a Micromax smartphone.

Currently, the Indian mobile market is dominated by feature phones with smartphone penetration at just about 15%. Micromax has identified three core barriers hindering the faster smartphone adoption which include the total cost owning the smartphone and data packages, hesitancy around using touchscreen and an evolved Android experience and English language UI making it difficult for consumers to make the shift. Based on these insights, Micromax, has developed a full business initiative comprising key components such as affordable devices with big screen size, regional language support, customized data package and a fully developed customer education program– including printed material, digital content available over phone in local languages to empower first time users of smartphone to set up and use basic functions like email, social networking and other basic utilities.

In line with this, Micromax’s new Bolt series phones offer big screen experience and cuts across various price points to suit the pockets of diverse consumer sets with models like Bolt S302: ₹ 3199/-, Bolt D303: ₹ 3199/-, Bolt Q331: ₹ 4999/- and Bolt Q338: ₹ 6499/-. All the Bolt series smartphones will now come pre-loaded with Firstouch, a patented translator functionality app that will help people translate from English to their local languages and vice versa and access Apps in App Bazaar in their preferred language. Additionally, Micromax Bolt customers can also opt for either free WhatsApp or avail talk time worth Rs. 40 per month on Airtel for the first five months. Micromax has also initiated a tech buddy program which includes trained retail representatives and customer care executives across 850 Micromax service centres to help consumers in seamless transition. To take the message across the length and breadth of the country, a 360 degree marketing campaign using popular celebrities Kapil Sharma and Rana Dagupattihas been launched to promote the entire initiativeand explain the benefits of making the switch to smartphones with Micromax Bolt range.

Commenting on the launch of the new campaign,Mr. Shubhajit Sen, CMO, Micromax Informatics, said, “Around 70-80 million Indians convert from their feature phonesto smartphones every year and more and more consumers will use a smartphone for their initial computing and Internet needs leapfrogging the PC and laptop generation. We believe that smartphones will play a significant role in meeting PM’s ‘Digital India’ vision to connect the next billion. Micromax, being a front runner in the sub 7.5k mass segment handsets, has taken a step ahead in its philosophy of democratizing technology to the masses and has come up with a special program to enable the consumers to take the next technological leap towards the smartphones from feature phones.”

“To make smartphone adoption a mass phenomenon, we are bringing together an ecosystem of device, services, local language and internet as well as roped in two celebrities with ‘nothing like anything’ attitude and mass appeal-Kapil Sharma and Rana Daggubatito take our message ahead.” He added.

“WhatsApp is excited to partner with Micromax as it continues to offer affordable innovations that enable connectivity. With over 900 million active users around the world and India being an important part of that, we remain focused on helping people communicate in a way that has become a part of everyday life. We are pleased to be working together with Micromax in this unique offering so that people in India can stay connected with their friends and family both in India and abroad,” said, Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp.

Rakesh Deshmukh, Co-founder and CEO, Firstouch, said,“We believe that India with its diversity of languages is not well served by English centric smartphones, in fact, it proves to be a barrier and creates a digital divide. We intend to bridge this divide by offering Firstouch Regional Operating System to Micromax Bolt series smartphones and empower consumers to confidently transition from feature phone to smartphones for all their work and entertainment needs in the language of their choice”.

About the 360 degree campaign:

Micromax has conceptualized a 360 degree marketing campaign comprising TVC, print, broadcast, digital, outdoors, and POS to further the transition from feature phone to smartphone. The entire campaign is designed to make the consumersmore comfortable to approach Micromax to hand-hold them through all the apprehensions and inhibitions of using a smartphone for the first time. The campaign will act as a trigger for the consumers to be connected to their friends and family in a better way. The TVC campaign is conceptualized by Lowe Lintas Delhi, and includes a series of three films, each shot with Kapil Sharma and Rana Daggubati. The communication in a very tongue and cheek manner talks about Micromax differentiators that come with switching to the Micromax Bolt Smartphone range, which are – Free data for use on WhatsApp, Regional Languages, Affordability and Big Screen. The TVCs will showcase both the brand ambassadors in a double role which is a first for both of them.

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About Micromax Informatics Ltd:

Micromax Informatics Limited is one of the leading consumer electronics company in India and the 10th largest mobile phone player in the world (Counterpoint Research). Over the past 5 years, Micromax has pioneered the democratization of technology for masses by offering affordable innovations through their product offerings and removing barriers for large scale adoption of advanced technologies. Micromax is currently the largest mobile vendor in India with a market share of 22 percent in Q3 of 2014(Canalys Report). The brand’s product portfolio embraces more than 60 models today, ranging from feature rich, dual – SIM phones, 3G Android smartphones, tablets, LED televisions and data cards. The company also has many firsts to its credit when it comes to the mobile handset market including the 30-day battery backup, dual SIM phones, QWERTY keypads, universal remote control mobile phones, first quad-core budget smart phone etc. The company has its operations across Russia and SAARC markets. Micromax sells more than 3.5 million Mobility Devices every month, with a presence in more than 560 districts through 1, 30,000 retail outlets in India. With presence across India and global presence in Russia and SAARC markets, the Indian brand is reaching out to the global frontier with innovative products that challenge the status quo that Innovation comes with a price.

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