As a stubborn little factory that survived the bloodbath of mobile phones, what is the reason why the Meizu 18 series has received so much praise?

The living space for small mobile phone manufacturers is becoming increasingly narrow.

As the most competitive smartphone market in the world, after more than a decade of extreme competition, the only domestic players left at the table are Xiaomi, Huami, OPPO and Vivo and the "small factory survivor" Meizu.

One month after the launch of the new Meizu 18, when we look at the survival situation of "small factories" again, I am afraid it cannot be simply summarized by the word "characteristics". Here, there is no luck at all, it is completely a Shura field. Meizu can climb ashore from the bloody market. In addition to its own persistence, the rest is entirely the strong support of new and old "kerosene".

In fact, at this moment, small factories can continue to survive and release new products on time every year, and the difficulty of fighting monsters is increasing exponentially every year. Because those large companies not only personally put on their own armor, but also launched sub-brands to strangle the low-end market, using their strong voice advantage in the supply chain to continuously launch various cost-effective models, thus combing every corner of the market inch by inch like a comb.

The big companies' segmented play, which is like a comb through the bandits, has severely squeezed the survival space of small companies. In addition, due to the large amount of components purchased by small companies, the product prices will not be more advantageous. After a cycle of chicken and egg, the mobile phone business of small companies has actually become a gamble. The amazing thing is that the "small company" called Meizu has never left the table, even though the chips in its hands are far less abundant than those of its competitors.

A market without large manufacturers is definitely not mature, but is a market with only large manufacturers necessarily good?

Obviously, things are just like the famous quote from Russell quoted by Meizu 18 at the press conference - diversity is the source of happiness - it is not that Meizu itself is so dazzling, but that a market that can accommodate "outliers" like Meizu is the happiness of consumers.

Putting aside any preset positions, when we look back at the Meizu 18 series a month later, we will find that although the current mobile phone models are becoming more and more diverse, relying on Meizu’s own unique product concept and marketing rhythm, coupled with the strong support of "kerosene", Meizu 18, which achieved sales of over 100 million in the first minute of its opening, still has a different presence and emotional resonance with users.

Configuration of true dual flagship

In order to allow flagship phones to cover as many price ranges as possible, most mobile phone manufacturers will launch phones with different configurations, but all are flagship series phones.

But if you look closely, you will find the mystery. The most expensive model and the cheapest model of these flagship models are basically two different mobile phones, with a huge difference in configuration. But their appearance is extremely similar, so some consumers will spend a lot of money but buy a product with similar configuration to a mid-range phone.

The Meizu 18 series does not do this. There is no medium cup, only large cup and extra-large cup.

Therefore, the core configurations of Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro are almost identical. Even though the Snapdragon 870 is hailed as an excellent sub-flagship processor this year, the Meizu 18 series is still equipped with the true flagship Snapdragon 888 processor.

This proves that Meizu's statement that "the two models are just for different target groups" is not false. Because the two phones do correspond to two similar groups of people, those who like thin and light flagships and those who like extreme performance.

Meizu's business strategy has been very successful. As a small company with limited resources that can only launch two flagship models a year, it targets each model at a specific target group and attracts two groups of consumers at one time, which can be regarded as a perfect flush with a limited hand of cards.

This true dual-flagship product strategy makes the Meizu 18 series a common favorite for the same large target group. While avoiding the taboo of dividing the forces, it also effectively attracts more mobile phone players who identify with the Meizu brand.

System 30 Advertising

How can a mobile phone that costs a lot be sold cheaply?

Most manufacturers will choose to add advertisements to the mobile phone system, pre-install more software, and push various activity messages to subsidize the investment in hardware.

This kind of "Chencang secret" of tearing down tomorrow's wall to fill yesterday's hole is indeed very profitable. Some mobile phone manufacturers known for their cost-effectiveness have stated in their financial reports that system advertising can bring 10.9 billion in revenue to the company in one year (2019).

10.9 billion, dear! This is far higher than the profit of the mobile phone hardware itself.

It is no longer a new thing in the industry to use this "extra income" to subsidize product prices, do some research and development, and maintain system updates.

However, this behavior is fatal to the overall user experience of the mobile phone, especially some financial advertisements will cause users to invest blindly and suffer huge losses.

The Meizu 18 series has targeted this pain point of users and announced that it will be equipped with the "three zero" version of the Flyme system, achieving 0 advertisements, 0 pre-installation and 0 push, completely solving the problem that has plagued users for a long time.

However, because it chose to give up this huge source of revenue, the Meizu 18 series cannot have the same "disguised subsidies" as its competitors' flagships, and the product price is therefore several hundred yuan more expensive.

Fortunately, the current market is not entirely focused on low prices. For users who prefer to be free of advertisements, the improved user experience is worth paying a little more for. This can be seen from the thousands of comments on e-commerce platforms, because the proportion of users who come from no advertisements is indeed not small.

It is believed that the "three zero system" may become a major branch of mobile phones in the future. Some mobile phones will have advertisements, while some will be ad-free, thus separating users and the market. Manufacturers will also have the energy to serve more users with or without advertising needs.

Marketing accumulation

Meizu's ability to survive in the mobile phone melee is not only due to the launch of excellent products, but also the textbook-like marketing plan that surprises and impresses people time and time again.

Although Meizu is not a big manufacturer, unlike many big brands, Meizu itself has a very deep historical aura.

After the product was released, Meizu did not promote its hardware, but instead worked hard on the "30 system". This is a very smart approach, using its own strengths to attack the weaknesses of others. It aims at the pain points of other manufacturers, especially Xiaomi, its lifelong rival.

When other manufacturers do not provide flagship phones with 0 ads, 0 pre-installed apps, and 0 push notifications, Meizu's promotional point can not only attract users who pursue pure systems to buy, but also consolidate the "three zero system" IP it has created. Even if other competitors follow suit, users will think of the Meizu 18 series first.

It can be said that Meizu's "emotional marketing" and "three zero marketing" not only allow users to accept the concept of high-priced niche boutique mobile phones from the bottom of their hearts, but also increase the voice of the Meizu 18 series as much as possible within a limited budget, laying a solid foundation for its sales.

Nowadays, the living space of niche mobile phone manufacturers is indeed becoming increasingly compressed. The reason why the Meizu 18 series was not favored by many people when it was first launched was mainly because the component costs of small factories were high, which would directly push up the selling price of the product.

However, with its precise dual flagship positioning, the world's first ad-free system and excellent marketing plans, the Meizu 18 series has offset the unfavorable start brought by the high price, allowing the Meizu 18 series to gradually enter the hearts of the target population and make the Meizu 18 series a unique "Qingfeng"-level product. This is a breath of fresh air in the industry and a precious game of Go. If they are not good at it, they might as well cut it off in exchange for users' heartfelt brand recognition.

It sounds like this decision is nothing, but if you think about it carefully, considering the billions of dollars spent on advertising by rivals, this decision is indeed extremely difficult for Meizu. Fortunately, the enthusiastic market did not sneer at Meizu's move, but responded with applause that was not warm but sincere enough.

If you keep thinking about something, it will definitely have a response. For Meizu, this is a new starting point; for "kerosene", this is a rare token of kindness; for the market that is as viscous as a bloody sea, this is a breeze that may change the future.

As I said before, a mobile phone market that can accommodate "outliers" like Meizu will bring real happiness to users.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.