Hello, Moto!

SINGAPORE – In Southeast Asia’s biggest telecom-munications trade fair, CommunicAsia, recently hosted by Singapore, one of the corporate superstars was US wireless and broadband telecom giant Motorola, which used the event to unveil its newest mobile phone products. Motorola Asia Pacific president Dr. Simon Leung, High Growth Markets/Mobile Devices VP Allen Burnes, Mass Market Products VP Steve Lalla, and Southeast Asia marketing director Nick Mann told The Philippine STAR that there are now one and a half billion people who use cellphones on earth, but Motorola’s global vision is to help expand this market by targeting another one billion more new cellphone subscribers.

They said mobile phones, not personal computers, have the most potential to bridge the digital divide between the rich nations and the poor Third World masses. How will Motorola help add one billion more cellphone subscribers worldwide? The executives said: "We at Motorola will help reduce costs of acquisition by producing low-price handsets and design products which are cost-efficient in usage by tieups with the best international telecom operators in all regions from Asia, Latin America, Europe to Africa. We shall mass-produce affordable, iconic, cool and sexy products, all with FM radio and other exciting features."

They said these one billion wireless subscribers will be able to avail themselves of Motorola’s affordable and fashionable entry-level GSM and CDMA handsets. Out of the 750 million people in Southeast Asia, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the 120 million people of Bangladesh, only 30 percent of the population have cellphones and Motorola will aggressively reach out to these and other markets worldwide.

Third-Generation Fumble; ‘Moto’ Redux

The saga of American giant Motorola reflects the ancient Chinese warning about great fortunes having no third generation. Founded by self-made man Paul Galvin and built up by his capable son Bob, Motorola was once the world’s pioneer and largest mobile phone maker in the 20th century. But it started to fumble and lose its global No. 1 position in mobile phones and other businesses under the founder’s grandson, Christopher Galvin, who graduated from topnotch Northwestern University and even earned his MBA from its prestigious Kellogg School of Management. In 2003, Chris Galvin was forced to resign. The board of directors eventually appointed new boss Edward "Ed" Zander, a whiz professional manager and son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Greece.

Motorola has since enjoyed unprecedented revival under the innovative and talented Ed Zander as CEO, with corporate reforms and the launching of some of the hottest, fashionable phones which have flown off global sales shelves, with odd names like the ultra-thin RAZR, SLVR and Q cellphones. BusinessWeek magazine reported that its "low-margin handset business last year generated over half of Motorola’s US$4.6 billion in net profits."

The telecom giant has since pushed the shorthand brand name "Moto" worldwide, projecting a hip, fashionable and dynamic image. Dominating the Motorola area in the CommunicAsia event was a giant image of the world’s most popular football star, David Beckham, who recently signed an exclusive three-year deal as global brand ambassador for Motorola’s cellphones. Beckham will also support the Moto Red mobile phone created to help raise funds to eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Motorola also recently tied up with fashion leaders Dolce & Gabbana of Milan, Italy, to unveil the new MOTORAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana high-end cellphones. This new design seamlessly combines style with functionality, featuring a 1.23 megapixel digital camera, video capture and playback, optional expandable memory, personalized Bluetooth headset, and luxury gold leather phone case, among others.

Growth Target: 20 To 25 Million Pinoy Users

Motorola executives said that among Indonesia’s 250 million people, only 10 to 12 percent have cellphones, compared to 40 percent of the Philippine population who have cellphones. But to them, even we represent 20 to 25 million more potential cellphone subscribers. In Asia, they said the fastest-growing markets for mobile phones are China and Vietnam, but the Philippines is a high-growth area for Motorola at 20 percent per year. Motorola Philippines marketing head Mari Litonjua said their innovative marketing strategies using Philippine pop culture and youth bands are making a strong impact for the Moto brand nationwide.

Motorola VP Allen Burnes said on fashion trends in global mobile phones: "We think pumpkin or orange is the next upcoming color in the fall. Color is very personal for cellphone owners. A person might use a different-color cellphone inside a bar at night, use another color mobile phone when mountain-climbing, but he would prefer black or silver to match his business suits in the office. This is the trend for the future: people will have multiple handsets for different occasions, like the fashion-oriented people of Israel. It’s also the same in Nordic countries, where people have multiple cellphones."

Once a dour giant run by engineers, the rejuvenated Motorola unabashedly announced its goal of trying to regain its global No. 1 position in cellphones from Nokia of Finland. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $36.8 billion last year.

In Singapore, amid an international event with aggressive rivals from Europe, Japan, South Korea and even China telecom firms, Motorola made colorful fashionable launches of such trendsetting mobile phones as the value-priced clamshell handsets W220 and W375, the thin candy-bar designs W 170, W208 and W210. Another colorful handset unveiled in Singapore was the GSM W208. The new cellphones have unique features such as sophisticated digital cameras, stereo FM radio and MP3 ring tones.

Philippine country manager Patrick Aronson of Motorola told The Philippine STAR: "Internationally, Motorola aims to be No. 1 in mobile phones in 1,000 days – that’s our goal. When I came to the Philippines in September 2005, Motorola was ranked No. 4 in mobile phone sales, but now we’re No. 2. Our goal is to improve our service and be better at marketing our innovative, fun products. In partnership with Smart, Globe and Sun, we hope to tap 20 million new cellphone subscribers in the Philippine market. I think the Philippines, like the Filipino people, is quite resilient. When you think it’s down, it will surprise you with positive things happening. I was country manager in Vietnam and Thailand, and I see the Philippines as a land of opportunity and steady economic growth prospects."

All entrepreneurs and professionals in our Philippine society will hopefully take the cue from telecom pioneer Motorola, with their top executives excited about adding 20 to 25 million new cellphone subscribers in our market alone, plus a billion new customers globally. For all the disturbing news headlines created by our bickering, dishonest politicians, let us look at the bigger picture and long-range future – let us work and plan for growth based on hope, optimism and faith in a better tomorrow.

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