Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE has revealed a new logo, slogan and strategy, which it hopes will help open up its market presence. The company is also going to refocus on its new M-ICT idea, or Media Information Communications Technology. This is aimed at growing market potential and driving innovation. Shi Lirong, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZTE Corporation, said: “ZTE is evolving our operations in line with our broader M-ICT vision, which will help us deliver higher value to customers and drive the growth of our business. Our new M-ICT strategy will open up a total addressable market of USD 3.5 trillion for ZTE, far bigger than the USD 350 billion telecommunications market.” The new logo is a part of the rebranding and it’s rounder and more streamlined and the new slogan, “Tomorrow never waits,” needs no further explanation. ZTE’s press release also writes about their Cool – Green – Open philosophy, which it’s believed will encourage the fostering of innovative, sustainable technologies in an open, collaborative manner.
Under the talk of innovation and greener, more youthful logos the business also write about the changes to the structure because of changes in the world. ZTE will be structured around the main units, Carrier Solutions, Enterprise Business and Mobile Devices. Each of these units will integrate with the other: ZTE are aiming to be one of the go-to businesses for end to end mobile technology. In other words, customers will use ZTE devices over a network that uses ZTE infrastructure. ZTE’s reimaging seeks to take advantage of the ever changing digital world around us, which appears to be increasingly shaped by mobile devices interconnected by cloud technologies. They, like many businesses spanning the spectrum from carrier to service provider to device manufacturer, want to continue to be a relevant part of the digital future. ZTE have been squeezed by the competition in the handset markets (Xiaomi consistently sell higher specification devices at equivalent or lower prices) but have been able to break out of China and are selling devices in the more developed smartphone markets of Great Britain, the United States of America and Continental Europe. Their success outside of the Chinese market stems from having a patent portfolio, which enables them to sell their products in overseas markets with a much-reduced fear of patent lawsuits.
We’ve been impressed with ZTE devices over the last year, admiring their blend of quality and price. As a brand, they do not have such the glamorous image as say Xiaomi, but as a business, their patent-first approach has proven to be useful. Plus let’s not forget ZTE’s involvement in the networking and infrastructure markets, too. Do you have a ZTE product? What do you think of it? What do you think of ZTE’s new logo? Let us know in the comments below.