Description

Timeline: 22.04.2025-06.06.2025
HONOR is a major player in the Russian smartphone market, competing fiercely in the mid-range segment.

In 2025, the brand launched the HONOR 400 series, a new benchmark for AI-powered photography, featuring a 200MP Ultra-Clear Portrait Mode, 6x Zoom Portrait, 30x AI SuperZoom, and AI Living Memories.

Key market competitors are MI/XIAOMI (34%) and Samsung (32%), followed by a second tier of players like Realme, Huawei, and Tecno, which together account for 26% of the market. These brands are all locked in a battle for the mid-range—the market's sweet spot, where Russian consumers are increasingly choosing devices in the ₽30,000 – ₽70,000 range for that ideal blend of features and price.

But for the past two years, HONOR was stuck in a holding pattern. Its most crucial metric, consumer consideration, had stagnated, failing to break the 33% ceiling (33% in Q3 2024, 27% in Q4 2024, 31% in Q1 2025, and 32% in Q2 2025). This flatline performance was a clear sign of a blurred brand image that was struggling to connect with Russian consumers.

The situation was intensified by a radically transformed competitive landscape. Fueled by the expansion of Chinese brands (MI/Xiaomi, Realme, Tecno, etc.), the mid-range segment had become a field of fierce competition. In 2024 alone, their collective market share grew by 10 pp to reach an overwhelming 86%.

The result was a perfect storm of category clutter and a relentless war over tech specs—a battle that left consumers seeing a sea of sameness. In this environment, the launch of HONOR's new mid-range flagship, the HONOR 400, risked being dead on arrival.

Our challenge was clear: forge a unique and trusted identity for the new series, reignite brand consideration, and win market share in one of the most crowded and competitive segments in the world.

Our target audience: Russian consumers aged 30-45, shopping for their next mid-range smartphone.

For them, brand image is paramount. They choose brands they trust, brands that signal quality, and most importantly, brands that align with their own identity. And when it comes to the product itself, camera quality is a top priority.

This insight defined our approach: instead of focusing on tech specs, we had to connect the camera's features to a relevant emotional need—one that would let us build a genuine bond with our audience.

This led us to a simple but powerful truth: caught up in the daily hustle and separated by distance, 45% of our audience feels they are missing out on moments with loved ones and nature. And yet, what are they using their smartphone cameras for? Exactly that. To bridge those distances and capture those fleeting memories. 30% of their photos are of family, and 68% are of the world around them.

1. Business objectives:
- Grow unit sales of the new HONOR 400 series (KPI: +30% in the first month post-launch vs. the HONOR 200 series' equivalent period).

2. Marketing objectives:
- Increase product consideration among the mid-range audience (KPI: +4 pp to reach 16%)
- Drive interest in the new series (KPI: +40% vs. HONOR 200 during its launch period).
- Grow brand consideration for the next purchase (KPI: +50% among mid-range consumers).

Media objectives:
- Complete video views (KPI: 48M)
- Clicks on online ads (KPI: 543K)
- Social media engagement on brand posts (KPI: 60K likes, comments, and shares)
- New follower acquisition for brand social accounts via HONOR 400 series content (KPI: 20K).

We tapped into a deep emotional undercurrent: in a world defined by distance, the daily hustle, and a constant lack of time, we all share a powerful, universal need to feel closer.

Our insight was the key: every photo we take is an attempt to bridge that distance—to connect with our loved ones, with nature, and with our own memories.

The HONOR 400's features weren't just specs; they were tools to bring people closer. This became our core message: “Closer with every shot.”
• Ultra-clear portraits capture the raw emotion of your loved ones, making you feel like they're right there with you
• The 30x AI SuperZoom lets you capture the world's beauty in stunning detail, no matter how far away you are
• AI Living Memories bring cherished memories to life, bridging the distance across time.

To bring this idea to life, we chose a truly unique format: a cinematic journey set to a bespoke track from the indie band Gorech, with lyrics inspired by the classic 19th-century poem by Afanasy Fet, “I have come to you with greeting.”

The film captures the intimate journey of a couple across Olkhon Island. It's a story told through fleeting, authentic moments, each one beautifully preserved by the HONOR 400's technology, bringing them closer to each other and the world around them.
• 30x AI SuperZoom: He captures a rare Baikal bird. The zoom resolves the finest details of nature, even at extreme distances.
• 200MP Ultra-Clear Portrait: She runs freely, a spontaneous smile on her face—a fleeting moment captured in perfect, living clarity.
• 6x Zoom Portrait: She frames a portrait of him against a vast landscape, and the device’s algorithms artfully melt the background into a beautiful, cinematic blur.
• AI Living Memories: The couple uses the feature to bring their photo of the bird to life. It’s more than a feature; it’s a memory, alive in the palm of their hands.

But this was more than just one film. We built an entire ecosystem around our core idea, adapting the concept for every channel:

- Our media push was led by pre-rolls of the film during popular entertainment shows on VK Video. It was also distributed across video platforms like Yandex and MyTarget, and the streaming service KinoPoisk.

- Visuals from our hero film were adapted across all formats—from video and static banners to offline ads in MEGA shopping malls—creating a cohesive brand world.

- A curated group of high-reach family influencers on YouTube and VK brought the campaign to life with authentic videos of their own family moments, all shot on HONOR 400/400 PRO and set to the campaign's bespoke song.

- We launched a custom collaboration with the iconic Saint Petersburg bookstore Podpisnye Izdaniya, creating a conversation that spanned HONOR's channels, the bookstore's accounts, and Telegram communities dedicated to literature, AI, and tech. As part of the project, we used AI to bring tender family moments from classic Russian novels to life.

1. The campaign surpassed its business objectives:
• Record-breaking sales: A +93% increase in the first month of launch compared to the previous HONOR 200 series, surpassing the +30% KPI.
2. Marketing objectives were not just met—they were smashed:
• The campaign sparked unprecedented interest in the new series. Search activity for HONOR 400 surged by 73%—a record for any HONOR launch in the past four years, and 63% higher than that of competitor Xiaomi 15's launch campaign during its first month (Yandex Wordstat data).
• Consideration among our audience soared by +11 pp, reaching 34% (vs. a KPI of +4 pp to reach 16%).
• Intent for next purchase for the HONOR brand skyrocketed by 77% among mid-range users (vs. a KPI of 50%).
3. The campaign's film proved its power and effectiveness:
• The music video achieved a record-breaking Search Lift of 57.17%, the highest of any HONOR campaign, while its video-through rate (VTR) beat the KPI by 53% (46% vs. 30% KPI).
• Consideration among viewers who saw the ad was 77% higher compared to those who did not.

4. We also achieved outstanding engagement levels:
• Complete video views: 105M (118% over KPI)
• Clicks: 2.3M (322% over KPI)
• Social media engagement: 176K reactions (293% over KPI)
• New follower acquisition on brand social accounts via HONOR 400 series content: 38K (190% over KPI).

The HONOR 400 “Closer with every shot” campaign proved that you can transform cold tech specs into genuine human emotion. We were the first in the category to prove that technology isn't about megapixels—it's about human connection. We tapped into a universal truth: in an age of distance, every shot truly brings us closer.
We were the first among our competitors to create a unique format for conveying the smartphone's benefits: an emotional, cinematic journey set to a bespoke song inspired by classic poetry. In a category ruled by tech specs and pragmatic consumers, this was a bold risk.
But the results speak for themselves: explosive 93% sales growth, a record-breaking surge in search interest (+73% vs. the prior release and +63% vs. XIAOMI's campaign), and massive engagement. The video's completion rate beat its KPI by an incredible 53% (46% vs. 30% KPI).

Credits

Misha Liu, Marketing Campaign Curator for the Flagship Line of HONOR Russia
Artem Shepilov, Art Director of HONOR Russia
Anton Melnikov, creative director emg
Dmitry Gordeev, creative director emg
Alexey Pichugin, art director emg
Vladlena Petrova, strategist emg
Liliya Tkach, producer emg
Ekaterina Tuzova, producer emg
Yulia Suslova-Zhuravel, director of client service emg
Alexandra Neshumova, account manager emg
Nikita Bulanov, director of Production Metrika Pro
Alexey Gorbunov, director of photography of Production Metrika Pro
Ilya Kulikov, producer of Production Metrika Pro
Ilya Korzhik, executive producer of Production Metrika Pro
Ekaterina Filyayeva, line producer of Production Metrika Pro
Tatiana Ponetaykina, second director of Production Metrika Pro