Evolving to Meet Young Consumers
Accelerating vivo’s transformation journey to connect with China’s young consumer
As one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, the Chinese brand vivo is widely known for its exceptional technological innovation, and a reputation as a leader in photography and gaming hardware. But in an increasingly-saturated phone market, vivo understood that it wasn’t enough to lead the pack by relying solely on technological excellence. To win the hearts of young Chinese consumers, the company needed to become a beloved consumer technology brand. To get there, vivo wanted to design a complete brand experience beyond the devices themselves—one that would express its joyful spirit through services and retail. vivo came to IDEO for help creating a concept store and new experience that expresses the vivo brand, and resonates with China’s young people.
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In the first half of 2024, vivo led China's smartphone market, topping both shipments (sale-in) and retail sales (sale-out).
180 Million Active Young Users
Within two years of vivo Lab's official opening, vivo reached over 260 million active users, 70% of them young users.
China consumes roughly 30 percent of the world’s smartphones—which presents a tremendous market opportunity for brands looking to capture young consumers’ loyalty.
To help shift vivo’s thinking from a focus on products to a focus on brand-building, IDEO set out to help the company understand how young consumers experience fun—a core tenet of the vivo brand. The new concept store needed to convey joy and fun in a meaningful and memorable way. The project was about more than just designing the space; it was also about piloting into vivo’s future brand systems.
To kick off the project, the IDEO team conducted user research in four different cities in China, then shared the stories of young Chinese consumers with the vivo team. Their interviews revealed that young people value experiences that enrich their lives and create a feeling of positive personal transformation. They seek opportunities to discover new experiences, express themselves in different ways, expand and deepen their social connections, and build knowledge and skills. By leaning on this definition of “enjoyment,” IDEO helped vivo identify the value proposition of the concept store, helping consumers express themselves in new and different ways. The store would allow every visitor to see something unique and find a fresh perspective.
The vivo team took that value proposition into a design brief and later built out the space and interactive experiences. The second floor of the store is dedicated entirely to interactive experiences using photo booths, sound recording, and lighting technology, designed to provide consumers with the kind of enjoyment they seek. vivo launched the concept store in Shenzhen on March 22, 2019, marking an important milestone in vivo’s transformation from a smartphone maker to a consumer brand.
To help shift vivo’s thinking from a focus on products to a focus on brand-building, IDEO set out to help the company understand how young consumers experience fun—a core tenet of the vivo brand. The new concept store needed to convey joy and fun in a meaningful and memorable way. The project was about more than just designing the space; it was also about piloting into vivo’s future brand systems.
To kick off the project, the IDEO team conducted user research in four different cities in China, then shared the stories of young Chinese consumers with the vivo team. Their interviews revealed that young people value experiences that enrich their lives and create a feeling of positive personal transformation. They seek opportunities to discover new experiences, express themselves in different ways, expand and deepen their social connections, and build knowledge and skills. By leaning on this definition of “enjoyment,” IDEO helped vivo identify the value proposition of the concept store, helping consumers express themselves in new and different ways. The store would allow every visitor to see something unique and find a fresh perspective.
The vivo team took that value proposition into a design brief and later built out the space and interactive experiences. The second floor of the store is dedicated entirely to interactive experiences using photo booths, sound recording, and lighting technology, designed to provide consumers with the kind of enjoyment they seek. vivo launched the concept store in Shenzhen on March 22, 2019, marking an important milestone in vivo’s transformation from a smartphone maker to a consumer brand.