The success of "Hermes in the mobile phone case industry".
If asked, "What's the last thing you look at before you go to bed and the first thing you touch when you wake up?" ”
I believe that the answer given by the vast majority of people will be "mobile phone", especially young people, and the probability of answering "mobile phone" may be as high as 99%.
As one of the most iconic creations of our time, smartphones have become extremely common and indispensable items in our daily lives in just over a decade, and their "accessory" mobile phone cases have also ushered in a booming period in the industry.
With the accelerated development of smartphones and the continuous rise of young consumer groups, people's demand for mobile phone cases has also changed from "simply protecting mobile phones" to "not only protecting mobile phones, but also expressing personality". At the same time, under the background of the increasing popularity and upgrading of smartphones, the mobile phone case market has shown a continuous growth trend.
According to GIR (Global Info Research) survey data, in terms of revenue, the global mobile phone case revenue in 2023 will be about 11.09 billion US dollars, and it is expected to reach 13.97 billion US dollars in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% from 2024 to 2030.
According to Mordor Intelligence data, the global mobile protective case market size is expected to reach $26 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $33.7 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 5.33% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
Although the sample range of each study is different from the forecast period, the point is highly consistent: the mobile phone case industry is a "potential stock" in 2024 and even in the next few years.
In the global mobile phone case market, CASETiFY, founded in 2011, has maintained several times growth every year. According to CASETiFY, its average annual sales of mobile phone cases exceed 3 million products, of which sales in 2021 reached 120 million US dollars (about 800 million yuan), and revenue exceeded 300 million US dollars (about 2.2 billion yuan) in 2022.
A mobile phone case costs as much as 500 yuan, and it sells more than 20 billion yuan a year, how exactly does CASETiFY do it?
Brand core
Fill up the emotional value and lead the mental state
In June 2010, the iPhone4, which "redefined the mobile phone", was born, and it was sold to China in September of the same year, starting at 4999 yuan, which is several times higher than the price of domestic mobile phones. On 3.7 Girls' Day in 2011, there was also a story that "a male student in a college science class raised 100 yuan each and bought an iPhone 4 for the "lone seedling" girl in the class", which attracted the envy of countless young people.
In the same year, Wesley Ng, who returned from studying abroad and worked on the creative team of NOW TV, also lined up in front of Apple's flagship store in Hong Kong's International Finance Center to buy an iPhone 4s. But when he got a new phone and wanted to find a good-looking phone case to protect it, he found that the style and color of the phone case at that time were very simple, and the options were very small. This made Wu see a business opportunity, so he used his spare time to start CASETiFY with his friends.
The POD model has been leading the industry for more than 10 years, fully meeting consumers' pursuit of personalization
Just like the slogan "Show Your Colors", CASETiFY was founded to meet the needs of Apple mobile phone users at the time for personalization and differentiation of their phone cases. Up to now, CASETiFY products have been able to adapt to Apple, Huawei, Samsung, Google and other international mainstream smartphones and other electronic products.
In order to fully reflect the brand's personalized and differentiated positioning, Wu Peishen thought of attracting consumers with a customized mobile phone case model from the beginning. That is, POD (Print on Demand) has only become popular in recent years, that is, the print-on-demand mode, consumers give the pattern printing and typography design they want, and the merchant produces their own mobile phone case after placing an order.
This model can not only fully meet consumers' pursuit of "exclusive" and "personalized", but also have lower risks and higher profits, and has now become one of the development directions of many clothing, accessories, household goods brands and businesses. However, more than 10 years ago, it was played with by CASETiFY.
At the time of its founding, CASETiFY was also known as Casetagram. Founded in 2010, Instagram saw the potential of a social model that uses pictures as a link, and the idea of customizing a phone case based on Instagram photos was born.
On the CASETiFY website, users can customize the style, color, pattern and font according to their own ideas. In this way, if you spend $60-80 to buy a phone case that is completely desirable and will not collide, in terms of emotional value, the CASETiFY phone case is also worth the price.
Advocate "putting yourself first" and insist on speaking up and contributing to women
When you open the homepage of the CASETiFY website, in addition to the different series of products, we will also see the column "CASETiFYCares" at the bottom of the page, with "Putting Yourself First" and "New Era of Women" ranking first and second respectively, which fully demonstrates CASETiFY's respect for individuals and women.
In keeping with the idea of "putting yourself first," CASETiFY donates $5 for every product sold during Mental Health Month to the nonprofit organization TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), which goes directly to the treatment and rehabilitation of patients struggling with depression, addiction, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.
In the practice of the concept of "a new era of women's power", CASETiFY once revealed that 53% of the brand's designers are women. And in celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, in 2022, CASETiFY collaborated with more than 300 female creators to create an exclusive collection of phone cases to convey their voices and ideas to the world.
In addition, CASETiFY announced that in March 2023, for every female creator collection sold, it will donate $5 to the non-profit organization She's The First, to help women pursue their dreams and encourage women to brave their careers.
In response to International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, CASETiFY has collaborated with a number of artists to launch a limited edition "Be Breast Aware" collection. During October, CASETiFY will donate $5 to Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a non-profit organization that promotes breast cancer prevention and treatment during October.
Through the above forms of "written" and "kryptonite", CASETiFY expresses the respect and support of every individual and woman in the brand, which has won the love of many young people, especially female users in the new era.
We recycle and plant trees to actively practice environmentalism
At a time when "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality" have become the long-term development goals of every enterprise, CASETiFY has been on the road of environmentalism.
According to CASETiFY's website, the company has now recycled more than 84 tons of plastic, which can be recycled as part of high-performance plastic materials and eventually become a brand new phone case.
Image from the official website of CASETiFY
In addition, CASETiFY has set up collection points in stores around the world, and the recycling of phone cases from any brand is expected to keep them out of landfills and return to the production line of CASETiFY products and packaging. Anyway, CASETiFY is pretty sensible.
At the same time, the information on the CASETiFY website also shows that every time a sustainable product is sold, the company will donate $1 to the Earth Day team to plant trees. Cumulatively, CASETiFY has planted 463,406 saplings with the Earth Day team, representing more than 22 million pounds of carbon emissions offset from the air.
Nowadays, the values of green and environmental protection are no longer exclusive to public welfare organizations and environmentalists, and many people have the same awareness. From the consumer's point of view, buying a CASETiFY phone case can not only show your unique self, but also make a contribution to the protection of the earth and the natural environment, and your personal consumption behavior and brand value will be sublimated in an instant.
Product performance
has both strength and appearance, and welds the label of "Hermes in the mobile phone case industry".
Nowadays, the custom phone case industry has been a crowd, if you rely on the above emotional value alone, it is obvious that it can no longer stand at the forefront of the fierce electronic product accessories market, and can maintain a sustained high growth rate, CASETiFY of course has real skills.
Thousands of anti-drop tests to ensure that the product is enough to withstand falls
For a phone case priced at $60-$80, the quality of the product must stand the test. Especially in the North American market, which has always valued product quality, as a protective case for mobile phones, it must be resistant to drops and bumps.
From Apple to Samsung, Google to Huawei models, CASETiFY has always pursued excellent product performance, and each new product launch has to undergo thousands of anti-drop tests to ensure the quality of the phone case.
CASETiFY's case is made from a combination™ of UV-resistant polycarbonate and impact-resistant thermoplastic polyurethane, which is certified for impact resistance by U.S. military specifications, even from a height of 6.6 feet (about 2 meters). According to CASETiFY, the high cost of developing this material is also the main reason why the product is sold above market price. [2]
At the level of product drop resistance promotion, CASETiFY has also achieved the ultimate interpretation. In the promotional video, people can see the phone falling from a height with a tomato tied to it, and the splash of red juice shows the destructive power with a strong visual impact, while the phone is intact. There may be more than one phone case that can achieve the same protection, but CASETiFY does it for users to feel intuitively. [3]
The quality of hard-core products that can stand the test and cooperate with strong publicity make "hard-core" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which is also the foundation for CASETiFY to continue to grow strongly after more than ten years of development.
With more than 300,000 SKUs, it provides users with the ultimate freedom of choice
In terms of exterior design, CASETiFY's product development capabilities are at the forefront of the industry.
In 2014, CASETiFY officially launched its new name, which is more about making phone cases more personal and creative. To that end, while other phone case companies of the same type choose to hire graphic designers, CASETiFY has already begun to look to work with artists.
In addition, it is also very good at launching various co-branded models, and even opened an Instagram account to post co-branded phone cases! [2]
From museums, creative agencies, animation IPs, film and television works, to singers and actors, Korean girl groups, fashion bloggers, to fashion brands, consumer brands, and even logistics companies...... The high degree of plasticity of the phone case allows CASETiFY to have few limits when it comes to co-branding. Its co-branded models with Disney, One Piece, Pokémon, Naruto, Korean girl group BLACKPINK, Yohji Yamamoto, Saint Laurent, etc., have been sought after by celebrities, hipsters and young people around the world.
Today, CASETiFY has more than 300,000 SKUs, which is quite impressive. Whether you prefer simplicity, sweetness, cuteness, stream of consciousness, fashion art and sexy wildness, you'll find something for yourself at CASETiFY.
Through the "no taboo" style of co-branding, a large number of product styles have been achieved, providing users with the ultimate freedom of choice, which is also one of the secrets of CASETiFY's ability to attract consumers from all walks of life and maintain high growth.
Marketing tools
Celebrity endorsement, social media planting, it's hard not to get into the pit
In terms of marketing, CASETiFY is also a "trendsetter". As one media outlet once wrote, CASETiFY follows the law of detonation of popular things and deliberately creates "key people". [4]
Make full use of the "star effect" and invite stars from all walks of life to appear in the shell
The biggest charm of a custom phone case is its uniqueness. And if you want to ask who is the most unique person, it must be a celebrity, opinion leader and other public figures who have already made a name for themselves in a certain field and want to show their unique taste through the must-have accessory of mobile phone cases. As early as 2013, Wu Peishen was deeply aware of this.
At that time, the well-known British chef Jamie Oliver discovered the early CASETiFY (Casetagram) and spontaneously recommended it to his huge Twitter followers, which brought traffic to the brand's official website. Wu Peishen realized that they had indeed grasped the strong unmet demand in the market, and chose to quit his job and take the mobile phone case business seriously.
After tasting the sweetness of "star effect", CASETiFY took this marketing method to the extreme. From movie stars to sports stars, pop singers to Korean girl bands, from fashion KOLs to fashion influencers, CASETiFY regularly sends its products to these "key people". With a style that is highly suitable for the preferences of "key people", or a collaboration model with targeted invitations, CASETiFY has received free advertisements from a number of Internet celebrities and quickly went out of the circle.
Nowadays, whether people search for "CASETiFY" on Instagram and Twitter abroad, or on Xiaohongshu in China, countless celebrities can appear with the same style.
In foreign countries, from pop diva Dua Lipa, to supermodel Gigi Hadid, to Kim sister Kylie Jenner, to TikTok queen Addison Rae, are all users of CASETiFY. In order to reach more consumers, it has also launched a collaboration model with the popular Korean girl group BlackPink and Gen Z superstar Olivia Rodrigo.
In China, CASETiFY has launched a number of collaborations with actors Zhou Yutong, Ouyang Nana, and fashion blogger @Ro Jie. Not only that, Yang Zi and Fan Chengcheng showed off a special customized CASETiFY mobile phone case in order to promote the new drama at the GQ ceremony, and actor Zhao Lusi incarnated as a CASETiFY mobile phone case on his social account, actor Song Yanfei, supermodel He Sui, pop singer Wang Jiaer, etc., also appeared with CASETiFY many times......
CASETiFY continues to expand its brand influence through these celebrities and Internet celebrity bloggers who have great influence among young people, and firmly encircle the young generation who enjoy the fun of chasing stars and pursue fashion personality with one after another "celebrity style".
Grasp the new trend of social media, and multi-form grass planting is pervasive
In addition to applying the "fan effect" to perfection, CASETiFY is also very good at using social media for marketing, and has a very diverse overseas layout, covering not only Instagram and Twitter, but also mainstream social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok, forming a complete social media matrix.
Instagram, which was the first target of CASETiFY and the inspiration for the brand's creation, has multiple accounts on the platform, including not only the main account that has been in operation for many years, but also the creation of separate accounts for markets such as Hong Kong, the United States, and Australia.
YouTube is the main source of traffic for the CASETiEY brand's independent website, and although the number of followers is not at the same level as Instagram, the co-branded videos and product fall test videos released by them have a strong appeal to the audience.
In China, Xiaohongshu is its main position in domestic marketing. Its platform attributes and crowd are highly compatible with CASETiFY, which takes the mid-to-high-end route.
As mentioned above, in order to enrich the product style, CASETiFY has launched a number of co-branded models, and "co-branding" has natural advantages and convenience in marketing.
These IPs themselves have a certain fan base, and after the launch of the co-branded models, some fans will spontaneously interact and re-create, generate a variety of co-branded UGC content, and slowly establish exclusive topics on Xiaohongshu through the "snowball" effect.
In addition, due to the strong tolerance of product attributes, CASETiFY has almost no restrictions in the field of KOLs that it can cooperate with, whether it is on the intranet or on the extranet, and it is compatible with beauty, technology, life, unboxing, and funny. But no matter what the field, the common denominator is that a specific scenario will be designed to guide the user's decision-making, such as a scene of giving a customized phone case to her boyfriend, and the audience will be substituted with emotional appeal. [3]
Based on its strong product performance and rich product style, CASETiFY keeps up with the development trend of social networks, and continues to connect with more and more young consumers around the world through a series of "viral" social media marketing.
Catering to the hot marketing of the younger generation and the continuous improvement of sales channels
In addition to the above, CASETiFY's performance in hot marketing is also remarkable, and it largely caters to the thinking and worldview of the younger generation.
In June 2022, CASETiFY launched the "Pride Month" series of products and posted the content of the collaboration with several LGBT influencers on social media, which not only firmly captured the social hotspots of the time, but also showed the diverse and open side of the brand. [2]
In the same year's back-to-school season, the brand recognized the younger nature of TikTok's users, and collaborated with a number of young bloggers on the platform to publish #backtoschool content to attract young consumers to buy new electronic devices and accessories for the new semester. [2]
On International Women's Day 2023, CASETiFY also presented a collaboration series with three Chinese female artists under the theme of "To Her, She Advocates". Among them, the most out-of-the-circle in China is the "Lower Waist Girl" in collaboration with independent illustrator Zhou Yang. Through four sets of life situations, the infinite vitality and vitality of the "lower-waisted girl" are conveyed with high-saturation colors, encouraging women to boldly pursue love.
In terms of channel construction, CASETiFY, which focuses on the DTC model, in order to better connect with consumers and maintain the mid-to-high-end image of the brand, has been focusing on online platforms in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea for a long time, but it is not limited to independent stations, but also sells on third-party platforms such as Amazon, Revolve and Shopbop.
In Chinese mainland, consumers used to only be able to obtain it through daigou. It wasn't until 2022 that CASETiFY officially entered the mainland, opening its official website and Tmall flagship store, as well as offline stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.
From celebrity endorsement to social media and hot marketing, CASETiFY's marketing approach has always stood with young people, coupled with the continuous improvement of sales channels, while maintaining the mid-to-high-end image of the brand as much as possible, it has ensured the convenience of purchase as much as possible and continuously strengthened user stickiness.
summary
For more than 10 years since its founding, CASETiFY has maintained exponential growth almost every year and has continued to be profitable. In addition to the brand's precise and cutting-edge value proposition, excellent product quality and sufficient variety of styles, marketing also plays a decisive role.
CASETiFY's product and brand work not only satisfies consumers' needs for hardcore performance and unique appearance mobile phone cases, but also provides the same emotional value for young people who pursue individuality, differentiation and fashion taste.
CASETiFY's marketing strategy, that is, continuous cooperation with celebrities, celebrities, Internet celebrities and popular IPs who are very online in fashion and aesthetic taste, can not only form a strong separation and barrier with a large number of brands with serious product homogeneity, but also enhance the brand style and premium, which is tantamount to announcing to consumers that CASETiFY used by celebrities is worth this price.
Judging from the current good momentum of the industry as a whole, the prospects of the leading companies on the track of mobile phone cases are also optimistic. But it is worth being wary that CASETiFY, which bears the name of an original design, has been accused of plagiarism more than once. In order to seize the market growth opportunities and continue to shine and reach new heights, CASETiFY may need to work original designs in addition to high-frequency co-branding.
Author: He Miao
Producer: Fan Yi
Resources
[1] CASETiFY: Why do the more mobile phone cases sell better with annual sales of $120 million? SocialBook
[2] Visit the first store of CASETiFY Shanghai K11 in the mainland: mobile phone case 299-479 yuan, female users account for 80% of the on-site users, surging news
[3] With a unit price of 500 yuan and a frenzy of 2.2 billion, how did CASETiFY become the "Hermes" of the mobile phone case industry? Knife Research Institute
[4] How did CASETiFY turn a low-barrier mobile phone case into a trendy brand business? Interface News