HONOR X9c — Proved by Russia

Timeline: 30.11. 2024 – 25.01. 2025

In the Russian market, HONOR is a leader in mobile electronics and a key player in the mid-range smartphone segment.

In 2025, the brand launched its new model, HONOR X9c. Its key advantages are all about real-world resilience: reliable performance in extreme temperatures (from -30°C to +55°C), a durable screen and body with 360-degree protection, a long-lasting battery, and AI-powered camera technology.

Key market competitors: MI/XIAOMI (34%), Samsung (32%), with Realme, Huawei, and Tecno collectively holding 26%. These players primarily battle it out in the mid-range, which is the market's sweet spot: 44% of consumers choose phones in the ₽20,000–₽50,000 price bracket.

Russia's smartphone market is booming. In the first half of 2024 alone, Russians purchased 14.2M smartphones. That's a 24% increase year-over-year (M.Video-Eldorado data). Chinese brands are firmly in control of this growth, capturing 86% of the market by aggressively expanding their mid-range lineups.

However, this flood of technically similar devices has created a true sea of sameness, making it harder for brands to stand out and for shoppers to tell the difference. Compounding the problem is the category's generic, globalized feel. Competitors' creative is dominated by soulless “tech gloss” and unrelatable imagery, with messaging in the category fixated on a cold list of features.

This is why we chose a radically different strategy for the HONOR X9c launch: to be the first to move beyond a discussion of features and create a culturally relevant identity for the product—one that would cut through the clutter and drive record sales growth.

Our consumer is a pragmatic, middle-income individual from outside Russia's major metropolitan hubs, for whom functionality (59%) and reliability (60%) are paramount (VCIOM, national pollster). They only replace their device when it breaks or becomes obsolete. A smartphone needs to be tough and built to last (M.Video-Eldorado data).

For this audience, a gadget isn't a toy; it's a trusted companion for a life where harsh weather and tough conditions are just another part of the everyday. Their biggest pain point, therefore, is finding a smartphone with rugged specs that absolutely will not let them down.

In this context, HONOR X9c had to prove its durability through iconic cultural moments that would resonate instantly with a Russian audience, allowing us to communicate not just its features, but its emotional value.

1. Business objective:

- Drive sales growth for the new HONOR X9c model (first-month sales target: 26,000 units).

2. Marketing objectives:

- Increase unaided brand awareness by +2 pp

- Increase brand and X series awareness by +2 pp among consumers looking to purchase a smartphone in the ₽20,000-₽50,000 range

3. Media objectives:

- Impressions: KPI 521M.

- Clicks: KPI 3M.

- CTR: KPI 0.55%.

Grow the follower count on official HONOR social channels

We uncovered a core audience trait: with low trust in advertising, just boasting about “cool” features isn't enough. 80% of consumers are tired of glossy ads and are seeking real authenticity in brand communications (Calltouch Research).

Tapping into this demand for authenticity, we found our local insight: a smartphone shouldn't just talk about its strengths; it has to prove its tough, reliable character through trials born from the unique traditions that Russia is famous for.

And so, our core campaign message emerged: “Russia-Proven”. Within this creative platform, HONOR X9c had its advantages put to the test by the country itself—by its harsh nature and its unique traditions.

The smartphone proved it could handle deep frosts down to -30°C and endure the extreme heat of a Russian banya up to +55°C, while its water-resistant body was truly put to the test by a traditional ice-plunge.

Our “Russia-Proven” creative platform forged a memorable identity for the new X9c, allowing it to cut through the noise in a category where no one else had yet capitalized on the trend of authenticity by speaking to the Russian audience in a language truly its own.

The “Russia-Proven” idea was scaled into a full 360-degree campaign:

1. In media, short-form versions of our film highlighted the phone's advantages in different real-life scenarios: in a banya, at a hockey game, and while curling. This was all supported by a large-scale banner campaign. We also placed branded content on key tech portals—3Dnews, IXBT, and 4PDA—through banners and in-depth review articles.

2. Offline, our film ran on 44 screens in shopping malls and 76 screens in the metro. Additionally, the full-length version was shown on the big screen in cinemas before feature films—a high-impact and unconventional format for the category.

3. The campaign was amplified by key opinion leaders, which helped us boost interest and reach a massive audience:

• Integrations in popular VK shows, including pre-rolls and native placements (“Natalnaya Karta”," “30 Tracks,” “Otkuda Ty?”).

• Placements in the Telegram channels of popular bloggers specializing in tech, lifestyle, and travel (Rozetked, Wylsacom, and others).

• We ran an influencer roadshow across Karelia, putting the smartphone through its paces in the harshest possible conditions.

4. Russians also got the chance to put the smartphone's durability to the test themselves:

• We ran a retail roadshow with dedicated zones in major shopping malls across Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Kazan, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk, allowing shoppers to conduct their own crash tests.

• The brand's owned channels were used to communicate with the organic audience. We also broadcasted the offline launch event and held a giveaway for the new model.

The “Russia-Proven” campaign delivered outstanding results, surpassing all its objectives.

1. The campaign surpassed its business objectives:

• Sales growth: The X9c model hit 124% of its KPI, with 32,243 smartphones sold in the first month.

2.Marketing objectives were not just met—they were smashed:

• Unaided brand awareness grew by +10 pp.

• Brand and X series awareness among consumers in the ₽20,000-₽50,000 purchase range grew by +4 pp (vs. a +2 pp KPI).

• X series awareness increased to 70% (a +21 pp lift between exposed and non-exposed groups vs. a +10 pp KPI).

• X series consideration increased to 23% (a +10 pp lift between exposed and non-exposed groups vs. a +5 pp KPI).

3. We also beat our media KPIs across the board:

• Impressions hit 124% of the goal (646M vs. 521M KPI).

• Clicks reached 376% of the goal (10M vs. 3M KPI).

• CTR was 304% of the goal (1.67% vs. 0.55% KPI).

• The video-through rate (VTR) reached 60%, exceeding the KPI by 22% (vs. 49% KPI).

4. The campaign's total reach exceeded 164M people. Our influencer marketing drove another 10M views through integrations in Telegram channels and popular VK shows. The offline reach was nearly 19M people.

The "Russia-Proven" campaign for HONOR X9c marked a leap from empty tech talk to a real conversation. We turned the audience's fatigue with glossy ads into our greatest strength, guided by a powerful local insight: Russians trust actions, not words. We didn't just talk about features—we put the smartphone to the test in harsh winters, in the heat of the banya, and in a traditional ice-plunge. It was all real, with no CGI or fakery—our way of speaking to consumers in a language they truly understand. This was a level of authentic communication that no one else in the category had ever attempted.

The results speak for themselves: sales hit 124% of our target. But most importantly, we won the hearts and minds of Russian consumers. This translated into a +10 pp lift in unaided brand awareness, and a +4 pp lift in brand and X series awareness among the smartphone audience in the mid-range segment. The campaign proved that honesty is the most powerful strategy.

The "Russia-Proven" creative platform has now become a long-term strategic asset for the X series and all future models in the lineup.