Motorola is working to balance short-term “agility” with long-term brand building, as the smartphone company seeks to strengthen its place in the UK market and position itself as the “human challenger” brand.

“We’re in a category where competitors massively outspend us, so we can’t win on scale alone,” says Motorola UK head of marketing Wilkin Lee. “So instead, we’re focused on being smarter and faster.”

According to Uswitch, Motorola has a 3% market share of the UK smartphone market as of May 2025 – the fourth largest player – behind Apple (49.9%), Samsung (31.9%) and Google (5.3%).

To close the gap, Motorola has been testing how data can sharpen its targeting and make its marketing feel more relevant.

“We see data and technologies as enablers of more human and more relevant marketing,” he explains.

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An example of this is the brand’s recent digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign to raise awareness and purchase intent for its Razr and Edge 50 handsets.

The campaign combined location data with real-time search intent, serving ads in regions where searches for Motorola products were high. Geo-location tools also enabled display creatives to run near retailers stocking Motorola devices, making the message timely and actionable.

“We’re reading signals, we’re adapting creators in real time and then also showing up in ways that feel relevant,” Wilkin adds.

The campaign resulted in an 81% uplift in brand searches in areas where the campaign was live, 226,000 visits to Motorola UK stockists and uplifts in brand consideration (10%) and ad recall (14%). The company also claims a 5% market share increase against competitors such as Apple and Samsung during that period.

“The campaign really showed how data can lead to precision and brand storytelling, which, for us, is important that they go hand in hand,” he adds.

Building consideration

Despite its position as a challenger brand, Motorola is not new. In 1983, the brand launched the world’s first mobile phone, a legacy that gives Motorola strong recognition in the UK. The challenge today, however, is less about awareness and more about convincing consumers to switch.

“The brand is super iconic with high awareness,” says Lee. “So our metrics have been very much focused around conversion and consideration.”

Product design is central to this. With the Razr, Motorola has revived the flip format for a new generation, the idea being to offer something distinctive in a sea of near-identical devices.

“We’re actually seeing a lot of people want to move to a flip device that we have with the Razr, because it’s an exciting form factor,” he explains.

That appeal, coupled with the ambition to work “smarter” than larger rivals, has led Motorola to focus particularly on Gen Z consumers who want a phone that “stands out”.

“Rather than having a market of everyone using the same phone, looking exactly the same, we’re actually bringing to life our technology innovation, but with different finishes and colours,” he states.

Ultimately, our goal is to make Motorola the most surprising, relevant and human challenger brand in the smartphone space in the UK.

Wilkin Lee, Motorola

Part of that strategy is Motorola’s partnership with colour specialist Pantone, which began in 2022. Pantone, according to Wilkin, provides not just the year’s most on-trend shades for device finishes, but also lends its authority to Motorola’s displays and cameras.

For example, the camera’s colour verification ensures it captures hues as Pantone intends them to be seen. The brand is also drawing on cultural cues that resonate with younger audiences, tapping into nostalgia for Y2K styling and the renewed popularity of flip phones.

A recent collaboration with Swarovski saw the Razr and Moto Buds Loop earbuds launched with crystal embellishments and a quilted leather-inspired design in Pantone’s Ice Melt shade, positioning the phone as both technology and a fashion statement.

Taking this even further, the brand partnered with Paris Hilton earlier this year for a limited-edition collection. Each device has Hilton’s signature engraved on the back along with her “That’s Hot” tagline engraved on the hinge.

Relevance also means engaging audiences where they spend their time. Social media is therefore a key pillar of Motorola’s UK strategy.

In April, the brand partnered with social media agency Modern Citizens to increase its Gen Z engagement. Motorola has also leaned into YouTube and when Wilkin joined the business 18 months ago he launched the ‘MOTOvators’ initiative – a community-based programme rewarding fans through challenges and activities on social platforms.

“A big part of my job is to connect the dots between the global strategy and what’s relevant locally,” he explains. “My role is very much about balancing creativity with the data, making sure that our brand feels inspiring and distinctive as well.”

The focus on Gen Z seems to be working. According to data from YouGov, Motorola’s purchase intent among people aged 18 to 34 in the UK has risen from a low of 0.1% mid-last year to a high 2.7% in mid-August this year.

Marketing and product teams

Alongside its smartphone push, Motorola has been expanding into new categories, including earbuds and smartwatches.

“People who are in the Motorola ecosystem were actual fans of our brand. They’re super excited that we’re entering into the audio and fitness space,” says Lee.

Given the product is so key to the brand, Wilkin explains the marketing and product teams are “closely aligned”, with the product team bringing the expertise on innovation and the marketing team responsible for translating that into consumer benefits and stories.

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“We actually do have a constant kind of feedback loop,” he explains. “Whether that’s search data, campaign learnings and even consumer insight. We flow that all back to our product teams, so they get a near real-time view of what’s landing with the customers and helps us make the business a lot more agile.”

Looking ahead, Wilkin says the business plans to go further with predictive data and real-time activation, enabling it to both anticipate and respond to trends as they emerge.

“Ultimately, our goal is to make Motorola the most surprising, relevant and human challenger brand in the smartphone space in the UK,” he adds.