Nothing CEO Carl Pei was the co-founder of OnePlus, and many similarities can be seen between the two companies, especially in the marketing department. Nothing has done a OnePlus-like teaser campaign for its upcoming phone (1), revealing small (or large) reports of information here and there apparently every two days, ensuring that it stays in the news cycle for weeks. This is exactly what OnePlus used to do, and it turns out that Nothing will implement another early OnePlus strategy for its first smartphone: the invitation system.
Loving or hating it was undeniably unique when it debuted with the OnePlus One, and the Nothing (1) phone will “initially” be sold only by invitations. You can say whatever you want about Carl Pei, but he’s sure to be among the best marketers and hype creators in the mobile space.
The information about the invitation system comes at the end of the previous video (from 13:20), which Nothing has been released today. The video details the design of the phone and its manufacturing process, letting us know that recycled aluminum is used.
Apparently, the invitation system will allow Nothing to sell its products faster, as it will not wait until it has accumulated many phones in stock to start sending them. It will also ensure that the first people to receive a phone call (1) are the “people in the community”, the “people who deserve it the most”. Once they are “happy”, the company is “more than happy to open more widely”.
Via