TAIWANESE superstar Jay Chou is one great multi- tasker.
A songwriter and singer, the 29-year-old is also a music producer, a music video director, record company owner and a budding actor.
So it was no coincidence that he was picked by international communications giantMotorola in 2006 to front the ROKR E8 - a mobile phone that plays music, takes photographs and films videos.
It was, as Motorola put it, a perfect match. "As a famous superstar, Jay Chou has many different sides to him that he communicates to his fans, just like how there are different functions in the ROKR E8," Mr Ian Chapman-Banks, Motorola's corporate vice-president in Asia, told my paper.
Chou is one of many celebrities whom Motorola has engaged to endorse its products. The marketing strategy draws on a stable of superstars, which includes football icon David Beckham, Queen of Pop Madonna, pop star Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas, Chinese actress Zhou Xun and Bollywood heart-throb Abhishek Bachchan.
Said Mr Chapman-Banks: "Having high-profile personalities fronting our products enables Motorola to amplify the brand characteristics that we want to communicate with our customers." While celebrity endorsements are not new, Mr Chapman- Banks said that getting someone who "fits the Motorola brand identity and integrity" is challenging.
That means the company chooses only brand ambassadors who are easily recognisable and who have "an excellent track record and history".
Declining to reveal sales figures or the criteria used to measure the success of such endorsements, Mr Chapman-Banks said that it is more about choosing the right ambassador than the outcome of having one.
The company has certainly hit the jackpot by having Chou as the face for one of its most popular phones - the superstar attracted 200 million hits in 10 days on Motorola's music website in China after his album launch in September 2006.
How does Motorola differentiate itself from its competitors?
We prefer to focus on experiences.
There are different categories of mobile phones and each carries its own franchise promise or unique selling points.
The luxury edition, for example, which emphasises fashion and style, includes the V9 Ferrari special edition and V9 Rose Gold.
The latter is endorsed by Singapore's Nominated Member of Parliament Eunice Olsen.
Any significant advantage in Motorola's market share since the company started using brand ambassadors?
We don't measure it this way. It's more about choosing the right brand ambassador than the outcome of having one.
For example, Jay Chou has a strong fan base in Chinese- speaking markets, which largely comprises those who range in age from 24 to 35.
Our music devices are targeted at this group and Jay helps tremendously in raising awareness of our brand and music products.
When his album Still Fantasy was launched in September 2006, our motomusic.com.cn website, which carried his songs exclusively for one week, registered 200 million hits in 10 days, which meant that our strategy was very successful.
ROKR E8 has two brand ambassadors - Jay Chou and Abhishek Bachchan - why is that so?
Jay Chou is the global brand ambassador for the ROKR E8 as he is very popular in Chinese-speaking Asian countries, while Abhishek Bachchan is the brand ambassador for the model in India as the company felt it would be good to have a local market perspective.
