SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 9, Kantar hosted the 2026 Kantar BrandZ China Brand Gala under the theme "Growing with Intelligence" in Shanghai, where the 2026 Kantar BrandZ China Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands Ranking was officially launched.

In 2026, vivo's Brand Value rose 16% to US$6.9 billion, ranking No. 33 in the Kantar BrandZ China Top 100. This marked vivo's third consecutive year in the ranking, while the brand also received the Kantar BrandZ Inspirational Star of Innovation – Industry Breakthrough Award. Its consistently high Meaningful score demonstrates a brand that has become part of consumers' everyday lives, with growth built on genuine consumer connection rather than short-term momentum.

Against a backdrop of relentless competition in the global smartphone market, vivo's approach to product innovation stands apart from industry convention. Rather than beginning with specifications and working outward, vivo anchors every development decision in concrete consumer scenarios and unmet needs, defining the product in reverse from what real people actually require.

This performance reflects a wider strategic shift in the smartphone industry. Competition is moving beyond specifications alone, towards a more integrated contest of technological capability, contextual experience, and emotional value. In this environment, vivo has built a differentiated path to brand growth by anchoring its core narrative in human-centric technology, ensuring innovation remains closely connected to what consumers need and desire.

Across the smartphone industry, the centre of gravity in brand marketing is shifting, from showing how powerful technology can be, to showing how it can help people. vivo moved earlier than many of its peers in making this transition, repositioning its marketing narrative from a demonstration of features to a platform for recording and amplifying consumers' stories.

The launch of the S60 brought this shift into clear focus. Rather than presenting a conventional technology showcase, vivo created an emotional conversation around how people see beauty in everyday life. Its premium product line continues to curate high-value life scenarios, allowing BlueImage to evolve into an emotional thread that connects the brand with consumers' most treasured moments. Together, these moves show how the relationship between brand and user has extended beyond the product itself, becoming part of the lived experiences through which people express themselves. In doing so, vivo gives consumers a richer language for capturing and sharing what matters to them.

At the heart of vivo's globalisation strategy is not the straightforward export of products or the replication of campaigns. Instead, vivo uses its domestically proven human-centric technology proposition as a universal foundation, while undertaking deep, market-by-market localisation to reflect different consumer cultures, aesthetic preferences, and media ecosystems.

The debut of the X300 Ultra at MWC 2026 was a public statement of this global ambition. The Ultra series appeared on one of the world's most important telecommunications stages for the first time, earning widespread acclaim, while launching simultaneously in Europe and China. This positioned vivo as a confident competitor in the global premium arena.

Long-term Kantar BrandZ research consistently shows that Brand Value growth is driven not by innovation alone, but by whether that innovation is meaningful to consumers. vivo's story is living proof of this principle. Every technological advance has been built around human needs, helping consumers record, express, and connect, and turning technical capability into a partner of the experiences that matter.

From the distant horizons captured by the X300 Ultra's lens, to the precious moments preserved by the S60's Live Photo. These meaningful moments settle into deep, enduring brand affinity, helping to drive Brand Value growth long into the future.