One major concem for many ODM subcontractors who introduced their own brands was that their current clients
might retaliate. Before the introduction of its own brand name, HTC estimated that most network operators would
not object to its new branding straregy. Focusing on a particular geographic area, network operators were not competing with HTC in the handset market. HTC launched its brand softly in that it did not insist on attaching the HTC logo to its products. The HTC brand was only an option for its operator clients. HTC’s strategy was to promote the brand value to the consumer. Once the value of the HTC brand was recognized by the market, its operator clients would have no hesitation in accepting the logo and co-branding with it. Before mid—2007, few operator customers had enough confidence in the HTC logo to display it on the produet. For example,