HTC has announced a Change to its branding on Monday, as it works to reinvent itself as a global smartphone leader.

It began with the release of its HTC One earlier in 2013. Now the company has dropped its old marketing terms and is going for something sleeker and bolder. A long-term strategy, HTC has launched its new Change brand platform to usher in a "new approach that will transform the industry".

To help push the new platform, HTC has hired actor and director Robert Downey Jr to be the face of Change for HTC. Downey has signed a two-year contract with the company, to star in ads and workwith the creative side of HTC to promote it.

“HTC’s innovation, authenticity and boldness have made us the change-makers in the mobile industry and led us to launch what influencers regard as the best phone in the world, the HTC One," said Ben Ho, chief marketing officer of HTC.

"Our original and playful Change platform is different from anything else out there and aligns our brand with the same qualities our phones are already known for."

The first advertisement to feature Robert Downey Jr will screen on YouTube on 15 August, followed by cinema and TV screenings in markets around the world, with a focus on the UK, US and Taiwan.

Ho continued, "With this campaign, we are affirming what HTC’s role is in the mobile market, which is to define change and to lead the industry in developing the newest and most innovative technologies.”In March, HTC made the decision to drop its "Quietly Brilliant" product tagline to go for a bolder approach - which we now know is Change.

HTC's plan to ramp up on advertising is a must. Competitor Samsung has its Galaxy S4 on the market to compete directly with the One. It's further worth noting that Apple is also launching its iPhone 5S smartphone in September.

According to Ho in March, HTC will increase its digital marketing budget by 250 per cent in 2013 and traditional media marketing budget by 100 per cent.

Speaking to advertisers, HTC said: "With Robert Downey Jr as the instigator of change, the creative ads explore imaginative HTC word associations to invoke interest and talkability among consumers. The narrative follows the well-known actor and director as he kicks off the realm of change made possible by HTC."

HTC has released a teaser with Robert Downey Jr before the Change advertising campaign starts on 15 August.