Samsung Marketing Blitz Outpaced Apple in 2012

[Casiotone]

The "paid to post" conspiracy consortium chimes in with a new low. Bravo.



Michael

This is not a conspiracy matter. Astroturfing is a reality.

I've been to conferences where "Social Networks Analytics" programs are presented, and paying posters to do damage control, promote their product or bash the competition is an increasingly common practice in the industry.

If you post something negative about a big company on a public forum (or Twitter), there's possibly someone that will be sent by this company to present counter-arguments.

 

[tekno]

Samsung is also the market leader in poor product support.
It matters not whether you have one of their laser printers
as I do, a LED TV, cell phone.
Apple in contrast has the best product support.
What goes around comes around...talk to Sony about that.
I predict Samsung's record on this issue will get around and by the time they decide to put in resources to fix this...it will be too late...talk to Sony on that.

Do you have a source for Apple having the best and Samsung having the poorest product support, as that's quite a bold statement (literally).

I ask as this surprises me - personally I have found Apple's support to be quite hit and miss, whereas Samsung's has always been great.

Is what you're saying purely your own experience?

----------

Which is what the 'sheep' were watching and believing. Two of my friends were Apple haters (for no reason other than that they loved to hate the stereotypical Apple fan portrayed by the media). They absolutely loved the anti-Apple Samsung commercial in last year's Superbowl (the one with the guys all standing in line waiting for the next phone), and were laughing at how awful the Apple iPhones were, even though they never had one.

Both got Samsung phones just before the Superbowl (like December 2011ish).

Both had tons of problems with their Samsung phones (battery life, general difficulties in understanding background-running apps). They both just wanted a phone that WORKED, not something you had to learn all the nooks and crannies of.

One has since switched to an iPhone already and loves it. The other is ready to switch to an iPhone when his contract is up. They are no longer Apple haters.

Cool story bro.

 

[iSunrise]

In Germany, I barely see any Apple ads on TV, while Samsung has quite the presence here. I´m not watching a lot of TV anymore, but the few times I watch (mainly around 8 p.m. until midnight time) Samsung has a much bigger presence.

 

[Tinmania]

This is not a conspiracy matter. Astroturfing is a reality.

I've been to conferences where "Social Networks Analytics" programs are presented, and paying posters to do damage control, promote their product or bash the competition is an increasingly common practice in the industry.

If you post something negative about a big company on a public forum (or Twitter), there's possibly someone that will be sent by this company to present counter-arguments.

As I read through your citations I am left wondering.... oh wait.



Michael

 

[Casiotone]

As I read through your citations I am left wondering.... oh wait.



Michael

I'm not accusing anyone here in particular of being an astroturfer. Like I said just because someone criticize Apple does not mean someone is astroturfing.

You on the other hand seems to imply that I am one, which is as silly as accusing a given forum poster of being a "paid-shill for Samsung".

 

[KdParker]

Lesson learned: the more you spend on advertising, the more your product sells.

Sure, but isn't apple still leading the iphone vs sgIII numbers?

 

[Renzatic]

This is not a conspiracy matter. Astroturfing is a reality.

So says the guy named after a brand of keyboards.

 

[Tinmania]

I'm not accusing anyone here in particular of being an astroturfer. Like I said just because someone criticize Apple does not mean someone is astroturfing.

You on the other hand seems to imply that I am one, which is as silly as accusing a given forum poster of being a "paid-shill for Samsung".

Still no citations. Oooooookay.....




Michael

 

[xodiak]

I can't understand how the comparison is justified in this analyst. You have a company like Apple that produces 1 phone in a few models, iPhone 4, 4S and 5, and then you have Samsung that has 145 phones listed on their site for sale. I'm sure if I spent the time to go through the site there are various models and colors etc.. making the number of actual types of phones drop a bit. But with that said shouldn't a company that makes that many versions or types of phones be spending more than a company that really only makes 1 phone with "minor" changes to it? The sad thing is some will look at that graph and go oh no that’s horrible, instead of asking questions and seeing what really is being compared. I look at that diagram and think why is Samsung spending so little on such a large product line? I then wonder what was their mobile division’s total revenue last year and what was the profit? All the articles I’ve seen are about one or two particular Samsung phones selling this many and that many and how they do against the iPhone, but what about their entire mobile division and where is the article or articles that say Samsung has to have this many different phones to compete with Apples 1 phone? I’m not a Samsung hater, I think they make great TVs but I’m not interested in an Android phone. These analysis just seem like a middle school kid is doing them lately, they aren’t comparing all the facts they focus in on one bit of info in regards to one vendor and focus in on another bit for the other, it’s a poor way to do any analysis. I also notice the site only puts up part of the articles a few of the times, where the original had the additional data.

 

[MacOG728893]

If you ask me, putting ads in the MIDDLE of YouTube videos (yes that happens now) makes me want to purposefully avoid buying your product. Maybe that's just me, because apparently it's working.

Ad block my friend, it'll do ya wonders

 

[Casiotone]

So says the guy named after a brand of keyboards.

Oh sure I'm here to promote old Casio keyboards from the 80's! (It's been more than 20 years since the Casiotone brand ceased to exist).

Still no citations. Oooooookay.....




Michael

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/technolog...forum-astroturfing-not-limited-to-sweden.html

Yes Samsung is blaming the advertising agency, but it was done under their watch.

 

[clibinarius]

There will always be a market for cheap, plastic, unsupported crap.

I think you need to actually use one. The Galaxy isn't really cheaper than the iPhone. And Apple did make a plastic phone before if you recall. Nor am I convinced Aluminium is much better in a phone than plastic. And I know people who would disagree with "Unsupported"

But...I'm in the iOS ecosystem, I don't like google, and I find some features of Android weird anyway. Still: Calling Samsung phones cheap, plastic, unsupported crap is proof you've never actually used them.

 

[Elbon]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but advertising has never swayed me one way or the other when making a technology purchase (or any other kind of purchase, for that matter).

 

[Renzatic]

Oh sure I'm here to promote old Casio keyboards from the 80's! (It's been more than 20 years since the Casiotone brand ceased to exist).

That's what you want us to think...

 

[blakey91]

Lesson learned: the more you spend on advertising, the more your product sells.

Hmmm...what about microsoft and windows 8? They spent a lot on marketing and it didn't work out too well.

 

[knucklehead]

As I read through your citations I am left wondering.... oh wait.



Michael

The Google: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=astroturfing&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[nagromme]

Forget advertising: as much as Samsung spends on it, that is just a FRACTION of their larger marketing budget.

Their full marketing budget is larger than Apple's, Microsoft's, Dell's and Coca-Cola's combined.

So, what's the extra marketing expense that Samsung spends even MORE on than they do on ads? Paying incentives to salespeople. Apple doesn't bribe the guy in the carrier store to hand you an iPhone. For Samsung, that's business as usual.

And of course it works: if a guy is paid to tell the average consumer "this is like an iPhone but better," a huge number of people simply won't know any better.

Even in Apple Stores, iPhones are not sold on commission. But at least there you went already interested in Apple products and can try them out to confirm. At a carrier store, many people walk in with no interest in a Samsung, and yet walk out with one for no good reason. (And yes, of course, some people choose Samsung in an informed way not influenced by the salespeople--but enough people ARE that Samsung's massive payout is worth it.)

Look at the last chart here:
http://www.asymco.com/2012/11/29/the-cost-of-selling-galaxies/

(EDIT: slow to finish posting! Beaten a few times over.)

 

[bbeagle]

It's weird that they've had so many issues. I've seem nigh computer illiterate people use their Galaxy S III's without any problems whatsoever.

It has nothing to do with smarts.

For example, one day he installed many different apps for playing music (apps like Pandora, Spotify, etc.) and found that after he installed the 10 or so apps to try them, his battery was draining in less than 2 hours with him not doing anything. He started deleting apps, and even deleted all of them, and still was having problems. Even after rebooting. There was some background process running that caused this headache. But he had to learn a lot about the inner workings of Android (which he did NOT want to do, and which he thought was a complete waste of time) to figure it out. If his job was something to do with computers, or he liked tinkering, he wouldn't mind, but he just wants his phone to WORK, and do things he has fun with in his spare time.

----------

Do you have a source for Apple having the best and Samsung having the poorest product support, as that's quite a bold statement (literally).

Something like 'best' is subjective and not possible to have a 'source' for. It's all people's opinions.

 

[uknowimright]

Two of my friends were Apple haters (for no reason other than that they loved to hate the stereotypical Apple fan portrayed by the media). They absolutely loved the anti-Apple Samsung commercial in last year's Superbowl (the one with the guys all standing in line waiting for the next phone), and were laughing at how awful the Apple iPhones were, even though they never had one.

Both got Samsung phones just before the Superbowl (like December 2011ish).

Both had tons of problems with their Samsung phones (battery life, general difficulties in understanding background-running apps). They both just wanted a phone that WORKED, not something you had to learn all the nooks and crannies of.

One has since switched to an iPhone already and loves it. The other is ready to switch to an iPhone when his contract is up. They are no longer Apple haters.

what phone(s) did they have before that caused them to be Apple haters?

 

[Razeus]

No wonder HTC is failing. They don't spend squat advertising their products, then stand around scratching their heads why their market share was cut in half in 2012 alone. How's the CEO still employed?

 

[uknowimright]

No wonder HTC is failing. They don't spend squat advertising their products, then stand around scratching their heads why their market share was cut in half in 2012 alone. How's the CEO still employed?

he's a co-founder so prob hard to get rid of him

honestly sad to see HTC in the state they are in the HTC One is probably the best looking phone out there (and made of nice materials too)

 

[SPUY767]

Eh?

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/digital-home/3422400/samsung-rides-mobile-sales-record-profit/



This (wishful thinking?) that Samsung sell low-end and only low-end is a tad out of date.

I wasn't trying to say that Samsung wasn't making money, Just that their return on investment into marketing pales in comparison to Apple's ROI.

 

[KieranDotW]

Ad block my friend, it'll do ya wonders

Not on the YouTube iPhone app

 

[Builddesign]

Apple need not to advertise or market.

In-n-out burger advertise?

When you pump out people based ads you take away creditably from your product. Apple needs maintain focus on creative, art and design professionals. The mainstream and profit margins will follow.

 

[bawbac]

There will always be a market for cheap, plastic, unsupported crap.

For a second there I thought you were talking about Apple Mac software.

----------

Apple need not to advertise or market.

In-n-out burger advertise?

When you pump out people based ads you take away creditably from your product. Apple needs maintain focus on creative, art and design professionals. The mainstream and profit margins will follow.

That's like saying McDonalds, Burger King and Subway don't need to advertise.

Advertising helps attract consumers to your product.

I recently purchased my aunt an iPad and the first thing she said was," Is this the Surface?"