At a 2010 press conference, Steve Jobs called Samsung phones “Hummers” & outright declared that “nobody would buy big phones”
Within a year, Samsung made a heavily-researched strategy to improve brand power. Thus began the Marketing War of witty ads, patent violations & trolling.
Saying “The next big thing is already here”, Samsung promoted GalaxyS2 by taking a dig at Apple fanatics who’d wait in long queues for the next release. This commercial turned them into one of the fastest-growing brands on FB, with over 26 million fans in 16 months.
When Apple gave in to the ‘big screen’ fad & released iPhone6 claiming they were “bigger than bigger”, Samsung threw Steve’s comment back at them with “Guess who changed their minds?”
Although not a direct attack on Samsung, it is worth noting that Apple tried to hit back at Android promoters amid privacy concerns, with “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone” – a clever play on the classic Vegas line.
More recently, when Android texts appearing as green on an iPhone allowed Apple users to ridicule others, Samsung fought back with #greendontcare & a GIPHY page of comebacks.
Regardless of quality & specs, who do you think is winning the marketing game in an overcrowded smartphone market?
