Samsung Galaxy Note 2 "Office Upgrade"

Samsung was on a roll last year when it came to its ads in USA, and from the looks of its newest spot for the Galaxy Note II, it looks like that trend will continue into the new year.

                             
Now that Christmas & New Year is over, it looks like Samsung is adjusting its Galaxy Note II marketing efforts from regular consumers to business men and women. Pretty intelligent positioning has led to this fine spot. The commercial shows two coworkers playing with their new phones, pointing out all the possibilities that the new "do two things at once feature" provides. Samsung features the Galaxy Note II in a comical office scene in which two employees discuss the usefulness of the device’s unique features, like Multi Window mode. One employee focuses on productivity while the other prefers to procrastinate. The spot then plays out in favor of the hard-working employee before closing with a new tag line – “The Next Big Thing for Business is Here.”

We see that Samsung is really pushing hard into the western market and is keen to win over more market shares. The heavy funding in advertisements and some great spots are surely helping it in the way. Lets see how far this goes in trying to disrupt the iconic Apple.

Samsung- The Gigantic Leap in 2012

There is no doubt in saying that Samsung has leap-frogged in terms of sales of mobile & tablet handsets in the year 2012. So what has been the backbone behind this surge?

The above graph shows the answer- Marketing.
Samsung spent a ridiculous amount on marketing this year, but you can’t deny that they’ve gotten some truly high-quality ads in return. Not to mention the buzz and viral videos and the print ads that mocked Apple's iPhone.
Case in point: The Korean manufacturer has come up with a way to make near field communication (NFC) a major differentiator between its phones and Apple’s iPhone. I admit that I was skeptic of Samsung’s ability to pull off such a fete but that’s mostly because no one had really come up with a smart way to market NFC until Samsung. Typically, NFC has been billed as a technology that will let you replace your credit card with your smartphone through the use of mobile payment platforms.
Samsung did something completely different with NFC by showing off the technology’s potential as a social tool. So for instance, instead of demonstrating how your phone can help you buy a candy bar (who cares?), Samsung has shown people how their phone can help them quickly zap pictures, playlists and videos over to their friends simply by tapping their two phones together. In other words, the smartphone isn’t something designed to help you perform solitary activities, but something to help you better enjoy your time spent with others.

The manufacturer has rolled out an ad with a bit of a suggestive theme. This time, it's Mrs. Claus getting herself on naughty list.

                                    

Samsung understands that individuals in the urban market are amongst the first adopters to use smart phones and gadgets. Apple for quite some time has had a choke hold on this demograph due to their popularity amongst creatives and pop culture mass appeal.  In an attempt to debase Apple, Samsung has tried to make strides with their ads featuring LeBron James, The Apple Waiting Line Parody and now in their latest Best Face Family Photo commercial.
The “Best Face Family Photo”commercial features the Samsung Galaxy Note II and shows a black family using the device to take a typical family portrait.  However, the ad gives perspective on how to use their latest Galaxy “Best Shot” feature to capture the candid family moment.However, the print and outdoor ads of Samsung created quite a stir, and here are some for your viewing.

There was simply no way that Samsung could resist pouncing on Apple’s latest Maps disaster that left several Australians stranded in the middle of a national park with no access to food or water.

Do these ads have helped Samsung gain in sales? A BIG yes.
In just 37 days of launch Samsung Galaxy Note II topped 3 million units in sales. Also, the Apple Parody Ad(Click here- LINK ) has topped the Most Viral Tech Ads of 2012 List(See this link.) The best thing is, the purchasing intention has grown over 11%, which is far ahead than Apple(See graph below.)

                

Thus, Samsung's fast-mover efforts aided by huge funding in Marketing departments have made sure that the year 2012 was quite special for Samsung. More to watch out, during 2013.