Hi Hey Hello musical short film from Samsung released

by Jeff Causey on May 22nd 2013, 1:39pm
tagged galaxy s 4, marketing, Samsung

You may be aware that Samsung has been spending more on marketing lately than they have on research and development. Their latest video released to YouTube is another example of how that strategy is playing out. The 5-minute video titled “Hi Hey Hello” is based on a song by the same name from The Chicharones and follows the budding romance of a young couple. Director Joseph Kahn clearly had a directive from Samsung in producing the video – highlight the Samsung Galaxy S 4. He does this by putting the device in the hands of male lead who uses many of Samsung’s latest features like Dual Shot, Smart Pause, Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, Air Gesture, and Group Play/Share Music to attract his female lead’s attention. You can check out the video, which includes astronauts, after the break. » Read the rest

HTC to include “Live Experience Tour” in 11 cities for HTC One marketing campaign

by Jared Peters on Apr 5th 2013, 3:24pm
tagged HTC, HTC One, marketing

HTC has already been pretty clear that they’re going to put their best marketing foot forward with the HTC One to help boost sales. We’ve seen some commercials for the One, but now we’re hearing that HTC’s marketing campaign will include “Live Experience Tours” in several cities in the US. These stops will include pop up shops to demonstrate the key features of the HTC One, like BlinkFeed, Zoe, and BoomSound. HTC wants to show you that the One is “everything your phone isn’t.” Very ~~arrogant~~ confident marketing slogan.

In addition to the showrooms for the One, BoomSound lounges will begin popping up in locations starting today. The showrooms won’t hit until April 11th, but they’ll be up for around three months, so you’ll have plenty of time to check it out. HTC is also planning a few tie-in shows to their BoomSound lounges and showrooms with some performances by popular artists in certain locations; Pharrell in New York, Grouplove in Chicago and Manchester Orchestra in Los Angeles. HTC is definitely pulling out all the stops to try to kick this phone off right.

Hopefully HTC will see some significant returns from a marketing blitz of this scale, because I’m sure it’s not cheap. Hit the break for the full press release. » Read the rest

HTC to get help from Qualcomm to market the HTC One

by Jeff Causey on Mar 26th 2013, 12:01pm
tagged HTC, HTC One, marketing, qualcomm, Snapdragon 600

Even though HTC has recently been engaged in a bit of guerrilla marketing directed at Samsung, some help for the sinking smartphone manufacturer is on its way thanks to Qualcomm. Citing HTC’s close partnership with Qualcomm and their willingness to be one of the first manufacturers to adopt the new Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, Qualcomm has agreed to produce some advertising films that highlight the HTC One. The choice to highlight the HTC device was made even though other devices from LG and Samsung use the same chip. The promotional videos will be presented during the Game Developers Conference 2013 according to Shen Jin, vice president for Qualcomm Greater China.

This partnership between HTC and Qualcomm should help HTC a bit with their bottom-line as they can shift some advertising costs off their books. The major benefit though will result from increased interest in the HTC One due to this selection, which HTC hopes will translate into greater sales. Although this move doesn’t display the antagonistic nature of some more recent HTC moves, it is consistent with what appears to be a new strategy to expand their marketing reach.

source: DigiTimes

HTC’s marketing chief talks about brand making a bolder approach

by Roy Alugbue on Mar 25th 2013, 1:01pm
tagged HTC, marketing, one

HTC certainly has one heck of a smartphone that the world is anticipating, but it’s up to the marketing chief to ensure that the masses recognize not just what the HTC One is, but how HTC as a whole can get its groove back. That’s why its marketing chief Benjamin Ho took some time to answer some of the ever-growing concerns that we here in the Android world are thinking and pondering about. In regards to why the One smartphone is delayed, Ho stresses that “there is some shortage, because the phone’s camera was designed specifically for us, and production cannot be ramped up so quickly”, which confirms what we have heard before.

As far as it goes with its marketing strategy, HTC appears to be pulling no stops either. Ho highlights that HTC has “a lot of innovations but we haven’t been loud enough”. What this will mean is the fact that HTC will be much more bold with its promotions and marketing of its devices and the features of its devices. It certainly didn’t take long for the brand to be bold too, considering it launched a full-fledged attack against Samsung during its flagship announcement which also included a pretty clever “#theNextBigFlop” Twitter campaign.

Looks like HTC is finally moving from being “quietly brilliant” to being boldly brilliant— which may be a good thing of course.

source: Wall Street Journal

Former Apple advertising expert Guy Kawasaki has joined Motorola

by Jared Peters on Feb 28th 2013, 10:22pm
tagged Google, Guy Kawasaki, marketing, motorola

We’ve seen how big of an impact marketing can make a product, especially from the king of the Android pile, Samsung. And if there’s one thing Motorola and Google could use to sell a few more Moto smartphones, it’s some juiced up marketing. Guy Kawasaki, known for his excellent work done with Apple, has joined up with Motorola to try to steer things in the right direction regarding product design, user interface, marketing, and social media. Priority number 1? Getting a mobile devices Google+ community up and running for smartphone enthusiasts.

On his Facebook page, he stated one of the reasons he wanted to join the Motorola team was how much it reminded him of Apple back in the era of the G3 computer. He believes Motorola has the potential to release some innovative, great products to give Samsung a run for their money. Between him and Google, I think Motorola’s going to have a successful career in the Android ecosystem.

source: Facebook

Google steals Samsung’s VP of Marketing to work for Motorola

by Alexon Enfiedjian on Dec 22nd 2012, 10:52am
tagged Google News, marketing, motorola, Samsung, strategy

We just reported on Google’s and Motorola’s secretive and super forward-thinking X Phone, and part of that story was about the heavy emphasis that Google is willing to put into marketing the device. In the story, we heard that Larry Page told Motorola that he is willing to allocate a significant amount of funds into marketing the X Phone. Well, now we know where a portion of those funds are going: to Brian Wallace’s salary. Google just nabbed Samsung’s Vice President of Marketing, Brian Wallace, who helped push Samsung into the Android success story that it is today. Wallace spent the last year working at Samsung and is responsible for the passive-aggressive (and highly successful) “The Next Big Thing Is Already Here” campaign that took swings at Apple’s most devoted fans. Before that, Wallace worked for over ten years at RIM, where he tried to help the struggling Blackberry maker make a turn around. Today, Brian Wallace will sit at the helm of Motorola’s marketing strategies, and hopefully will push the fledgling company back into the powerhouse territory where it used to reside. Let’s hope this all ties into the thickening plot of the Google/Motorola Super X Phone.

Source: All Things D

Motorola’s latest ad campaign targets Samsung’s Galaxy S III

by Jared Peters on Dec 12th 2012, 11:54am
tagged Facebook, galaxy s iii, marketing, motorola, RAZR HD, Samsung

Well this is new. Instead of Motorola’s usual Apple-bashing ads, it looks like they’re going after Android’s top dog; Samsung’s Galaxy S III. It launched this morning on Moto’s Facebook page with a punny tagline about downloading from another galaxy, and links to a little slideshow on Motorola’s website ~~slamming~~ comparing the S III to their own Droid RAZR HD. The RAZR HD features a battery with 20% more juice than what the S3 offers, as well as Kevlar backing, which also happens to be splash resistant. They take a low shot here at Samsung’s plastic backing, but all’s fair in vicious viral advertising, right?

The last side shows off how much better designed and innovative the hardware is on the RAZR HD by giving you a side-by-side look at both phones. My only problem with this is that the side shot of the S III looks like a low-res image off the 32nd page on a Google search. It’s a bit unfair, but the RAZR HD does have a very nicely designed body.

Since Apple isn’t controlling the market anymore, I guess we should all expect the Android OEMs to turn on each other for their marketing tactics. But, hey, competition is never a bad thing.

source: Motorola

Samsung Rumored To Create A “More Vibrant International Brand Image” As Early As 2013

by Roy Alugbue on Nov 5th 2012, 9:15am
tagged advertising, Galaxy Note II, galaxy s iii, galaxy tab, marketing, Samsung

Samsung might very well be known as a brand that happens to love pushing out devices to the masses, but despite all that— it certainly has some successful devices out there such as the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II smartphones. Knowing that it has great devices and a solid sales’ figure to back it up, Sammy is potentially looking to take its brand to another level, as soon as next year. According to Channel News in Australia, anonymous sources claim that Sammy is planning a “more vibrant international brand image” of its company. As part of this upcoming change, the familiar blue Samsung logo will be changed, while each part of Samsung’s business will get its own individual color that will be used in its advertising— meaning we should expect to see a new Samsung Mobile advertising logo for example. The overall hope is that Samsung will move its brand from being identified around features and benefits to a focus instead on “lifestyle activities”.

Whatever it is that Samsung is trying to do, the technology world is eagerly awaiting and will see everything soon enough— by CES 2013 perhaps?

source: Digital Trends

Catch a robot in UK to win phone, swag from Sony

by Jeff Causey on Jul 5th 2012, 12:58pm
tagged Contests, marketing, Sony Mobile, xperia

Sony Mobile is ready to kickoff a new marketing campaign this coming Monday when they “release” thousands of tiny robots throughout London and Manchester. Consumers who find one of the little robots, dubbed “Xperiabots,” can turn them in for prizes including Xperia NXT Series handsets, Sony 4-Screen packages, tickets to movies, gigs, DJ sessions, and other swag.

While the “release” is scheduled for Monday, Sony’s social media channels are already getting into the act with some potential clues posted on their Facebook page. A new Twitter account has been setup as well, @XperiaUnleashed, for the “leader” of the robots. Brits are encouraged to look for the robots and watch the social media sites for clues.

source: Sony Mobile GB Facebook page