By Yun-Hee Kim
Samsung and Apple have been battling it out in courtrooms across the globe over patents. Now a new battle seems to be brewing.
South Korea’s biggest consumer electronics company says it plans to expand a TV commercial—one that pokes fun at Apple’s iPhone 5– in Australia and New Zealand later this month. A company spokesman said details such as when it would air haven’t been finalized, but the plan is to expand the commercial to other markets in the Asia-Pacific region at a later stage.
A day before Apple officially launched its iPhone 5 in the U.S. on Sept. 21, Samsung aggressively rolled out a series of TV, newspaper and billboard ads. The ads note that the bigger screen and faster 4G network on the iPhone 5 is already available on Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone, launched world-wide in June.
In the TV commercial that will be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand like the one already airing in the U.S., Samsung depicts a typical iPhone launch day in which hundreds of consumers wait in line for hours before Apple stores open. In one scene, a young man waiting in line strikes up a conversation with another, saying, “welcome back, I guess the Galaxy S III didn’t work out?”
The second man answers, “No I love the GS III. It’s extremely awesome. I’m just saving a spot in line for someone.”
Turns out, the spot is reserved for his parents, who come strolling in later. Without saying much or even making explicit reference to Apple in the commercial, Samsung’s message hints that the new features on the iPhone 5 aren’t really new, and that it’s a smartphone for an older generation.
The commercial ends with the phrase “the next big thing is already here”referring to its Galaxy smartphones.
An Apple spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Samsung in the past has typically marketed its devices more quietly, rather than directly targeting its competitor. But under the direction of its U.S. chief marketing officer–Todd Pendleton, who previously spent years at Nike–the company is becoming more aggressive in its marketing efforts.
The latest example highlights just how severe the rivalry between the two has become as they battle it out in the courtroom over patent infringement. At stake is dominance in the fast-growing smartphone market. While Samsung overtook Apple last year to become the world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments, strong demand for the iPhone 5 could tip the scales back in Apple’s favor, some analysts say. Apple said on Sept. 24 it has sold more than 5 million iPhone 5s, just three days after its launch.
Both Samsung and Apple are spending heavily on advertising. Apple spent $647 million on advertising for the iPhone in the U.S., from its release in 2007 through its fiscal year 2011. It spent about $457.2 million for the iPad, which debuted in 2010. Samsung, meanwhile, has spent $2.8 billion in marketing expenses in the second quarter, up from $1.97 billion a year earlier.
In the second quarter, Samsung’s smartphone market share was 34.6%, compared with Apple’s 17.8%, based on data from Strategy Analytics. A year earlier, Samsung’s market share was 18.3% versus Apple’s 18.4%.
Ian Sherr contributed to this article.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/07/new-battle-brewing-between-samsung-and-apple/