iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3: Samsung’s Advertising Strategy

Since the launch of Apple’s new device, Samsung has made sure to get their voice heard in the iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 debate. I’m sure many of you have seen the ads of Apple fans waiting in line while owners of the Galaxy S3 walk by and show off what their phone can do. While there are some things that Samsung has done really well in their line of ‘iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3’ campaign, there are some things to improve on.

Unique Galaxy S3 Features

One thing that Samsung does well is making it clear that the Galaxy S3 has NFC technology and that the iPhone 5 doesn’t. The commercial even jokes with iPhone fans hoping that they’ll get that feature next year. Samsung has also noted other unique features to the S3 like being able to watch videos while texting. In trying to get people to turn away from Apple in the iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 debate, it is best for Samsung to highlight features unique to their phone.

We Did It First

This is a point I’ve seen made by Samsung ads and by an AT&T employee that was giving me a tour of the Galaxy S3. Saying that the Galaxy S3 “had 4G and turn by turn directions before iPhone” isn’t really a valid point. Simply because a device was the first to do something doesn’t make it automatically better. Samsung instead should be arguing that instead of having certain features before iPhone, those same features are better on the Galaxy S3. I’m not sure how they would frame that with 4G but if I were Samsung I would be hitting Apple on the new Maps application and argue that Google Maps on the Galaxy S3 is better. Not that the Galaxy S3 simply had turn by turn navigation first.

iTunes Sync

I honestly don’t understand why Samsung hasn’t done more to get this point across. With the Galaxy S3, users can sync their iTunes content to the Android device. This way they don’t need to worry about losing music, movies, and other content that they’ve already bought. In fact I think it’s one of the reasons people are often on the fence about whether to go iPhone or Android. While there are no doubt people that will buy an iPhone regardless, many may choose to stick with it because they don’t like change and don’t want to deal with transferring content they’ve already purchased. Samsung’s ability to sync iTunes alleviates this concern.

The iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 debate is definitely one that Samsung intends on winning. And with some changes to their current advertising strategy, they will definitely be able to get closer in convincing consumers to turn to Android.