Samsung Tries to Capitalize on Lawsuit Hype with Paid Ads – by Chris Galis of NEOS Marketing

It was recently announced that Samsung is upping the ante on the great Apple and Samsung debate. According to the Chicago Tribune, Samsung is planning to include Apple's iPhone 5 to their upcoming round of patent lawsuits. This poses a particular problem for Apple, who received 2 million orders for the 5th generation product in the first 24 hours alone.

So the debate over whether Apple's extensive legal action is impinging on the phone's free market rages on, and now, in the wake of Apple's recent billion-dollar legal victory, Samsung is looking to turn the tides in their favor through a rigorous marketing campaign. As surprising as it may sound, web advertisements are going to play a major role in how Samsung's (a Korea-based company) perception will play to a very divided and loyal consumer base. And where do you turn when you’re trying to sway the mass public? YouTube.

Samsung has been putting some serious bucks into YouTube advertisements on the coattails of Apple's new iPhone 5 adverts. Right now, if you were to search "iPhone 5" on YouTube to get a glimpse of the new product, the first thing you'd see is a paid ad for Samsung's Galaxy S III.

According to Google (who owns YouTube), the max CPC for "iPhone 5" is $26.55.

But more appropriately, Samsung's Galaxy S III commercial is one of the paid commercial ads that airs before the official iPhone 5 trailer. The commercial in question, lambasts those people who choose to wait in line for the release of each new Apple product, touting the Galaxy S III as the "next big thing" that's already here. The Galaxy S III's large screen is the predecessor to the iPhone 5's major claim to fame.

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5X5cV-4LRo

In the face of ongoing legal battle, Samsung's reliance on paid YouTube ads and a satirizing commercial poking fun at Apple's devoted culture seems small fare, but their approach to snatching up consumers while they're pitted as "the company that Apple is suing" in the press is genius in its proactivity. Somewhere in the back of our consumer minds we're all wondering: "Why does Apple care so much about Samsung's technology? What are they afraid of?" And Samsung, through the avenue of paid ads and YouTube cultural awareness, is trying to deliver the answer.

Bottom attribution:

This post was provided by Chris Galis. He is marketing manager at Houston-based web design and marketing firm, NEOS Marketing. He is a marketing analyst and freelance writer.