October 2012 – Ryan Un's Blog

In a recent post, Amanda Lee blogged about the heated competition between both Samsung and Apple’s mobile phones.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII commercial that Amanda embedded in her blog was what especially piqued my interest. My favorite part about the commercial was that despite all the points of parity and difference, the word “iPhone” was not mentioned even once throughout it. Given the current circumstances and tension between Samsung and Apple, however, one could safely assume that Samsung is indeed targeting the new iPhone 5. If I were Apple, I would be irked, to say the least.

Recently, the iPhone 5’s map application glitch gained Apple a great deal of criticism and complaint. Another major blow to Apple is the recent Foxconn Riots in China, stemmed by harsh working conditions. On the plus side, the iPhone 5 itself has received favorable reviews. So has the Samsung Galaxy SIII, though, with many reviewers now comparing the two phones.

Which phone (or company) do you think will come out on top? Personally, I prefer the Samsung Galaxy SIII simply because it has higher specs for a cheaper price, but Apple has always been known for new innovative ideas and functions.

References:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/amandalee/2012/09/23/sorry-iphone-5-but-the-next-big-thing-is-already-here/

http://www.thenewstribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Galaxy-S3-vs-iPhone-5.jpg

Positioning with Style

By now, most young people and perhaps even adults worldwide have probably heard of South Korean rapper PSY’s catchy dance tune, “Gangnam Style.” How did a song so culturally Korean-based expand universally to top even the American iTunes chart?

Firstly, Gangnam style “intentionally lacked a copyright.” This effectively makes the song “more ownable;” the lack of a copyright allows people to easily create parodies of the song, re-stylizing it with their own personal flair and spreading it along to others.

Another important thing to note from a marketing perspective is that PSY used “crowd sourcing” to choreograph the dance “instead of relying on his internal team.” By taking in suggestions from the entire Korean dance community, PSY was able to “increase creativity” and produce the now famous “invisible horse dance.”

Gangnam Style also possesses an “emotional denominator that resonates across cultures.” Unlike most other pretty-boy pop stars, PSY’s appearance much more resembles the common man. Furthermore, the anti-materialism theme during a global recession has helped broaden the song’s appeal. These factors have allowed Gangnam Style to spread across the globe, even breaking the culture and language barrier.

Gangnam Style’s marketing strategy: get people in on the fun.

References:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/marketing_gangnam_style.html

http://www.allkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20120820_PSy_Gangnamstyle.jpg