Adam Kos We have the event of the summer behind us. At its Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung introduced a duo of foldable phones and smartwatches, and threw in a pair of headphones. This South Korean company is the largest seller of mobile phones in the world and wants to remain so, so it is trying to promote its portfolio significantly. Apple is second, and it doesn't care, at least here.
They are two different worlds – Samsung and Apple. Just like Android and iOS, just like Galaxy phones and iPhones. The South Korean manufacturer is clearly pursuing a different strategy than the American one, and it may be a question of whether it is a good one or not. Because it is our partner magazine SamsungMagazine.eu, we had the opportunity to look under the hood of how Samsung takes care of journalists.
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London and Prague
Apple's clear problem is that it does not have an official representation in the Czech Republic that would take care of journalists in any way. If you are registered for the newsletter, you will always receive an email after it is presented with a short summary of what was presented. Then, if there is an important day during the year, such as Mother's Day, etc., you will receive information about what you or your loved ones could buy from Apple in your inbox. But that's where it ends. You will not get any other information before and after.
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Samsung has an official representative here, and the product presentation is different. Yes, it exposes itself to the possible risk of information leaks, but anyway these come more from the supply chain and e-shop errors than from journalists. They sign a non-disclosure agreement and cannot say, write or otherwise publish anything under threat of fines until the news is officially presented.
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It was known that summer belongs to jigsaw puzzles. Even before the keynote was announced, we were contacted whether we wanted to attend the global pre-briefing in London. Unfortunately, the date did not coincide with the holidays, so we took at least the one in Prague, which took place the day before the virtual stream, as a thank you. Even before that, however, we had the opportunity to participate in a virtual pre-briefing and received all the press materials regarding photos and specifications of the upcoming devices.
Personal introduction and loans
Sufficiently informed, we attended the Prague presentation of the products, where the main advantages of the new products were discussed, as well as their differences compared to previous generations. Since the individual models were available on site, we could not only take pictures of them, compare them with iPhones, but also touch their interfaces and find out their capabilities. All this still a day before they were officially presented.
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The advantage here is clear. In this way, the journalist can prepare all the material in advance, and not chase it online at the time of introduction. In addition, he already has all the documents in hand, so there is a minimum of room for misleading information. Thanks to the domestic representation, we also have access to loans for tests and reviews. We wouldn't expect anything from Apple in our country, and if a journalist wants to try a new product from the company, he has to either buy it or cooperate with an e-shop that lends it to him for testing. Of course, he will then return the unpacked and used piece, which he will sell below the price.
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Apple keeps its news under wraps even from foreign journalists and will only provide them with it after its presentation. They also typically embargo product reviews, which usually end just a day before official sales begin. In this case, Samsung has no embargo, so once you have a review written, you can publish it. However, he does not send loans earlier than on the day of the presentation of the products. Of course, we are on the waiting list, so you can look forward to a closer comparison of Samsung's news with respect to Apple's current portfolio.
For example, you can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 here
Apple does not need to advertise itself, its products sell themselves. But there aren't many loyal Samsung fans, so they have to constantly draw attention to themselves.
It's like Abby says
I dare to disagree. What Samsung is doing is purposefully building a fan base that knows the days of Samsung copying others are long gone. It has been coming up with real news for a long time. Apple is passive and, unlike in the past, not nearly as progressive as it was even five or six years ago. And it's sad for us that a lot of bombastically announced news doesn't work here. So the news that we can enjoy is only a pinch every year. So far, Apple still has a stronger ecosystem than Android, but that may not last much longer. At least for us. Android gets a little better every year. And before you get upset, I'm an "iSheep" rather than a "droid sheep" who is in contact with both parties.
Rather, it's about the fact that in the Czech Republic Apple's target market is in the minority due to high prices, and it's not worth it to them. It's just that the minority who can afford it and are worth it mostly use Apple, while Samsung targets all price categories and thus some marketing and advertising campaign will pay off for them - they are not fighting with Apple, but rather with Chinese competition. Thanks to a different operating system, Apple follows a different path and this applies not only in smartphones, but also in IT, where I again fight for customers from Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and others among themselves rather than with Apple.
I don't think that the Czech Republic is an uninteresting market for the spread of Apple products in the population. In addition, they are not only regular buyers of new items, but also owners of bazaar items (who will buy a new item once) and existing first-time owners who need to be given a reason to change. These are already three groups that need to be motivated, to be assured of a good purchase and to arouse desire in them. And there will certainly be others, for example companies and education.