Apple and Samsung Creative Briefs - Essay Example

Apple and Samsung Creative Briefs Apple iPhone 5C Creative Brief Client: Apple iPhone 5C Project: New Campaign to test Apple iPhone 5c for Apple Inc. Prepared by: Background This is a test campaign to a selection of Apple iPhone customers who regularly upgrade their smartphones and would like to upgrade their Apple 5s. The problem that Apple Inc. Continues to face is that most of its clients rarely upgrade their smartphones each year (Russell, 2013: p1). This is because most of its clients do not feel the urge to upgrade their iPhones each other year. The smartphone market is becoming increasingly crowded with several big competitors like Nokia, Samsung, Sony, and Blackberry. To stand out in the smartphone market, there are several strategies that smartphones use, including innovation and price, with Apple using the innovation strategy. The Apple iPhone 5C focuses on their new innovation, which is a 64 bit processor, continuing the company’s long tradition of design and innovation with the new product (Russell, 2013: p1). This processor is the first in the smartphone market and, over the next year, it will be rolled out to other Apple brand phones. This processor is smarter, smoother, faster, and can handle vast amounts of data. Objective As a result, Apple needs to identify how they can convince their loyal base of customers to upgrade to their newest iPhone product one year after upgrading to the Apple iPhone 5S (AppleInsider, 2014: p1). Target Audience For the new smartphone 5C with a 64 bit mobile processor, the target audience is the new market of technology savvy consumers (Mogg, 2013: p1). Generally, this target market includes both females and males aged between sixteen and thirty years, while they are also highly involved with technology gadgets and the tech industry overall. In addition, this target market generally falls within the middle to higher income bracket because they need a higher income to purchase new gadgets whenever they are released. This market knows a lot about their products and is interested in every aspect of their gadgets, from the gadgets’ weight and size to their performance and speed. Moreover, getting this market to buy tech products is important because it could either break or make the launch of this product as they are very influential in convincing others to adopt new tech products (Mogg, 2013: p1). This is because they are more likely to make the product known to consumers and, if they do not like the product or its features, this fact is likely to be known by the wider market. Profile of Competitors While the market for smartphones is becoming increasingly crowded, especially as South Asian companies like ZTE, HTC, Infinix, among others, the industry is beginning to shape up between two major competitors in Apple and Samsung ( Brownlee, 2014: p1). The iPhone from Apple is one of the most popular smartphones in the market with Samsung’s Android-based smartphones being the main competitor for Apple’s smartphones. Both Samsung and Apple have almost the same share of the smartphone market, of which their customers are brand loyal. In order to draw customers who are not totally loyal to Samsung, Apple will need features that make stand out dramatically from Samsung. It is hoped that the 64 bit processor is the feature that will achieve this goal. Advertising and Communications Objectives In order to achieve its target, Apple’s goal for the iPhone 5C ad will be to identify the new features of the phone, especially its 64-bit processor, while also comparing it to its closest competitors (McCann, 2014: p1). By convincing the market that the 64-bit processor is smoother and faster in comparison to Apple’s competitors’ processors, they should draw some its competitors’ market share as well. The objective for the advertisement, therefore, should be aimed at communicating the 64-bit’s superiority with regards to data flow, speed, and capability in comparison to its competitors. The 64-bit processor will provide users of the iPhone 5C with increased speeds of data transfer compared to previous Apple smartphones and its competitors (McCann, 2014: p1). Rationale and Support In order to support Apple iPhone 5C’s claims, it is essential for Apple to conduct a comparison with its main competitors in the smartphone market. This will enable Apple to prove that their iPhone 5C is faster in launching or starting up its apps, as well as when switching apps and programs (Clover, 2014: p1). The message that the Apple iPhone 5C is trying to convey to the market is the smartphone’s superiority. Appeals that the smartphone uses for this are in terms of comparison, where a comparison against its competitors will show improved performance and speed, as well as factual appeals that shows the speeds of its processor, the speed of its apps, and how many apps and programs can be run simultaneously on the smartphone. Creative Development and Execution Mediums like the internet and TV will be extremely crucial to accessing the target market and promoting the iPhone 5C. As such, Apple has sought to monitor social media reports about the product, while also placing ads on prime time TV to access their target market. Apple used sneak peeks and product demonstrations for their iPhone 5C, identifying it as an upgrade on its iPhone 4S (TescoMobile, 2014: p1). The tagline for this iPhone was “The World at Your Fingertips” with one consumer quote stating that “The iPhone 5C is everything that the iPhone 5S was and then some more” (Polites, 2014: p1). The consumer insight is that the iPhone 5C the iPhone 5C is packed with new great features in an all-new design with a polycarbonate enclosure that feels and look solid in the users’ hands. Creative Brief for Samsung Galaxy S4 Smartphone Client: Samsung S4 Smartphone Project: New Campaign to test Samsung S4 for Samsung Group Consumer Electronics. Prepared by: Background As one of the leading international technology companies, Samsung Group is headquartered in South Korea and manufactures numerous subsidiary products under their consumer electronics division. This brief is focused on the telecommunications arm of Samsung Group, primarily with regards to the launch of their Samsung Galaxy S4 into the smartphone market. The primary competitors for Samsung in this market are the iPhone range of phones from Apple, as well as HTC that runs on both the Windows and Android based systems (Chawla, 2013: p1). The smartphone market for Samsung is very competitive, while it is also trended by reliance on service operated contacts and release. Samsung’s releases are released to coincide strategically with previous releases, in turn enabling its clients to update their smartphones annually. The Samsung Galaxy S4 was the fourth smartphone in the Samsung range and was identified as a tough rival for its competitors, particularly the Apple iPhone as has been evidenced by the publicised court battles with Apple. While there are advertisement campaigns already in existence for the Samsung Galaxy range of smartphones, there was need for a new ad focus to take directly on Apple (Chawla, 2013: p1). Objective The objective for this creative brief is to create an innovative campaign that will encourage new and current users of smartphones to upgrade immediately to the Galaxy S4 phone from Samsung by creating a relation and desire for the smartphone’s features (Wasserman, 2013: p1). This is expected to make the S4 the best smartphone in the consumer’s eyes and opinions. Target Audience The Samsung Galaxy S4 campaign was mainly focused on existing universal Samsung Galaxy consumers, as well as non-brand loyal clients of other smartphone competitors. The aim was to secure at least five to ten percent of its existing competitors’ market share of customers (Elmer-DeWitt, 2013: p1). The primary audience target was existing Samsung Galaxy clients with Samsung seeking to encourage an upgrade from their previous models to the new Galaxy S4. In this case, the target was to convert at least 80% of Samsung Galaxy users to their latest version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The secondary target market involved casual smartphone users from its competitors like Apple and HTC, specifically those with minimal brand loyalty that Samsung sought to encourage to trail the Galaxy S4. With regards to the target demographics, the Samsung Galaxy S4 was aimed at young professionals, especially those joining the job market (Elmer-DeWitt, 2013: p1). In addition, the secondary target market was consumers with disposable incomes, particularly middle-income earners. Competitor Profile The biggest competitors for the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone are three popular flagship smartphones, which are the Blackberry Z10, the HTC One, and Apple’s iPhone 5 with the latter operating on the iOS platform (Sumra, 2013: p1). On the Android platform, which is what the Samsung Galaxy S4 runs on, its biggest competitor is the HTC One. The Samsung Galaxy S4has, however, been locked into an almost dead-heat competition with the iPhone 5S and 5C, sharing almost an equal market share and directly taking on each other (Sumra, 2013: p1). This has resulted in Apple taking legal action against Samsung for its Galaxy S4 smartphone. Advertising and Communications Objectives The advertisement objective for the Samsung Galaxy S4 was to increase loyalty to its brand with current clients, while also creating desire and interest from clients of its competitors, particularly Apple (Farage, 2013: p1). Another objective was to increase and maintain its market share in the market for smartphones, specifically by differentiating the Samsung Galaxy S4 from its major competitors in HTC One and especially the iPhone 5range. The main communications objective was to introduce the Galaxy S4 as something new in the market, showing how the Galaxy range has evolved and developed. In addition, was also meant to communicate that these changes were for the better and encouraging people to try out the Galaxy S4. The principle theme of the Galaxy S4’s ads focused on development of its consumers into the next phase of their lives, as well as how the S4 was designed to help them with this transition. This included moving on from university to getting a new job. Rather than focusing the message solely on features and design, Samsung shows how practical the phone’s features are in real life, as well as how essential the S4 is to life transitions (Farage, 2013: p1). This concept highlights its difference compared to competitors, giving it a human and real approach compared to its more feature and design driven competitors. Rationale and Support In order to support Samsung Galaxy S4’s claims, it was important to reinforce that the current smartphone was a continuation of the Galaxy range, while also highlighting that it was an evolution that sought to grow with its consumers (Stevenson, 2013: p1). It was also important to advertise handset’s unique selling points and draw on how it was similar to its previous phones, as well as to communicate the benefits of the Galaxy S4 over its major competitors. Finally, its advertisements all seemed to focus on its concept of “Something New”, which drew from human milestones and extended market life. Creative Development and Execution The concept used by the Samsung Galaxy S4 was mainly aimed at highlighting its human and real side, especially in relation to transition in life and life milestones. One of the user quotes for the ad campaign was “Something new, something real, and something better” (CNW, 2013: p1). The consumer insight was that the Samsung Galaxy S4 seeks to fulfil what matters most in the lives of its customers, allowing them to live in a world filled with infinite possibilities. Analysis of Creative Briefs Creative briefs, according to Altstiel et al (2013: p22), function as an introduction for the creative team to their client, and are especially useful if they hint or even point to their creative strategy. Development and refinement of the creative strategy is mainly the team’s work, rather than that of the brief. The creative brief is expected to contain a background summary, which identifies the client, the product, a SWOT analysis of their product, and the brand value to clients. This aspect of the creative brief was aptly identified for both Apple’s iPhone 5C and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphones. Another critical aspect a the creative brief is the objective section, which identifies the goals of the project, the reason for its creation, what the project means to achieve, and how success of the project is to be measured. For Apple, while the objectives identified in the creative brief adhered to these directions, another objective might have been to increase the consumers’ awareness about the facts and benefits of the product. This is because this is a measurable objective, which can be determined by surveying Apple customers (Haslam, 2013: p1). With regards to the S4’s objective, it also adheres to the directions of the creative brief, although there should have been an added objective to create awareness about the product itself, especially because it was aimed at consumers of its competitors. Sutherland (2014: p13) states that, in designing the creative brief, the target audience is one of the most important sections, especially because it identifies who the creative strategies are communicating to, how they perceive the potential clients that the product is aimed at, as well as what might make the product more appealing to the identified target consumer. Moreover, it should also identify reasons why consumers care about the product, as well as what motivates them to buy the product. In relation to the Apple iPhone 5C, the advertisements specifically sought to identify its targeted consumers as mid to high-level income tech savvy consumers aged between 16 and 30, although it is not clear how teenagers are identified as being in the mid to high-level income range. Possibly, the age range for this product should have been pushed to 21 years, rather than 16. In relation to the Galaxy S4, however, there was little in the advertisements used to identify the specific target audience for the smartphone. The target audience that was identified included present customers and consumers of its competitors without loyalty to those brands (iSpot.tv, 2014: p1). Indeed, the demographics identified were young professionals, which is not specific enough. Thus, the S4 should have been targeted specifically for people aged 23-30 years. A creative brief should also make direct reference to the product’s competitors, particularly because they have an indirect influence on how the product will be marketed to the potential target market. The competitor profile, as a result, should include the main competitors of the product, their strengths and weaknesses, their point of differentiation from the client, their message to the consumer that affects the client, how they engage with the consumer, and whether they are actually better (Burtenshaw, 2014: p17). In the Apple iPhone 5C creative brief, the websites used identified its major competitors, especially regarding how they compared to the iPhone 5C. Indeed, there were numerous comparisons with its competitors like the Android-based smartphones, although there was little about their point of differentiation, possibly because the iPhone 5C’s main selling point was its 64-bit processor that was absent in its competitors’ phones (Matyszczyk, 2013: p1). For the Samsung Galaxy S4, on the other hand, there are numerous comparisons with competitors, possibly because there are numerous phones on the Android platform that compare to it. In addition, there are direct comparisons with how its competitors attempt to connect with their target market. With regards to communications and advertisement objectives of the product, Ingledew (2012: p30) states that the creative brief must identify the tone that will be used for the promoting the product in relation to how the ad should be communicating the product’s main message, adjectives used, flow of the narrative, and user behaviours that affect the style and mode. Moreover, it is important to identify what the message is saying exactly, as well as how the client may back up this claim and what the audience should take away. The Apple iPhone 5C’s message of having the world at your fingertips is a real draw for consumers because of the enhanced speeds of its new processor, especially for its target market that has busy lives. There is plenty of evidence for this message, including the fact that the iPhone 5C was the first phone to use a 64-bit processor, which greatly enhances its performance and speed, making it a perfect fit for those leading busy lifestyles. The ads for the iPhone 5C are able to show a definitive break away from Apple’s launch of one device each year, specifically by playing on the phone’s change in colours, as well as its enhanced processing speed. Still, given that one of the phone’s major departure from previous releases is its plastic cover, this should have been used more in its promotional ads (Reed, 2014: p1). With regards to the Samsung Galaxy S4, their main message of growing with its customer and helping their transition into the work market should resonate with its target market. Indeed, it should have sought to use the fact that a good number of students choose to travel after completing school, which would involve using popular destinations for young people to raise feelings of freedom (Melanson, 2013: p1). As major users of social media, young people tend to look for familiar and popular ways of engaging their leisure time, which Samsung should have latched onto. However, they failed to do so, instead relying on visuals that show young people graduating from high school and joining the workforce. In fact, possibly the biggest criticism of the Samsung Galaxy S4’s advertising message was that it fails to identify any groundbreaking aspect of the smartphone, apart from its selling point that it has evolved with its consumer. There should have been an attempt to focus on some of its features that make it a good fit for an increasingly busy lifestyle for university graduates (Melanson, 2013: p1). Moreover, while the attempts to give an impression that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has kept up with the frantic innovative pace better than Apple achieves the aim of making it more human factor-based than its competitors, the fact that there is little emphasis on the improvement in features makes the iPhone 5C look more innovative. Finally, Ibach (2013: p24) notes that the creative development and execution in the creative brief is important because it identifies mandatory information that must be included in the advertising and communication message, especially with regards pre-conceived ideas, the best media for delivery of the message, and justification for choosing format parameters. For the Apple iPhone 5S, it is essential to note that Apple has already engendered a unique and distinct reputation among consumers in the electronics industry, while also cultivating a customer base that is loyal and devoted to the Apple brand. This has been achieved despite the high price of Apple products and has played on the perceived high quality of their products. Therefore, the advertising and communication messages used for the iPhone 5S should be aired on major TV networks, as well as in a number of popular tech magazines, because the main aim of the phone is to get people to upgrade, rather than to attract more consumers. Apple should also have sought to drum up awareness about its new iPhone 5S, especially given that the analogous Samsung Galaxy S4 is seeking to encroach on its market share (Rodriguez, 2013: p1). For the Samsung Galaxy S4, however, the creative development and execution is more difficult because it is seeking to draw consumers from its competitors and, as a result, they must show how the phone compares to its competitors (Smith, 2013: p1). The idea behind its advertising and communication messages has mainly been aimed at young persons and, in this case, it would be important to show how the phone will enable university graduates to keep in touch after graduation. Using TV and the internet to communicate its message, Samsung should have set out to use more young people in their ads, specifically for young people to identify more with the features presented by the phone. Sutherland (2014: p17) notes that humour is important in grabbing the attention of young people and this may be one area where Samsung failed in communicating its message for the Galaxy S4 phone. Indeed, humour ensures that a product remains in the mind of young people more than messages that do not contain humour. Finally, it is impossible not to notice that the Samsung Galaxy S4, despite being in direct competition with the Apple iPhone 5 series, failed to communicate the use of different colours for its phone (Smith, 2013: p1). References Altstiel, T., Grow, J., & Altstiel, T. (2013). Advertising creative: Strategy, copy + design. Los Angeles: SAGE. AppleInsider. (2014, March 13). Apple releases new animated iPhone 5c ads on Yahoo, NYTimes.com. 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New Samsung Galaxy S4 ads continue Grad Party theme, sans Apple this time. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-ads-grad-party-theme-sans-apple-203312/ Stevenson, A. (2013, July 30). Two new Samsung Galaxy S4 ads, one may or may not be bobbing for Apple. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.neowin.net/news/two-new-samsung-galaxy-s4-ads-one-may-or-may-not-be-bobbing-for-apple Sutherland, E. (2014). Requirements and the creative brief. Great Britain: E. Sutherland Sumra, H. (2013, May 3). New Samsung Galaxy S4 Ad Pokes Fun at iPhone. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.macrumors.com/2013/05/03/new-samsung-galaxy-s4-ad-pokes-fun-at-iphone/ TescoMobile. (2014). Apple iPhone 5c 8GB. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://shop.tescomobile.com/pay-monthly/mobile-phones/apple/iphone+5c+8gb Wasserman, T. (2013, May 03). Samsung Galaxy S4 Ad Dials up Some More Apple Bashing. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://mashable.com/2013/05/03/samsung-galaxy-s4-apple-bashing/ Read More