Samsung Galaxy S3 is undoubtedly the Smartphone of the year 2012…
The much anticipated phone of the year was launched with much fanfare on June 3rd 2012. In less than 3 months, the phone has sold over 10 Million units and has been declared the most pre-ordered Android phone on Vodafone network. The success of S3 is a case study for most marketers to look at.
The success of the S3 can be attributed to 3 S’s – Suspense, Sponsorship and Sales Network.
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Success of the ‘S’
A significant reason behind the success of S3 has to be attributed to the success of its predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Samsung Galaxy S2. Samsung Galaxy S set up the ensuing success of the Galaxy series.
It was the ultimate smartphone flagship of its time and sold over 10 million units world-wide in its first year. The S2 broke the record set by S2 by a long way, selling over 20 million units in its first year and became the most sold smartphone in 2012. Samsung Galaxy S2 is even now the most popular smartphone in the world.
Together, over 50 million units of the S series have been sold by Samsung till June 2012.
Samsung has managed to leverage on the success of the S series, especially the S2 in the right manner in building anticipation for the next phone. Samsung’s S series of phones have always aimed at being the best in the market at the time of its launch in terms of Specifications, Operating System Version as well as additional features.
The Samsung Galaxy S met the benchmark set by the iPhone while Samsung Galaxy S2 beat the specs of the iPhone 3GS which was the premium phone in 2011. Samsung has really managed to create a whole new range of smartphones with high brand salience as well as premium experience. It is for this reason that Samsung can today command a premium for Samsung Galaxy S3 price.
Scheduling the launch
The most significant cause for the success of the S3 has to be the scheduling of the launch.
The latest iPhone was already 6 months old and hadn’t really created much splash in the market other than the Siri feature. Quad core processors were about to make its entry into the market through the HTC one X and LG Optimus 4X and Samsung needed to up the ante.
The timing of S3’s launch couldn’t have been better planned. Delaying the launch of Samsung Galaxy S3 after HTC One X, helped Samsung better the HTC One X’s specifications and add their own voice assistant service, matching and bettering the iPhone4S. The next iPhone is at least 6 months away and HTC’s quad core behemoth had only started getting some leeway.
Samsung Galaxy S3 clearly set itself ahead of competition, despite arriving behind them and yet has enough time to remain uncontested. For the premium customer, Samsung Galaxy S3 will remain the number 1 choice for a good 6 months, that is till Apple shows its cards with the iPhone 5
Sponsorship
Samsung Galaxy S3 has become the official phone of the 2012, London Olympics, gaining on global exposure as well as instant recognisability among brands. Samsung has managed to leverage the sponsorship to its full potential reaching out to over 200 participating nations through its ads as well as its existing market reach of over 180 countries worldwide.
Galaxy S3 is heading to become the largest advertised smartphone of all time. With the limited Olympic edition S3’s making its way in London’s street, the brand is now leveraging on all the top athletes using the S3 to make payments using the inbuilt NFC on the phone in the Olympic village as well as its other features.
Samsung Galaxy S3 is also associating itself with other big name events such as the recent CNN-IBN Greatest Indian awards to clearly emerge as a premium phone meant for the best and the brightest.
Summary
Samsung Galaxy S3 is destined to become the most successful smartphone of the year 2012.
It will remain the greatest example of the marketing and strategic prowess of Samsung in smartphones. Already, S3 has become the most pre-ordered phone in Amazon as well as the Vodafone Android range. S3 is a case of Samsung’s impeccable timing, its ability to leverage its previous success as well as Sponsorship power.
It will be interesting to see just how far Samsung S3 will go in bettering the success of the S series.
