Apple not only makes fantastic products, it also created an aura around its brand that many marketing executives would love to duplicate. One such executive is Younghee Lee of Samsung. Speaking with AllThingsD, Lee said she’s trying to figure out how she (and Samsung) can “engage with consumers from the bottom of their heart, and not just be a big and functional and rational and reasonable brand.” Though Lee didn’t say it, she wants customers to love Samsung like they love Apple.
One of Samsung’s first forays into becoming a recognizable and well-loved brand is its recent advertising push in the US. The ongoing video series features Samsung users showing off their handsets to iPhone owners. As expected, the iPhone is not as fast nor as big as the phones from the Korean company. The series is light-hearted and has been well-received by everyone except maybe Apple fans.
Samsung, however, needs to do more than just slick advertising to capture the heart of consumers. It needs to produce quality handsets and provide exceptional customer service. It also needs to associate itself with intangibles that create an Apple-like “reality distortion field” around its products. These intangibles are variable and difficult to identify which is why Apple’s brand success is so hard to duplicate.