This Android brand broke through Apple’s “fortress” with just a simple website. Know more about it here! [Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Welcome to “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
For those of you who don’t know it yet, guerrilla marketing is an unconventional marketing strategy. According to Jay Conrad Levinson, campaigns of this type work most of the time because they’re easy to appreciate and execute.
I personally enjoy reading about this marketing tactic. It reminds me that sparking emotional reactions that lead to high engagement rates and lasting brand recall doesn’t always have to be too complex.
Would you like to know an example of guerrilla marketing?
Keep reading the article below.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing
The Apple ecosystem is hard for other brands to enter or connect with. As some say, it’s a “fortress.” This exclusivity makes it even harder for long-time iOS users to leave.
According to a 2021 survey by Samsung, one of the biggest barriers to getting people to consider switching brands is they’re worried they won’t know how to use the Android OS. They fear it’s “too difficult and too different” from what they’re used to.
So, in that same year, Samsung and marketing agency DDB Aotearoa decided to hijack its biggest rival’s devices. How?
By letting iPhone users test drive a Samsung interface at the comfort of their own devices!
The iTest is a website that simulates the Samsung Galaxy experience right on a user’s iPhone.
Yes, you read that correctly—an Android feature on an iPhone. Every part of the experience is designed to entertain AND guide iPhone users so they will no longer be intimidated by the thought of switching to an Android device.
How does the iTest work?
Once iPhone users visit the Samsung iTest website, they will receive a prompt to add it to their home screen. After which, the website will turn into a shortcut to a simulated Samsung Galaxy device when clicked.
Meanwhile, when iOS users visit the website through a desktop or laptop computer, they will be asked to scan the QR code using their iPhone. After that, they will also receive the same prompt as when visiting the website via phone.
Below are the highlights of the Samsung iTest:
- Messaging and Calls – Once the iTest is activated, users get simulated phone calls and messages from fictional characters. The experience also allows users to reply to these messages or even answer the calls.
- Camera Tutorial – Plumber and photographer Logan Dodds walks iPhone users through Samsung’s camera app with a tutorial. Here, he explains various features on the app and tells users it’s not as hard as they thought it would be.
- Apps and Settings Options – The iTest interface also lets users change the settings of their simulated Samsung phones and open various apps like the Galaxy Store, Google Play Store, Themes, etc.
- Games – iPhone users are also allowed to download games through the Galaxy Store or Google Play Store during the iTest. This makes them appreciate the entire experience even more.
All of these are created in the cheeky tone of the experience… and what’s even interesting? The Apple App Store couldn’t do anything to block the iTest on its devices because hey, it’s just a website!
The Samsung iTest still works at present. It was originally conducted for the New Zealand market in 2021 but since it became a hit and reached other people from different countries, the campaign team decided to create new versions of the iTest for other markets like the U.S., U.K., India, Australia, and more.
Is the Samsung iTest effective?
Samsung targets the experience squarely at iPhone users. Try to visit the website using an Android phone and you’ll get a message that says, “You’re on Android already.”
It’s also important to note that while the iTest isn’t identical to using an actual Samsung Galaxy phone—the Settings app is truncated and testers will miss out on a few gesture controls—the experience is enough to help iOS users get a sense of how an Android OS looks and operates.
It truly is a bit of creative marketing!
Here are the results of the guerrilla marketing strategy so far:
- Over 12 million iPhone users from all over the world have test-driven a Samsung through the iTest.
- More than 1,000 user-generated demonstrations were uploaded by tech bloggers and influencers on various social media platforms.
- New Zealand, the place where the campaign started, has seen iPhone-to-Samsung switching rates increase by 10% from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021.
- With the help of the campaign, Samsung has retaken the top spot for phone shipments in New Zealand in 2021.
- The Samsung iTest became a Nominee under the Digital Campaign category and an Honoree under the Best Media Strategy category at The Webby Awards in 2022.
- The Samsung iTest won the Grand Prix under the Brand Experience and Activation category at the 2022 Spikes Awards.
Clearly, these results show the Samsung iTest is effective in capturing long-time iOS users’ attention and making them reconsider their criteria in choosing a smartphone brand.
Good job, Samsung and DDB Aotearoa!
—
As you can see from today’s feature, guerrilla marketing is truly about taking a more creative and unconventional approach to promote a brand’s products or services. It’s not just turning consumers’ attention towards an offering, but also making them positively engage with the campaign for better impression and lasting brand recall.
In the case of Samsung’s iTest, the brand literally thought outside the box when it came up with the campaign.
Who would’ve thought that Samsung would be able to break through its rival’s “fortress?” It was through wits, proper planning, strategizing, and implementation that the brand successfully did that.
We hope you enjoyed reading today’s article!
Stay tuned for next week’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers, and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Thursday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
Powered by Valens Research
