It’s a universal truth: when it comes to branding and marketing, consistency is key. Tell your potential customers exactly what you want to sell them. Then tell them again, and again, and again. Consistency in marketing and advertising builds recognition, and that’s the name of the game.
Why hasn’t anyone explained this to Samsung?
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Let’s consider Apple’s latest flagship iPhone for a moment. It’s called the “iPhone 6.” Apple markets it as the “iPhone 6,” it’s labeled “iPhone 6” in print and TV ads, and all of Apple’s partners advertise it as the “iPhone 6.” Now, imagine how ridiculous it would be if the phone itself was branded “i Phone 6.”
As silly as that seems, it’s exactly what Samsung has done with its latest flagship phones.
For whatever reasons, Samsung has chosen to sell its latest flagship phones as the “Galaxy S 6” and “Galaxy S 6 edge” in the United States. These are the phones’ names. Not Samsung S6 and not Galaxy S6, Galaxy S 6.
You might not have known that since tech sites like BGR all call it the Galaxy S6, but a quick glance at Samsung’s press releases and U.S. website confirm it. “Galaxy S 6” and “Galaxy S 6 edge” can be found hundreds of times on pages all across the site.
Now, the back of the “Galaxy S 6” can be seen in the image at the top of this post, and this is what it says on the back of the “Galaxy S 6 edge”:
Samsung. Come on. Get it together.
Samsung values its “Galaxy S” trademark so much that it decided to drop a space between the “S” and the “6” in order to maintain it. The company also slaps an ® after every single occurrence of the phrase on its website. “Samsung Galaxy S® 6” and “Samsung Galaxy S® 6 edge,” over and over and over again. It looks ridiculous, but the “Galaxy S” name has value and it’s protected, so Samsung notes its registered trademark everywhere it can.
Then, it brands the actual phones as “Galaxy S6” and “Galaxy S6 edge.”
As a former marketer, this just makes me cringe. I also used to work in new product development, and I can’t imagine what I would do if a company took my hard work and advertised it with one name while branding it with another.
With all of the smart executives at Samsung and all of the resources at their disposal, it’s just incredible that something as simple as branding consistency was botched so badly.
