Samsung beats Apple in advertising spendings in India

Samsung India spent four times as much as rival Apple in advertising campaigns in India in 2013.

KOLKATA: Electronics and mobile handset maker Samsung India spent four times as much as rival Apple in advertising campaigns in India in 2013, according to three people aware of the expenditure details, in what is being billed as the biggest marketing war of the year. 

At Rs 400 crore, Samsung's advertising budget for mobile phones and tablets dwarfed Apple's Rs 90-100 crore expenditure on promoting its iPhones and iPads in the country, the industry executives said, adding that Sony pumped in Rs 150 crore during the year to promote its Xperia smartphones. 

While Apple refused comment, a public relations firm representing Samsung India said the company could not respond as its offices in Delhi-NCR were observing a holiday on Thursday. 

These figures, however, give a sense of the scale at which the three companies compete in India, one of the fastest growing markets for mobile phones. 

According to the executives, when Apple unleashed a Rs 10-crore advertising campaign in India in the first quarter of 2013 for promotional offers such as the iPhone 4 buyback and cash-back schemes, market leader Samsung followed suit with a similar campaign that cost Rs 20-30 crore. 

Samsung also beat Apple in expenditure on ads for a single product launch. According to the executives, Samsung has spent Rs 50-60 crore on advertisement for each new flagship model it launched in India. The Galaxy S4 and the upcoming Galaxy S5, for instance. In comparison, Apple spent half the amount when it launched iPhone 5S and 5C in India last year. For the first time, the Apple opted for radio campaigns and billboard advertisements. 

Not to be left behind, Sony India has chalked out a Rs 200-crore advertisement plan for smartphones this year, according to its business head (mobile division), Sachin Rai. The company's total marketing budget for this business is of Rs 350 crore. "For instance, we would launch our biggest campaign with Z2 slated for launch soon," Rai said. 

According to research consultancy Gartner, smartphone sales in India increased 166% in the fourth quarter of 2013 from a year ago, the highest globally. 

For Samsung India, sales of smartphones and tablets accounted for about three quarters of its total revenue of Rs 38,000 crore in 2013, according to executives. In comparison, for Apple India, the contribution of this segment doubled to 80% in 2013-14 from a year ago. For Sony India, sales of smartphones accounted for 35% of the company's revenues and are expected to increase to 50% this fiscal. 

"As the fortune of Apple, Samsung and Sony are now tied to the mobility business in India and the fast adoption of smartphones in the market, the marketing war of these giants has reached a peak this fiscal," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO at The Mobile Store, the country's largest cellphone retail chain. 

"These brands are also jostling for more brand presence inside the stores such as more display space and in-store branding."
 

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