Hitting the Groundswell Running...or Bending

             Have you heard the new iPhone 6 Plus bends? Let me tell you, I wasn't surprised a thin smartphone could bend. But Twitter  and Facebook tell me this is quite the big deal, #bendgate anyone? And Samsung will not let me forget. They hear the groundswell from the iPhone, in particular bendgate, and are running with it.

             What’s the groundswell you may ask and what does it have to do with you?  According to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, authors of Groundswell: winning in a world transformed by social technologies the groundswell is,

“A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.”

 Samsung needs you to buy their phone the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 instead of the new iPhone, and they’re going to use bendgate to get you to.

             Yes, Samsung and Apple have a history of throwing punches, but this round started with you. Groundswell changed the power balance. Li and Bernoff want you to know CEOs of major companies now clamor to start the conversation with you instead of shouting at you. Samsung heard your cries to Apple and  responded before Apple. In fact, someone is helping Samsung with their own groundswell. Some ad-savvy person created a mock ad of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 making light of Apple’s shortcomings on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs like BGR. Samsung takes situation in jest with their own tweets highlighting their new Galaxy Edge.  

      Curved. Not bent. #GALAXYNoteEdge pic.twitter.com/OTPIYlI07f
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) September 25, 2014

BGR

          Samsung denies any involvement with this particular ad, but if you have seen a commercial, they let you know they went there first. This commercial screams Groundswell.   They highlight tweets from fans and negative reviews from sites like Mashable and BGR reminding the public that they were first to have the bigger, better phone, people just weren't ready for it. They proclaim," the next big thing is here."  

                                            

                                                    Mashable

            Samsung realizes the groundswell is the most important marketing tool. According to chapter three of Groundswell, they use the POST method to get you to buy what they are selling:

    ·         People- How will you engage the public?
·         Objectives-What are your goals?
·         Strategy-How do you want relationships with                                        customers to change?
·         Technology- What apps/platforms should you use?

          Samsung engages you through their advertisements, tweets and posts from the public and their corporation. Their objective is to let you know they are the bigger, better phone and the reasons you should buy it (true techies have always known this phone was better). Their strategy of turning the groundswell into sales is by talking to you not at you through social media and their own "Samsung Village" blog. 
          Samsung isn't the first corporation to find the answers to the above techniques or even use the iPhone to gain attention for their product.  In chapter six, the authors argue, George Wright, marketing director for Blendtec created YouTube’s “Will It Blend” series to boost blender sales and talk back to current and prospective customers. The first few videos cost just $50 and sales of Blendtecs increased 700 percent. Most recently, the video series has gotten in on the smartphone giants’ rivalry perpetuating the groundswell even further:        

Blendtec

                   Both Apple and Samsung listen to the groundswell and your involvement in it. The accusations of copying the smartphones could have been a huge PR nightmare for both corporations. Yet  both companies thrive because of the groundswell. Each researched their audience using social technographics, understood influences, and generated new product ideas. 

          The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 hits the market in October so only time will tell which corporation takes control of the  smartphone groundswell.Which will you buy, Apple or Samsung?