October 12th, 2014, Tanya Sharma

Apple iPhone 6 Trumps Samsung Brand Buzz Reign in the UAE

The battle between Apple and Samsung to win the hearts of consumers is well known. Time and again both companies strategically launch new products and carefully planned marketing campaigns which produce consistently high levels of brand awareness worldwide.

In July 2014 , Samsung dominated YouGov’s 2014 Mid-Year Global BrandIndex Rankings, appearing in eleven Top 10 lists across the fifteen countries in which BrandIndex surveys consumers, whilst Apple appeared in eight Top 10 lists globally. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Samsung ranked first in both countries for the first half of the year whereas Apple made it to fifth and third position respectively

Since July, YouGov has continually evaluated consumer perception of both electronics giants with BrandIndex, a daily measure of brand perception among the public, using key brand health indicators: Buzz and Ad Awareness. Buzz is the net sentiment generated across all media (advertising, news, word of mouth) whilst Ad Awareness establishes whether consumers have seen an advertisement for the brand in the past 2 weeks.

Looking at BrandIndex data between July and September 2014, Samsung’s Buzz has been climbing in the UAE, reaching a high 75 points (out of 100) in August. This positive Buzz has been generated by consumers who have seen Samsung advertising, and it coincides with their ‘Super Selfie’ campaign for the Galaxy S5 which encourages Facebook fans to upload personal photos onto its social media platforms, both of which have been resonating with UAE consumers. Posts with the most shares and likes are then streamed onto a digital billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

Despite this increase in Buzz and positive Ad Awareness, Samsung’s position leading the BrandIndex telecoms category could not be protected against the launch of Apple’s latest iPhone. After months of rumours, the iPhone 6 was unveiled worldwide on September 9 creating mass media excitement globally. Since the announcement, we have seen a surge in Apple iPhone's Buzz scores, and for the first time this year, their scores surpassed Samsung in the telecoms category. Apple launched their new iPhone 6 in the UAE on 27 September, which sold out almost immediately and despite the 'bendgate' controversy, has managed to create phenomenal Buzz amongst consumers in the Emirates.

BrandIndex continues to track both power brands and time will tell whether Samsung's position as the UAE’s most loved brand can be maintained when we reveal the Annual Global BrandIndex Rankings in January 2015 – so watch this space.

BrandIndex Telecoms Sector Buzz Scores For Samsung and Apple iPhone