Companies like Apple have invested millions of dollars in creating a brand. Most people now believe Apple devices to be sleek, beautifully designed and a cut above the rest, devices that make you look cool. This might compel people to choose its products over those of its rivals, but Samsung's VP of the KNOX mobile security business group, Jae Shin, believes that consumers are now more “smarter” and that they cannot be fooled by branding anymore.
He made this argument in response to a question at the company's Business Discovery Day about Samsung's strategy for tackling the much hyped iWatch, Apple's first smartwatch, when it hits the market. His answer makes it seem like Samsung isn't worried about losing its early lead in the smartwatch market to Apple. Shin said that consumers now have the “know-how and the resources to make a smart decision.”
It is true that consumers have more resources available now to get information about a certain product. There are countless technology blogs and YouTube channels, those who don't like to read can watch and listen, and thus be able to see past the bright lights of branding and advertising to know what a product is really capable of.
“Consumers are a lot smarter these days,” Shin says, and that's not entirely untrue. Still that doesn't mean companies like Samsung and Apple have no reason to drop millions of dollars on branding every quarter. One can be sure that they'll continue to do that.
