1

SONY Vs SAMSUNG: A Social Media Analysis

Enable your organization to

effectively implement social media
concepts in to core business.
functions.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 2

Consumer Electronics Industry

Confidential
“This document is solely for informational purposes. The contents of this
document are strictly confidential and contain proprietary information. The
recipients agree that they will use the information only for their own use and
will not divulge this information to any other party without In-Rev’s or any of
our affiliates' prior written consent.”

All rights, including IP and copyrights in the creative concepts, ideas, plans,
drawings, logos, designs or other intellectual property in this document rest
with In-Rev. No part of the same may be reproduced (including through any
modification / adaptation thereof), in any form or by any means whatsoever
under penalty of law.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 3

Abstract
The Consumer Electronics industry is highly dynamic and fast-changing,
fueled by rapid innovations and technological changes. Market research
shows that the top ten players contribute to approximately 52% of the total
market size. The industry has seen the rise and fall of many companies.

Due to the dynamic nature of the industry, it poses a great challenge for any
one company to stay on top. The evolving demands of consumers and the
rate of innovation from the companies have very interesting dynamics to add
to this. In addition to this, the eco-system that drives the industry is wide
spread. Factors such as raw material costs, labor costs, economic conditions
and purchasing behavior of consumers play a vital role.

Among the many players in the market, SONY is known for its high-end
innovations and designs, which seem to have inspired APPLE in many ways
during its early days. But in the present context, it is facing a huge challenge
to keep up with innovations and market trends. The recent rise of SAMSUNG
which has even given APPLE a tough time, simply beats every corner of the
market.

This report is an analysis to understand where SONY stands compared to

SAMSUNG and identify the trends between the two brands. The product
categories which we will be looking at are smart-phones and tablets.

Note: The report is based on social media conversations. The brands chosen for the
research were not commissioned by any organization. The research was carried out with
the sole intention of showcasing Simplify360 and the power of social media research.

The keyword combinations used were: Sony with (Ericsson, Xperia, Tablets) and Samsung with
(Galaxy, Note, Wave, Tablets, SII, SIII)

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 4

How many people talking about SONY and SAMSUNG?

A snapshot of the conversations:

Time Period : 12th July 2012 to 20th July 2012

No of social mentions : 218 K
Unique Mentions : 100 K
Average Mentions/Day : 24 K

SAMSUNG MENTIONS: 159K

SONY MENTIONS: 59K
SAMSUNG has 60% more conversation than SONY.

samsung sony Linear (samsung) Linear (sony)

19860 19834 19829 19847 19845 19799 19915
17745

8989 8696 8086

7525 7141 7274
5104 5457

Jul 12 Jul 13 Jul 14 Jul 15 Jul 16 Jul 17 Jul 18 Jul 19 Jul 20

The above graph depicts the overall buzz trend for SONY and SAMSUNG during the time
period from 12th July 2012 to 20th July 2012. The graph shows SAMSUNG has by far higher
conversations than SONY. In addition, the line trend for SAMSUNG is increasing at a higher
rate than SONY.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 5

Which Product is most talked about?

2% 1% 1%
2% 5% samsung galaxy
3%
sony xperia

4% sony tablet
samsung galaxy note
6%
sony ericsson
sii siii
9% ericsson and xperia
57%
galaxy smartphone
samsung tablet
10%
galaxy tablet
Others

The overall conversation is dominated by the Samsung Galaxy series. More than 57% of
the conversations out of the total conversations comprises of mentions of the Galaxy
series. This just shows the strength and effectiveness of SAMSUNG Galaxy series in the
market and the amount of buzz it has been able to generate due to its features and more
importantly, it’s pricing strategy.

How is SONY benchmarked with respect to SAMSUNG?

Apple HTC Nokia Acer Google Motorola
Sony 8% 26% 42% 4% 14% 7%
Samsung 55% 17% 15% 5% 6% 2%

Based on the occurrence of other brands in the conversations about SONY and SAMSUNG,
we see that APPLE appears in around 55% of the conversations about SAMSUNG, where as
in the case of SONY, its only 8%. Considering APPLE as the leader, SONY is way below the
benchmark compared to SAMSUNG. SONY is more closely compared with NOKIA with 42%
of the conversations being about both of them.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 6

What percentage of conversations is about

SONY?
With an average of 24K conversations per day, the type of conversations ranges from
promotional messages, feature requests, complains, experience.

In overall conversations tracked, the

conversations which mentioned only
1% SAMSUNG was around 72%, while
27% that for SONY was 27%.
samsung
sony Only 1% of the conversations had
sonysamsung both the mentions of SONY and
SAMSUNG.

72% This low percentage just shows the

difference in the competitive
landscape between the two brands.

Some Conversations Examples SAMSUNG

@kbanas i'm not far behind you. my samsung
galaxy blarg is the worst, and i'm convinced that
all the preloaded crap isn't helping.
The distribution of the sentiment has 59%
of positive mentions, 9% negative mentions
and 32% neutral mentions.

------------------------------------------
@xoarianatorarmy android samsung galaxy aka
the worst phone ever Neutral +ve -ve
------------------------------------------
hahahahaha x8 doesn't support ics. glad i didn't
get that crap. worst xperia device from sony 7%
after the x10. 9%

32%
SONY 49%
The distribution of audience sentiment 44%
shows 7% negative mentions, 44% positive
59%
mentions and 49% neutral mentions.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 7

How price sensitive are People?

Consumer Electronics is a highly price sensitive industry where the purchasing trend is
proportional to the pricing of the devices.

Out of all the general conversations

Complaints 2% about SAMSUNG and SONY, 7% of the
conversations are related to pricing
of the devices.
Reliability 6%
SAMPLE Conversations
Pricing 7% ------------------------------------
@arvind_babu if you're buying an iphone
then why don't you consider buying sony
Availability 11% xperia s? iphone 4 costs around 35k and
xperia s 29.9k?
Features 22% ------------------------------------
@meisdonald @yominyo donald help me
check sony xperia ray price can?
Design 26% ------------------------------------
@soorajtpnlr @alsiladka tough question.
Brand Loyalty 27% the sony xperia u is "okay" at best, and is
in that price range.

The chart and the sample conversations show that people are actively looking for better
deals and pricing comparisons for the devices. The chart below shows that the
distribution of the conversation types are very similar, besides the fact that DESIGN is
being talked about much lesser for SONY, while for SAMSUNG conversations related to
design comprises of 28%.

sony samsung Note: Reliability is about basic device

properties like battery life of the device.
Complaints 1% Availability is about accessibility of the
3%
product on Online or offline store.
6% Reliability 6%
Brand Loyalty is about loyalty
12% Pricing 6% expressed by the customer about the
product in terms of satisfaction and
15% Availability 11% experience.
28% Features 20%

11% Design 28%

25% Brand Loyalty 27%

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 8

What are the most popular topics around SONY’s mobile

brands?

Complaints: Current customers are eagerly seeking a replacement for their SONY XPERIA
 @electrictype i recently replaced a sony xperia droid because it was caught in an infinite
reboot loop. :/
 @eoghananderson yeah. but at least your phone was half decent! mine was a sony ericsson
mini and was terrible. i'd had 3 replacements xd
 i can't wait to give my phone into repair to sony ericsson today. hey i am coming for youse ok.
 i need a new phone. but i don't want (and i don't need) a 'smart phone'. also, i want the
replacement to be a sony ericsson as well.

Reliability: Battery life is a major issue where customer have trouble with recharging the
phone more than once in a day.

 "what has been using the battery: 34% phone idle" fuckin' android phone.. fuckin' sony ericsson
xperia.. fuckin' technology..
 0% battery means not yet empty battery for sony ericsson phones. makakarelate ka if you own
one... :-p
 @maloyjordan my battery is shit like on my sony ericsson, have to charge it up every fucking
day, absolute nightmare
 @vzwsupport i have the sony ericsson xperia play. no i haven't tried a different battery yet
though. it dies sooooo quick.the replacement to be a sony ericsson as well.

Pricing: Prospective customers are seriously looking for price comparisons and for the
best deals.

 @expansysuk would you price match the sony xperia s 32gb white with sonys website?
 wat is the price of sony ericsson xperia x12..............???????
 sorry. . . i want to know. . . how much price of sony xperia sola. . . @sonymobileke

Availability: People want to know where can they buy the products, online and offline.

 @jarirbookstore do u keep pouch or cover for sony tablet s?

 a new sony smartphone is now available for pre-order in india via online retailer flipkart, the
device is called xperia neo l.
 a trio of sony mobile's newest xperia smartphones are now available in the u.s., but you won't
find them in carrier stores.
 if you're looking for an affordable yet capable android smartphone, here's one that has just
arrived. the sony xperia neo l hits malaysian stores.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 9

Features | Design | Brand Loyalty: Customers are mostly talking about support for
downloading apps, shape and size of the device and touch screen experiences.

 got meself a sony ericsson mini pro xperia! it is soooo small!!!! it is the size of the palm of
my hands!
 the xperia ion is the first sony-branded smartphone to arrive in the u.s. it has a 4.55-inch,
1280 by 720 hd lcd screen. that's pretty good, but it's not the best. though you can run apps
and watch movies and be satisfied, there are times ...
 back with my lovely sony ericsson and all its 12 buttons to type, miss the full keyboard:(
 i love my sony ericsson jalou :' ( everyone comments on how tiny/cute it is. but i realise i'm one
of about 5 people without touchscreen
 @noursaid_ i was thinking about the sony xperia arc s.. the one x is awesome bas i dont like
the design

What are the most popular topics around SAMSUNG’s

mobile brands?

Features | Design | Brand Loyalty: Customers are really enjoying the touchscreen
experience with the SAMSUNG smartphone product lines, along with the Galaxy Note. The
slogan “Designed for Humans” really seems to have been received quite well by the
people.

 samsung galaxy y s3560 has best touch screen and android

 @breve711 my samsung galaxy is da bomb diggity! lol but i do have a love/hate relationship
with my touch screen when texting and/or tweeting
 @samsungmobileke the samsung galaxy s3 #galaxys3ke has the best screen
 can i just say how much i love the swipe keyboard on my new samsung galaxy s3! kick
awesome!
 i can say i now finally love a touch screen, samsung galaxy y... i just wish the camera had a
flash and more mp's hahaha
 i was ready to jump on the iphone train but, samsung galaxy s3.. ooh la la you sexy over sized
plastic bitch.. i'm in love

Complaints and Reliability

 buyers beware: new 32gb samsung galaxy siii delivered today does not even power up but
@verizon cannot replace same for 3 weeks
 "@yaseentheba: wanna hear a joke? the samsung galaxy s3 battery life!" i was going to buy
one...☹
 my samsung galaxy s3's battery lasts me an entire full day. amazing.
 rt @cyrusville: samsung galaxy siii is made for humans but the battery is made for birds

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 10

Pricing: The Samsung product lines are also quite well known for their economical pricing.

 samsung galaxy s3 price drop - cheapest on the high street, 489.99, sim free - brand new
 samsung galaxy s2 vs the s3. anyone got any 1st hand experience? the difference in contract
price is staggering! #samsung #galaxy
 samsung galaxy nexus price dropped ! :)
 samsung galaxy tab 2 7.0 and 10.1 on sale at costco. spotted over the weekend its selling for
less than retail price.

Strategy of launching a product with reasonable prices and powerful new phones at the
same time is generating more buzz around SAMSUNG, whereas people talking about
SONY phones have mixed reviews and uncertainty.

How can SONY tackle social media buzz?

The first step is to understand where these conversations are taking place and who are
the people talking about the brands. Are they customers or analysts? Then, it is important
to identify the popular blogs or forums where there is more buzz around electronic
devices. This will help in making a targeted and better focused media plan.

samsung sony
1363

368 268
233 173
58 23 33 69 8 107 67 18
2

Blogs Customsite Discussions Facebook Flickr News Video

TWITTER is by far the most engaged platform 155808

where there are lots of conversations around
the brands. This is followed by Facebook and
57890
Blogs.

Twitter

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 11

How often do people talk on Twitter?

70
Population of People
60

50

40
SONY
30 SAMSUNG

20

10
Number of times
0
mentioned
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

The graph above shows the number of times SONY and SAMSUNG were talked about with
respect to the number of people. It shows that for both the brands, the number of unique
people mentioning the brands less than 10 times is greater than number of people talking
about the brands most often. This is a common trend in the industry where the
population is usually divided into enthusiasts and the general public.

70% Out of a total of 101K unique Twitter

profiles, 70% were talking exclusively
about SAMSUNG, where as only 24%
were talking about SONY.

6% were talking about both the brands.

24% This shows that SONY like any other
consumer electronics brand has full
6% potential to reach out to the remaining
population to talk about their brand and
SONY BOTH SAMSUNG convert people into loyal brand
ambassadors.

Graph of percentage of unique Twitter profiles

talking about Brands.

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 12

What are the demographics of these people?

Demographics of profiles talking about SONY

Age Distribution Gender Distribution

92%
85%

15%
8%
0% 0%
13-25 26-35 36-45 45+

Top Countries Profile of Blogs

Around 48% of blogs, discussion forums

United States 10% and news sites mentioning the brand have
Japan 7% a Google Page rank between 4 and 6.
UK 6%
Indonesia 5%
China 2%
Russia 2%
India 2%
Colombia 2%
Spain 1%
Netherlands 1%
Others 62%

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 13

Summary
Following are the key takeaways from the social media analysis of SONY and SAMSUNG.

 General Industry buzz of Consumer Electronics Brands is much higher with an

average of 24K mentions per day.

 People usually share their reviews and experiences with the products. Also provide
information to prospective customers.

 SAMSUNG has 60% more conversations than SONY, which depicts the struggling
brands.

 In terms of Benchmarking, SONY is way below SAMSUNG and closely associated

with NOKIA.

 The analysis shows price sensitive audiences who are actively seeking out
information for their new devices and keenly following the trends in the new
product launches and price drops.

About Simplify360
Simplify360 enables organizations to effectively implement social media concepts in to core
business functions. Powered by Simplify360 AnalyticsTM, it extends a sophisticated and
user-friendly environment to realize value via actionable intelligence.
To know more about Simplify360 visit: www.simplify360.com

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com
 14

Simplify360
Social Media Management Copyrights 2012 Simplify360
Application for Social Business www.simplify360.com