Objective and scope
Our objective
 To provide a unique perspective on consumer opinions of the leading handset brands and map consumer considerations and
barriers when it comes to handset choice, to inform device strategy

Scope and approach
 We analysed all English language conversations within available social media around five of the leading global mobile handset
brands (iPhone, Samsung, BlackBerry, HTC and Nokia), from 1 August to 13 November 2011, for the overall sentiment of
discussions and the key favourable and unfavourable themes of consumer opinion.
 For Samsung (which operated in other categories) we narrowed down the content, excluding that which clearly relates to one
of the other categories in which Samsung operates, but including general mentions of Samsung.
 We performed an equivalent analysis over the same time period for the Android operating system, in order to shed light on
consumer perceptions of this platform provider brand against handset provider brands, and understand how this might
influence handset choice.

2 •Disclaimer copy here TBC

Comparative analysis - handset brands by sentiment

 iPhone and BlackBerry generated the greatest degree of polarisation within conversations about handset brands.

Share of Sentiment by Handset Provider

100%

90%

80%
46%
51%
70%
Share of All Conversations

75% 76%
60% 82%

50%

14%
40%
34%

30%

20% 10% 10%
35%
7%
10% 20%
15% 14% 11%
0%
iPhone BlackBerry Nokia HTC Samsung

Favourable Unfavourable Neutral


Comparative analysis - net sentiment of handset brands
 Discussions in relation to all of handset brands are polarised despite positive net sentiment scores for all brands
except BlackBerry.
Net Sentiment by Handset Provider

The BB outage during
the period researched iPhone
had a significant impact
on sentiment and brand
perceptions

BlackBerry

Nokia

HTC

Samsung

-40% -35% -30% -25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Unfavourable Favourable


Comparative analysis - mapping by favourability and share of voice
 The much greater share of voice of iPhone amplifies its already high level of positive comments, resulting in a strong
reputational profile for the brand - way ahead of its competitors.

Low positive reputational impact Strong positive reputational impact
Highly Favourable Conversations

NS: +21

NS: +5 NS: +4
NS: +4

Lower Share of Voice Higher Share of Voice

NS: -14

NS: Net Sentiment

Low negative reputational impact Highly Unfavourable Conversations Strong negative reputational impact


Comparative analysis - mapping by perceived momentum and desirability
 An aspirational image and perceived momentum are the key drivers of desire for consumers.

Aspirational
The most aspirational brand
and the most innovative in
Samsung is seen as the next generation consumers’ minds. The key
(sometimes ‘me-too’, but growing in for Apple will be to maintain
desirability) yet most of the pull is driven by desirability as ownership
specific handsets and the Android OS becomes mainstream – or
rather than Samsung Brand itself. perceived to be.

BB is not seen as innovative as in the past and
therefore has lost some of its former aspirational HTC is seen as the
pull. Those who have left the franchise (mostly for outsider and gets
iPhone) miss BB Messenger and the keyboard high levels of
functionality. desirability especially
among young
females, focused on
specific models which Momentum
Decline
compare favourably
against iPhone.
Once one of the
HTC’s ongoing
flagship brands
launch of new models
renowned for its
has helped drive the
functionality, Nokia is
perception that HTC
fondly remembered but
is at the forefront of
seen as not having
innovation.
moved on with the
times, despite its
association with
Microsoft.

Functional


iPhone: Themes of conversation
 Consumers’ love for the iPhone is very strong and the  Like any major brand, iPhone has its detractors and its
aspiration to own one shows little sign of abating. A huge dominant voice within social media means any minor irritant is
volume of people state they want an iPhone on a daily basis likely to be tweeted.
and this surged in the run up to Christmas.  Battery life remains a frustration and a potential adoption
 Apps act as a key driver of desirability and have helped to barrier, although it is doesn’t appear to be acting as a key
maintain iPhone’s positive presence within social media, with driver to switch handsets for current owners.
Twitter users in particular informing their followers of the  The autocorrect feature is also a prominent source of minor
latest app they’d downloaded and why they liked it. frustration, although again not a cause to switch handsets.

Favourable Conversation Themes by Share of Opinions Unfavourable Conversation Themes by Share of Opinions

Aspirational ("I want/need an iPhone") 17% Battery life 12%

Range of apps 15%
Automatic spellcheck 8%

Generic love of the brand 15%
Problems with or slowness of running
6%
updates
Quality of apps 7%

Complaints about apps 3%
Look / Design / Interface 4%

Other favourable conversations 5% Other unfavourable conversations 7%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

7 * Excludes neutral content

Samsung: Themes of conversation
• Samsung benefited from Galaxy SII’s popularity over the • The Samsung brand appears to be polarising consumers, with a
Christmas period, driving an increase in people talking about its sizeable chunk of detractors who do not believe Samsung can
apps, and boosted its share of voice. rival iPhone. This has increased even as the Galaxy SII has
• The Galaxy SII is emerging as a more aspirational handset and gained in popularity.
challenging iPhone’s status. However, its share of voice is • The battery life on Samsung handsets is attracting as much
overwhelmed by that of iPhone, and the desire to own a unfavourable as favourable opinion, suggesting there may be a
Samsung is very much focused on one particular model. discrepancy between expectations and delivery.


Features/Apps Generic hate of Samsung

Aspirational ("I want / need a Samsung")

Battery life
Generic love of Samsung

Battery life
Phone isn't working

Look/Design/Interface

Other unfavourable conversations
Other favourable conversations

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%


BlackBerry: Themes of conversation
 Despite the recent negative press around its outage, there is  The recent outage has definitely had a damaging effect on the
still a real love of the BlackBerry brand and strong following brand and prompted users to consider switching or to decide
especially amongst younger consumers. to switch - mostly to iPhone.
 BB users who have switched miss its unique features  While battery life is a driver, it is also a key source of
(keyboard and BlackBerry Messenger), which are highly complaints. Higher expectations when switching to BB may
desirable among potential buyers, as is battery life. result in disappointment once consumers experience the
battery life for themselves.

Regret about switching phones ("I miss my
BB") Phone isn't working

Aspirational ("I want / need a BB")

Battery life
Generic love of BB

BlackBerry Messenger
Switching to a different handset provider

Battery life


0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%


Nokia: Themes of conversation
 Consumers are nostalgic about Nokia phones and what they  The flipside is that Nokia is also considered to be ‘tired’.
represented for them in their youth.  Consumers feel that Nokia has failed to keep pace.
 Their perceived resilience and reliability is still a latent  The launch of the Lumia range has generated some
differentiator - and a potential driver of choice against iPhone enthusiastic early buzz.
or BlackBerry for example. An opportunity for Nokia to  It will be interesting to see whether Lumia does turn the tide
leverage its brand equity. for Nokia and create more relevance for the brand.


Nostalgic memories of the brand Generic hate of the brand ("I hate Nokia")

Generic love for Nokia
Dated / No longer cool

Memories of playing Snake

Not working / Problems with phone

Dependable / Reliable / Unbreakable


0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%


HTC: Themes of conversation
 HTC is a desirable brand - seen as innovative thanks to new  Text input is, as for other handsets, a frustration to users
handset launches and with a higher proportion of aspirational (iPhone) - specifically around predictive texting, spell checking
mentions (on a smaller base) than the iPhone. and the swype functionality, but not motivating enough to
 HTC desirability is driven by specific models (Sensation, Inspire switch brands.
and Rhyme), based on their look (especially among young  Poor battery life was also mentioned as with many
females) and features (e.g. swype keyboard). smartphone brands.
 Comparisons with iPhones are often positive (especially for
Inspire).

Generic hate
Aspirational

Text input

Generic love

Battery life

Features/Apps
Phone not working


0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%


Android: Themes of conversation
 Although a challenger to Apple – a positive role for its  Poor battery life was frequently attributed to Android and is
followers - Android remains less aspirational than Apple and enough of a frustration that it was linked to hashtags such as
favourable conversations focus very heavily on its range of 100thingsihate.
apps alone.  Whilst its advocates were keen to compare the
 Android has acquired the status of a handset provider and technology, there were almost as many people stating that the
attracts a large volume of positive references on a daily basis. iPhone was better, despite the ‘underdog’ status of Android
meaning its devotees were far more likely to feel a need to

Favourable Conversation Themes by Share of Opinions
compare Unfavourable Conversation Themes by Share of Opinions
the two.

Range of apps 30% Battery life 25%

Generic love 7%
Problems with the apps 4%

Switching or planning to move to soon 6%

iPhone is better 4%

Better than the iPhone 5%

Other unfavourable conversations 6%
Other favourable conversations 11%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%


Key insights and implications

 The key drivers of handset choice are emotional  With the exception of iPhone, and to some extent
rather than rational (unlike barriers which are BlackBerry (more specifically because of
rational). This translates into consumers displaying a Messenger), other brands do not appear to have
strong - almost tribal - loyalty to the handset brand successfully driven loyalty beyond handset models.
they currently own. This is evident in the widespread However, Android has established a strong group of
use of team (handset name) hashtags on the Twitter and followers who do not necessarily take the handset
the hostility towards people who own rival phones. functionality into account and for them, Android is
performing the role that a handset brand otherwise would.
 Brand loyalty and love play a huge part in decisions
and result from the fact that consumers’ handsets are  iPhone is the universal benchmark for handsets.
an important access point to more and more aspects Everything is compared and contrasted with iPhone.
of life. There is evidence within social media that groups It dominates conversation and has by far the highest level
of friends stay loyal to the same brand and handset of desirability. However, the impression that iPhone is
choice is often influenced by the individual’s peer group. becoming ubiquitous is an opportunity for other handset
This stems from the need of the individual to ‘belong’ to a brands to respond to the desire of some consumers to
tribe but more rationally their phone enables them to stay challenge the status quo.
in touch with their friends. Therefore, the features of their
handset need to be compatible with those used by their  Although not expressed in this way by
peer group. consumers, platform is increasingly a key influence.
Consumers currently express this in terms of features and
 Although brand loyalty appears deep and tribal, it is experience, but Android is increasingly a driver of choice
also strikingly transient and appears quickly for one handset over another. This means that Android
transferrable, with the desire expressed towards specific needs to be considered alongside the handset brands as
handset product brands especially prone to be fickle. a brand driving handset choice.


Contact
James Withey
james.withey@precise.co.uk
+44 (0) 20 7264 6316


Category Analysis - Mobile Handsets

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