We all know that 2012 was not particularly a good year for HTC and going into 2013 they’ll need to make a strong start to create a comeback throughout the year. Runors are already swirling around a new flagship device from the company, dubbed the “M7” and with the Droid DNA they’ve once again proven that they can make stunning hardware and deliver in a somewhat timely fashion. However, quality hardware and availability have never been a problems for the Taiwanese company, they’ve been in the mobile business long enough now to know how to get things done. It’s getting the word out that seems to be the problem for HTC.
When compared with Samsung, the One X and the rest of the One Series had little to no advertising. The Korean company had been killing it throughout 2012 with ads that not only made us smile but made the iPhone look really pretty stupid. Samsung’s ads based around the tagline of “the next big thing is already here” were very popular and they certainly made a mockery of iPhone users through the use of meme.
HTC’s head honcho, Peter Chou recently sat down with the Wall Street Journal to talk about the problems faced in 2012 and how the outlook looked for 2013. When asked he had the following to say:
The worst for HTC has probably passed. 2013 will not be too bad. Our competitors were too strong and very resourceful, pouring in lots of money into marketing. We haven’t done enough on the marketing front. Although we don’t have as much money to counter [Samsung and Apple], the most important thing is to have unique products that appeal to consumers.
So, Chou is definitely aware that their brand wasn’t out there in the mind of the consumer like Samsung and Apple were. Throwing money at the problem will help but, with HTC’s intent to rely solely on their quality hardware to sell doesn’t sound like good idea. It’s all fine and well making great products but getting the word out is often more important than anything. The iPhone isn’t what a lot of people think is the best smartphone but they sell so well thanks to brilliant marketing, Samsung have learnt that and now it’s up to HTC to show off their devices, too.
Through better marketing do you think HTC will make a comeback in 2013?
[Source: WSJ]