Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) has released a new advertisement, taking a swipe at the newly released Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5. The ad, which was uploaded to Youtube recently, follows reveling by the company last week in the chaos created byApple’s mapping problems.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is still struggling to gain a foothold in the smart phone world, after several years of declining market share. The company’s Lumia 920 smart phone, which will be one of, if not the, first hansets to run Windows Phone 8 from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), has not sold nearly as well as its presumed rivals, the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3.
The advertisement, which can be seen below, attempts to portray the iPhone 5 as boring and pedestrian, something backed up by most of the device’s critics. The Lumia 920 on the other hand, is fun and individual. The major difference, of course, is that Nokia’s model comes in several colors, while the iPhone is still only available in two.
Nokia’s marketing department seems to excel in making original and eye catching advertisements. The firm’s “Smart Phone Beta Test” series , which emerged earlier this year, was a prime example of such advertisements.
The company has not matched its marketing achievements with sales, despite efforts to the contrary. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is still lagging far behind Samsung and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in sales. The firm’s market share is so low, in fact, that the only thing that keeps investors and analysts talking about them, is the aggressive support furnished them by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Nokia is really going to have to try harder if it wants to put a dent in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s sales figures. The launch of Windows’ new mobile operating system is probably the first real opening the company is going to have into the market, and, if unsuccessful, could be their last.
The only thing that has kept Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) alive for the last eighteen months has been the support of Microsoft. That support may now be waning, particularly if rumors that first emerged yesterday ring true.
According to yesterday’s speculation, Microsoft is working on a Surface Phone, entirely separate from Nokia’s line of Windows 8 handsets. If that is true, the company’s support for Nokia may not hold strong for much longer.
Microsoft will test its ability to succeed in the hardware market later this month when the Microsoft Surface Tablet is expected to be released. If the company’s tablet is successful with consumers, and Nokia’s line of Windows 8 handsets do not sell well, the company could shirk off the weight of the Finnish company, in favor of developing their own product.
Trying times are ahead for Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), and their marketing team will have to try harder if it really wants to see the company succeed. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has managed to build itself an incredible brand in recent years. Its products are synonymous with quality.
If the Nokia marketing team tried its best to come up with a reason for consumers to buy their product, rather than Apple’s, and came up with a range of colors, what are consumers going to see? This was a small reaction to the launch of the product, and probably won’t stick around for long. The company better have something else planned.
One thing that has been repeated again and again on the subject of Nokia’s marketing, is that the company should concentrate on the platform rather than the hardware. Windows Phone 8 needs every boost it can get, if it is to compete in the hyper competitive environment it is about to enter.
Nokia’s future as a premium technology company rests on the successful release of the Lumia 920. If the only reason the company thinks people will buy it is the differences in color between it and competitors, consumers are unlikely to see anything different. If the firm cannot do any better, Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is in for a hard Winter.
