Portrait of a company’s brand identity through video advertisements: a contrastive multimodal analysis of Apple and Samsung

Abstract

Conveying the right brand image to a target market is a fundamental marketing activity. In the current time, the technology market is saturated and buyers are open to numberless devices and alternatives, for which intense competition is remarkably high in the sector. Beyond investing in innovation, numerous technological firms are struggling to position their devices and gain not only buyers but adepts loyal to their brand as a paramount marketing and advertising strategy. One of the most extended techniques and tools is advertising through TV spots. The present study aims at comparing two of the most wellpositioned technology firms: Apple and Samsung. The study firstly aims at identifying and distinguishing the brand identities of two akin companies. Secondly, it intends to observe the style and techniques displayed in their latest TV spots, and more precisely to which extent these spots are conditioned by their brand image. The established procedure for this study implies three steps. Firstly, a thorough research has been conducted with the aim of identifying and signaling the brand identity of each brand. Secondly, two TV spots from each company were selected and a detailed multimodal description and interpretation of each has been completed. Thirdly, the four advertisements have been compared and associated to the intended brand identity of the companies. Results demonstrate slight differences between the adverts of both brands that are however relevant in the definition and delimitation of the two firms’ brand identity. In this sense, Apple presents itself as more unhurried and sophisticated, while Samsung tends to convey a fast-paced and energetic image. Additionally, the two brands demonstrate similarities in form and means such as the heavy rely on images and sounds, as well as in the message.