The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2021–2022
Samsung let iPhone users test-drive Android on their own device.
Tribal Aotearoa built iTest, a website that turned an Apple device into a simulated Samsung Galaxy so curious owners could try Android without switching.
Samsung New Zealand · Tribal Aotearoa / DDB New Zealand
the move
Apple's ecosystem is a fortress; attracting users is hard and pulling them out is harder. Samsung New Zealand's agency saw that many owners were not rejecting Android on the merits but fearing it would feel foreign.
iTest hijacked the rival device. It turned an iPhone into a live, interactive replica of a Samsung Galaxy, letting the user browse, call up screens and get a feel for the operating system inside the very phone they already owned.
Because there was no commitment and no data to migrate, the trial became a low-pressure taste of the alternative, which is exactly what the category needed to move an Apple loyalist.
why it works
- It answered the real objection (unfamiliar software) without asking anyone to leave
- Running inside a competitor's device made the comparison feel zero-risk
- A web app needed no new hardware, so distribution was friction-free
- The irony of using an iPhone to sell a Galaxy generated earned attention
what transfers
To de-risk a switch, let the customer rehearse the outcome on the incumbent they already trust, not on a spec sheet or a demonstration you host.
what came after
iTest was downloaded by over 5.5 million users, and Apple-to-Android switch rates rose around 10% in New Zealand. It won the Black Pencil for Mobile Media at D&AD 2022, a Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2022, and honours at Cannes and the Webby Awards.
references
- 独家 | Spikes Asia 2022全场大奖出炉 — SAMSUNG iTEST
- D&AD: DDB New Zealand awarded Black Pencil for Samsung campaign
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