Samsung touts cutting-edge marketing campaign for converting iPhone users to Galaxy S III [Photos]

Élyse Betters | Jun 20 2012 - 2:50 pm PT

Samsung let New Yorkers experience the all-new Galaxy S III today at a release event in Manhattan, while the company reiterated its goal to “win over” the competition’s user base (ahem, iPhone 4S users) with this latest Android offering.

Chief Marketing Officer Tom Pendleton and Chief Product Officer Kevin Packingham were on stage this afternoon to celebrate the S III’s launch on all the major U.S. carriers. They also unveiled their marketing strategy, with a few numbers on mobile sales. The executives revealed that Samsung sold 61 million devices in the United States—just add another 80 million for the worldwide sales. They further pinpointed the S III as the fastest-selling pre-order smartphone in the company’s stateside history.

The Galaxy-branded smartphone boasts many impressive features, such as Ice Cream Sandwich OS, but the South Korea-based manufacturer focused on the S III’s uniqueness, 2100 mAh battery, 4.65-inch high-definition screen, 2 GB of RAM, LTE capability, and integrated sharing options.

“We want to show you five things no other phone can do,” added Packingham, while touting the S III’s bevy of highlights.

The chief explained how the Galaxy Nexus successor packs an “All Share Group Cast” feature for sharing documents and media anytime or anywhere. Meanwhile, the “Share Shot” tech specifically—and automatically—streams photographs to friends, but “S Beam” is available for those who want to send large video files or even contacts with just one tap. Next up is the “Smart Stay” feature, which maintains screen brightness, so users are never again interrupted by a dimming display. The last showcased feature is the “Pop-up Play” that allows S III owners to do multitask such as watching video and texting simultaneously.

A gallery of the event is below.

Related articles

“We are launching the biggest marketing campaign in Samsung’s history,” bragged Pendleton, as he gushed growth numbers for the company’s social pages. Samsung has 6.8 million Facebook friends, which is a 560 percent increase, and it eyed a 488 percent increase on Twitter with 1.8 million followers.

From there, the company discussed “never been done before” executions for the S III marketing strategy. Fifty kiosks and 40,000 interactive posters will surface around the country over the next few weeks, so users can download free music, eBooks, and other content directly to their new smartphones.

Samsung is clearly taking interactive and marketing to a completely new level this summer; it even plans to run a 3D advertisement before blockbusters in 55 theaters across the United States. The ad is actually a Kinect-like game that detects audience movements as each viewer works together, waving their hands in the air, to control a giant S III on the cinema’s screen.

A few other endeavors include Beacon, a mobile-only magazine that will début on the S III to give users free product information and exclusive Samsung offers, and Samsung is collaborating with AT&T at the 2012 Summer Olympics to market its best-selling device.

The New York City event housed a host of celebrities, such as NBA champs Bill Walton and Kevin Love, and it briefly gave the floor to the famous duo that starred in the “Dude, you’re a barista” Apple-bashing commercial. By the way, these guys will also appear in the 3D cinema ad and a series of upcoming commercials that continue to smear iOS.

No new information unveiled this afternoon, but Samsung reassured the world that it is on track to recruit and convert every last iPhone user to the Galaxy S III. The smartphone is suppose to be available tomorrow in the U.S., and then shipping within the next few weeks, but eBay had a few unlocked versions going for around $700 earlier this week.