Marketing class response by Margaret Leora Workman; Warponie Art

The book, Principles in Marketing (Kotler & Armstrong, 2019) defines the competitive marketing strategy as:
“Strategies that strongly position the company against competitors and give it the greatest possible competitive advantage” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2019)
The company Samsung used competitor analysis to find out who they are competing with, and they decided that Apple is their competitor.
Samsung has created videos to follow up with their desire to attack Apple to try and give themselves an advantage over Apple in comparing the products they sell against Apple’s products.
After watching these videos, I would like to argue against the position of using attack ads against competition.
These are my arguments against this process:
• Some companies who are inadequate to begin with try to compete with other companies and they can seem like they are trying too hard. I, the consumer, see this and instantly wonder what game this company is playing and how they are going to steal my money because they did not create value within me for these products that they are selling that are supposedly better.
• The companies who use attack ads tout things that loyalists, who are for the other company, do not even care about.
• Loyalists for the company being attacked will feel defensive and because of this feeling that was invoked within them from this attacking ad they will never switch over and feel only disdain for this company who is obviously inadequate and underperforming.
• Ads that attack, no matter how funny, will only make that company look childish and petty so people will wonder about the company that they are trying to compete against. People will start supporting the opposition because they see the fear that is unmistakably portrayed by the company who is being competitive. This competition may mean that their opposition is better to other consumers, and they will switch over.
• If a company is neck and neck in sales with the competition who they are attacking this situation says to the consumer that they are evil and not supportive of another company who is equal in sales to them and fearful that they will not be able to keep their current customers. They must be teetering on a high ledge somewhere ready to fall off into the chasm of failure.
• If a company is not competitive in numbers or sales and are below the company that they are attacking, these commercials will make them look inadequate and that they are trying to get the consumer to feel sorry for them.
Ashley Potter at the Warwick Business School writes in her article:
“Political parties’ focus groups must be telling them they work, but we have found that in certain circumstances attack ads can have the complete opposite effect and instead fuel support for the party or policy under fire.” (Potter, 2020)
References
Potter, A. (2020, May 4). Are Attack Ads Effective? Here’s When They Don’t Work. https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/are-attack-ads-effective-here-s-when-they-don-t-work/
Kotler, p. and Armstrong, G. (2019). Principles Of Marketing. Pearson.
by Margaret Leora Workman; Warponie Art 2023