To say that 2016 was not the best year for Samsung is to put it kindly. Although the year began with high expectations for mobile phone sales, 2016 will unfortunately, and infamously, be remembered for the exploding Note 7 battery debacle, and the billions of dollars in losses that resulted for the South Korean mobile phone manufacturer. Taken together with the recent charges of bribery and embezzlement levied against company leader Lee Jae-yong, you could say that Samsung is hoping for a fresh start in 2017. The company’s effort for renewed consumer faith, one that began with a recently revived commitment to quality control, is likely to hinge upon the expected success of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 mobile phone. Hailed by Consumer Reports as the “thin, tall, and talented,” the Samsung Galaxy S8 is not only a high-quality product, but it simultaneously presents app advertisers with the opportunity to increase brand impressions, user acquisition and customer engagement via native app preloads. What better way to cut through the digital age clutter than by putting your app on the hottest mobile home screen of 2017… the Samsung Galaxy S8. Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at three compelling reasons why you must preload your native app on the S8 in 2017.
1) Product Reach
Recent press reports indicate that Samsung Galaxy S8 pre-orders are not only faring “better than expected,” but have in fact surpassed those for 2016’s Galaxy S7. As reported by Techook, the 60 million devices that Samsung expects to ship in 2017 is far beyond the 48 million S7 and S7 Edge models that were shipped in 2016. Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S8 are further predicted to help the company attain record profitability during Q2 of 2017, with ZDNet reporting that the S8 is likely to boost operating profits by 49%. To put it plainly, the S8 is not only expected to sell, but it is expected to sell well. As the S8 is likely to be 2017’s most direct point of contact between app advertisers and app users, native app preloads are a logical and complementary mechanism for app user engagement and retention. Simply put, you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to preload your app on the Samsung Galaxy S8.
2) Device Activation and App Engagement
App user engagement, often described as the range of activity that app users display on a specific application, is typically high during the first 30 days from the moment of device activation as users are setting up their phones. It is with the activation of the device that users receive a seamless app onboarding experience, one that most traditional app install strategies continue to struggle to provide. In removing the overbearing forms, information fields, and signup steps that accompany traditional app downloading, native app preloads encourage users to engage while avoiding churn. If Samsung expects to ship 60 million S8 devices in 2017, this means that app publishers adopting native app preloads will have 60 million opportunities to command the attention and increase retention rates from the very moment of “power-on.”
3) Millennial Impact
As most digital age marketers are well aware, the fact that Millennials are ranked as the top smartphone users in the United States has been widely covered. What has received far less attention, especially in the aftermath of the S7 Note disaster, is the fact that less than a year ago, June of 2016 to be exact, Samsung was ranked the #1 company among Millennials in the United States. Coming in higher than Nike, Uber, Apple, and other Millennial stalwarts, the Reputation Institute study found that Samsung ranked the highest in five of the seven measurement categories. This success was largely attributed to a “commitment to social responsibility” and “an inclusive culture.” With expectations and excitement at an all time high for the S8, there is no reason to believe that Samsung will cease to be a Millennial favorite in 2017. Understanding that 97% of Millennials aged 25-34 own a smartphone, native app preloads on the Samsung Galaxy S8 will prove to be the most effective method for user acquisition when it comes to tomorrow’s trillion-dollar consumer demographic.
In Brief…
It isn't a coincidence that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is outselling its predecessor phone less than a year removed from the company’s massive S7 Note recall. The S8, and with it Samsung, are primed for a big year in 2017. Native app preloads are the best way for advertisers to ensure that they go along for the S8 ride.
