A Samsung case which was developed about 1.5 yrs back

1. The rise of brand
Samsung

2. Current case focus
Even though there were a lot factors which worked towards the rise of Samsung, this particular
cases focuses on product & marketing strategy
This case does not take into account:
1) Business factors
2) Management style / Culture
3) HR strategy
4) Portfolio / pricing strategy
5) Distribution / channel strategy

3. 3
Interbrand 2012, Best global brands

4. The rise from manufacturer of low end, cheap knockoffs
to becoming the 9th best brand global brand*
Source: Interbrand 2012, Best global brands
1934, started as a
small trading house
selling noodles &
dried sea food
Diversification in
industries &
electronic
OEM electronic
supplier to most
major brands
Manufacturer of
low end, cheap
knockoffs
9th Best Global
brand

5. Cornerstones of this rise
Product Strategy Marketing Strategy

6. Cornerstones of this rise
Product Strategy
• Technological Leadership
• Customer Focused Design
• Value added, first to market products
Marketing Strategy

7. Cornerstones of this rise
Product Strategy Marketing Strategy
• Master brand strategy in conjunction
with hero ‘sub-brand’
• Advertising agency consolidation for
consistency
• Premium brand imagery targeted at
high life seekers
• Strategic Sponsorships
• Digital Marketing focus
• Advanced marketing expertise &
investment effectiveness

8. PRODUCT STRATEGY

9. Strategic shifts: from a follower to an industry shaper
Product centric
innovation
Product innovations based on
latent consumer needs
PAST
(Fast Follower)
NOW & BEYOND
(Industry Shaper)
Similar benefits with
competition
Value added,
differentiated, first to
market products
Focus on mid-market
segment
More premium range
Product

10. Strategy shifts: from a follower to an industry shaper
Product centric
innovation
Product innovations based on
latent consumer needs
PAST
(Fast Follower)
NOW & BEYOND
(Industry Shaper)
Similar benefits with
competition
Value added,
differentiated, first to
market products
Focus on mid-market
segment
More premium range
Product

11. Sensory
Premium
Samsung’s product strategy essence
Product
Source: Samsung analyst meet 2005
Technology
Leadership
“Designing
Sensational Technology “
Design
Focus

12. Technological leadership achieved through:
Product
Massive
investments
in R&D
Partnerships
with mayor
tech leaders
+
Technology leadership image leveraged to shift
perception from value brand to a premium brand

13. Investment in R&D
Product
Massive
investments
$9billion Record spent by Samsung in 2011 in R&D
1st Company in number of patents submitted in 2011 for mobile in
the world.
in R&D 2nd Company in US submitting patents in 2011 (just after IBM with
almost 5000 patents)
(compare to 2.1 by Apple for instance)

14. Partnerships with Tech-leaders
Product
Partnerships
with mayor
tech leaders
Yahoo! and Samsung Form Multi-year Partnership to
Deliver Interactive TV
Strategic marketing and technology alliance with
Time Warner for interactive broadcast service
Joint development with IBM for 32 nm logic process
Partnership list not comprehensive

15. Customer focused design
Product
Unique design philosophy:
“Create an Emotional Journey” that focuses on the
integration of sophisticated style, versatile convenience and
emotional reactions from customers to create
a more enjoyable and fulfilling user experience

16. Global ethnographic research to identify unmet needs,
which serves a product design brief
Product
Customer focused design
Samsung Design India
(Delhi)
Samsung's global experts analyze local culture, lifestyles and industry trends, providing critical inputs
to the Corporate Design Centre…which conducts global research projects that results in the creation of
products that meet every consumer and business needs

17. Product
Winning Product strategy
Technological
leadership
Customer
focus design + = First-to-market
products reflecting
consumers unmet
needs
(hence able to command premium price)
World’s first full
voice, gesture & facial control TV
World’s first full
10 MP camera phone
World’s first full
HD 3D LED TV
Innovation list not comprehensive
1st

18. Product
Persistent innovation which builds brand image
Innovation list not comprehensive

19. MARKETING STRATEGY

20. Marketing strategy essence
Marketing
Master brand
strategy in
conjunction with
hero sub-brand
Focus on premium
imagery targeting
high life seekers
Strategic
sponsorships
Advanced
marketing expertise
and investment
effectiveness

21. Strategy shifts: from a follower to an industry shaper
PAST
(Fast Follower)
Disparate identity with multiple sub-brands
Multiple communication agencies
Good reliable brand targeting sensible buyers
More mass media focus
Gut based marketing decisions
Local / Tactical sponsorship decisions
Marketing
NOW & BEYOND
(Industry Shaper)
Consistent master brand strategy in conjunction
with hero sub-brand
Consolidated communication agency
Premium brand targeting high life seekers
High digital focus
Advanced marketing expertise & investment
effectiveness
Consistent global / local sponsorships of sports /
cultural events

22. Strategy shifts: from a follower to an industry shaper
PAST
(Fast Follower)
Disparate identity with multiple sub-brands
Multiple communication agencies
Good reliable brand targeting sensible buyers
More mass media focus
Gut based marketing decisions
Local / Tactical sponsorship decisions
Marketing
NOW & BEYOND
(Industry Shaper)
Consistent master brand strategy in conjunction
with hero sub-brand
Consolidated communication agency
Premium brand targeting high life seekers
High digital focus
Advanced marketing expertise & investment
effectiveness
Consistent global / local sponsorships of sports /
cultural events

23. Consistent master brand strategy for efficiency
Marketing
from to
With global expansion and increase in product portfolio, Samsung shifted to a
master brand strategy to brining in marketing efficiency
In conjunction with “Samsung” master brand they started marketing “Galaxy”, their hero sub-brand
which infuses the master brand with a lot of youthful feel, premium & innovate traits

24. Consolidation of advertising duties for consistency
Marketing
To bring in consistency across communication, brand look & feel, the advertising
duties were first consolidated with Draft FCB
Later during the course of the years, the advertising duties were consolidated
with Samsung’s own agency ‘Cheil’

25. Premium brand targeting high life seekers
Marketing
Samsung’s product technological leadership and customer focused design was coupled with:
Increased visibility
& exclusive retail
space for customer
to experience
products
Alliances with
global premium
brands

26. Marketing
Premium brand targeting high life seekers
Partnership with global premium brands
2005
Bang & Olufsen joint venture to produce one of the most
expensive mobile ever
2005
Jasper Morrisson partnership to raise the brand’s design
profile
2008
Adidas partnership to compete against Nike-Apple
2007-10
Giorgio Armani Partnership to appeal to the luxury labels fans

27. Marketing
Premium brand targeting high life seekers
Visibility in premium locations
Airports were chosen as key destination to dominate so that it imparts a premium feel to the brand
Beijing & Taipei Hanovre Toronto
World in Your Hand“ themed Landmark Statues started in
2002 and extended to 22 international airports in the world.
Mobile charging stations and free Internet
access to build affinity with travelers
Premium exclusive stores in airports , helped the brand to build its
reputation and image
Since 2002
Since 2008 Since 2008

28. Marketing
Premium brand targeting high life seekers
Premium exclusive stores
Realizing the importance of customer experience with their products, Samsung operated exclusive
show rooms where customers could see, touch, and experience its latest products
Premium exclusive Samsung experience stores across US, Russia, Australia, Brazil, China, Chile and India

29. Focus on digital marketing
Marketing
0
People working in
social-media for
Samsung in 2009
+300
People working in 2012 for the
social-media team (in-house or
outsourced in agencies)
30%
Target for the 2013
marketing budget spent
online.
Understanding the reduced role of traditional mass media and that its core TA, the 25-
45 y.o, early adopters & style conscious segments use the net for researching &
shopping, Samsung started focusing on the digital medium

30. Ensure that it
demonstrates
Samsung’s regional
sentiments
Strategic Sponsorships
Ensure good
global reach &
audience affinity
Marketing
Global Strategic Sponsorship decision based on 2 important criteria:
If it is a
Global sponsorship
If it is a
Local sponsorship
Sports / Soccer key choice

31. Strategic Sponsorships
Marketing
All sponsorships investments had to deliver on 2 specific business goals:
Strengthen &
leverage channel
relationships
Contribute to sales
by connecting
sponsorship event
with sales programs

32. Strategic Sponsorships, examples
Marketing
Sports/ Global & Local
Exclusive sponsor for the Wireless
Communications Equipment category since
1998 at the Olympics”
Official Chelsea’s shirt sponsor since 2005, and
that agreement lasts at least until 2015”
Sochi 2014 OlympicWinter Games in Russia
Arts / Culture
Cultural / Art sponsorship the brands
maintains a human personality
Entertainment
Headline sponsor of Take That’s
2010 Tour
Cause Marketing
Philanthropic Initiative Announced to
Reinforce How Samsung is Dedicated to
Helping Children Live, Learn, and Thrive.

33. Advanced marketing & investment effectiveness
Marketing
Moving away from gut based decisions, Samsung ensured that:
Investment
decisions were
based on it ability
to generate ROI
Ensure overall
corporate
profitability
rather than just
volume / country
profitability
Ensure adequate
support for
category which
has potential but
which were small
currently

34. Advanced marketing & investment effectiveness
Marketing
Samsung, M-Net ensures an analytical
approach to marketing
“M-Net”, an intranet based software which
helps take marketing decisions based on
data
Data includes per capita spending by country,
category penetration, category growth, brand
share of competition, media clutter & cost,
category profitability, competition metric
etc…

35. Key take-aways
Product strategy
• Achieve Technological Leadership
• Alliance with tech leaders
• Customer focus design philosophy
• Introduce first to market, innovative,
differentiated products
• Premium brand experience
Marketing strategy
• Master brand strategy in conjunction
with hero sub-brand
• Consolidation of advertising duties with
single agency
• Premium brand image building
• Partnership with premium brands
• Visibility in premium locations
• Exclusive experience stores
• Focus on digital marketing
• Advanced marketing & investment
effectiveness
• Strategic sponsorships

36. Thank You
Subash Franklin
+ 91 976990 5404
subashfranklin@gmail.com