Dubai: South Korean electronics giant Samsung used the popularity of the Olym-pic Games in its advertising strategy to establish itself as a premium global brand, a company official responsible for brand promotion said.
Samsung used advertisements based on Olympics themes in many markets around the world because the company considers the Olympics to be a global brand, Gregory Lee told IAA delegates.
"Everybody recognises the Olympics logo. Samsung leveraged the Olympics very well to be able to become a global premium brand," he said.
In his presentation "The Journey to be a Global Brand," Lee said the last six years have been crucial for the company as it set about transforming itself from being "a follower to becoming a leader" in the consumer electronics business.
Samsung is ranked number 20 in the Interbrand ranking of brands.
The company focused heavily on design and technological innovations as it introduced new products.
Lee said it has been a long journey for the company from the days when it was regarded as a "mass marketer of cheap TVs and VCRs."
"We no longer want to compete at a low price. We want to move up to be a premium brand," Lee said.
Samsung has built up a $14 billion business in TVs and its semi-conductor business is valued at $18 billion, according to Lee.
In the Middle East, the company's sales are approaching $3 billion. South Korea accounts for 18 per cent of Samsung's business, while the rest of Asia contributes 42 per cent. Europe and the Americas generate 24 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
"Our sales in Korea have become small. Therefore, we really had to become a global brand and look outside Korea to build our business and build our competencies," Lee said.
Samsung has followed a strategy of increasing its presence worldwide by establishing design centres, sales subsidiaries and production plants.
It has production facilities in 19 countries, including China where it has 14 plants.
"This has enabled us not only to build our brand but also the kind of infrastructure necessary to build our brand," Lee said.
Samsung has also taken the advantage of the electronics industry's shift from analog to digital.
"It was truly an industry change. We were able to take advantage of that industry change," Lee said.
