Samsung Electronics rolled out its 2008 Beijing Olympics
marketing strategy with hopes of boosting sales and brand
recognition in China.
Samsung's announcement comes after Coca-Cola launched
Olympics-tailored packaging in January and Lenovo embarked on its
advertising and marketing initiatives in late March, suggesting a
flare-up in Olympics marketing leading up to the event.
Samsung yesterday launched three new mobile phones for the
Olympics and announced the appointment of Liu Xuan, an Olympic
gymnastics champion, as the company's Games ambassador.
The campaign "shows Samsung's commitment to continue its journey
to spread true Olympic values in the most proactive and
comprehensive manner", said Gyehyun Kwon, Samsung's vice-president
of worldwide sport marketing and global communications.
The company said it is committed to building a wireless Games
through its Wireless Olympic Works, which was used in Athens in
2004 and Turin in 2006.
Kwon declined to disclose howmuch the company is spending on the
campaign, but said Samsung will "invest enough to make the Beijing
Olympics a success".
"The Olympics is a very important and valuable opportunity for
Samsung. We expect it to enhance our corporate brand and allow us
to tap new markets in China," he said.
Since 1998, when Samsung partnered with the Nagano Games, the
company has quickly developed into an international brand by
leveraging the Olympics.
Samsung is now focused on "strengthening brand preference and
brand loyalty among targeted consumers", Kwon said.
In April, the company signed a sponsorship agreement with the
International Olympic Committee up to 2016. China is now Samsung's
third-largest market in terms of revenue, after the EU and the
US.
(China Daily June 7, 2007)