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Introduction

Samsung commenced its operations in the year 1938 as Samsung General Stores in Kyungsang South Korea. Before the 1970s, it was engaged in operations revolving around wool, commodities and insurance fertilizers broadcasting and manufacturing.It was famous for manufacturing and producing cheap Japanese Electronic goods. However, it is current manager Lee Kun- Hee played an instrumental role in laying its foundation when he became its leader in the year 1993. As such, it is his declaration for new leadership principles and doctrines that focused heavily on intellectual capital employee empowerment, technological innovation and organizational creativity that has made Samsung what is seen today. For this reasons, one of its main business unit; Samsung Electronics is now accepted as a global electronics business unit that is capable of producing world-class wide-screen plasma a screens, mobile phones, household appliances and digital camcorders. Set up in 1969, it has been responsible for generating positive net revenues of around USD 27.2 billion by the culmination of the year 2012.As result; this has been the flagship business operation within Samsung Group. According to Bloomberg Business Week reviews, Samsung Electronics was stated as the first business unit when it comes to Information technology around the globe in 2002.Yet; it was ranked as the 5th Most Admired Electronics Company according to Fortune Magazine in 2003.By making approximately USD 216.7 Billion sales in 2013 in terms of revenues, Samsung Electronics became the largest electronics company when it comes to revenue. Apparently, its success is attributed to brand management process. Since its initiation and repositioning of the brand from the cheap manufacturers and producers to a brand of quality and class, it has possessed a consistent policy of focusing all its operations in while with its brand strategy. It is acting as a good example in stewardship and brand management with the chairman himself at the top of the agenda in nurturing and managing the brand.

Evaluation of Samsung’s brand and its personality

Since its initiation, Samsung had to work harder to change the perception of its customers of it as the manufacturers and producers of cheap Japanese electronic products. Beginning the year 1993, the company has developed an aggressive branding and promotional strategy. Its branding philosophy revolves around five primary pillars which include cutting-edge technology, innovation, recruiting the global best talents, world-class designs and internal branding. As such, for the past fifty years or so, Sony was one of the undisputed brand leaders when it comes to the electronic business across the globe before being slammed with a period of rapid decline which it has not found a solution to. When Samsung commenced its brand journey, it purposed to emulate what Sony was doing. Being a competitive industry, the company had to try and convince its customers through the invention of innovative products just in the same manner that Sony did with the Play Station and Walkman when it launched in 1994.As such, with the relatively short product life cycle and standardized products in the electronics industry, Samsung purposed to put its innovation into creating new features, and new appliances usage and categories. The company management was of the idea that profitable and successful innovation was supposed to be supported by best designs and superior technology.

The company has also invested heavily in Research and Development to help with the innovation of new technologies. For instance, in 2016, the European Union Industrial Research and Development stated that Samsung is the top technology spender and the second in the world with USD 13 Billion in Research and Development Investment. The company also went ahead to pump USD 4,5 Billion more in 2013 in R& D with the establishment of five new centers in its native country. In the modern era, the company boasts of approximately 50,000 individuals working in Research and Development around the globe across 42 global research facilities which also encompass design centers and R&D centers. The figures and statistics mentioned above exemplify the commitment of Samsung as a brand to developing cutting-edge technology to see to it that a competitive edge noting that it is competing with companies such as Apple in a number of categories. Additionally, another potential commitment to its brand personality is shown by the fact that Samsung possessed the second highest number of patents in 2014 awarded by USPTO- United States Patent and Trademark Office. The position was consistently maintained in the subsequent years. However, IBM is the highest ranked company in patents awarded.

Increasingly, Samsung also discovered the significance of being the best in product design. Supported by cutting-edge technology and innovation, the coolest, trendiest and latest designs have uniquely positioned it in the minds of the consumers and in the electronic market. As such, with cut-throat completion, it is accepted that the most powerful visual threat of its products has revolved around marked differentiator from its rivals. Additionally, the company also set up its Innovative Design Lab which is an in-house academy responsible for teaching study design. Since the lab received the support of the company chairman, it functioned as the design laboratory for future product designs of Samsung. Moreover, the company also commenced comprehensive development and training courses for its design workers to ensure that they grasp the latest design in trends coupled with courses in mechanical engineering and ergonomics. By exploring culture, art and sculpture of different countries, the IDS lab ensured that its design engineers are the best. In the end, the concept of the IIDS became the current global design centers of Samsung.

In recent years after the significant foray in the space of mobile electronics where the company is a direct competitor of Apple, the company has channeled a renewed focus on its products design. In an interview carried out in 2013 by the Forbes magazine, the head of Design Strategy Team Dong-hoon Chang gave a glimpse of the philosophy of the design 3.0 which is guided by the doctrine and principle of “make it Meaningful. In summary, he stated that Design 3.0 is made up of three phases that purposes at creating meaningful and new product-service experiential lifestyle and value to consumers which ensures that the company goes beyond convenient use and exterior style. In simple terms, the design focus of Samsung has now revolutionized from a product-focused philosophy to what is now accepted as a service focused strategy. The seriousness and emphasis on design is down to the fact that the company’s Corporate Design Centre that coordinates and manages the seven Global Design Centers that are situated in London, Delhi, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, San Francisco and Sao Paulo reports directly to the Company CEO.

For Samsung to be ranked as the best in designs or cutting-edge technology, it required the best talent pool available. Accepting this element in brand positioning and personality, Samsung has been one of the leading recruiter from a number of top ranking business schools around the globe. For instance, this was evident when its Former COO and Vice President, Hak Soo once stated that individuals re the biggest challenge facing Samsung. The Company needs to hire and train the best talents in the globe since it is an international company. However, the company has developed and grown from the periods when hiring talent used to be one of its greatest problems.

By focusing on the five-pillard strategy, the company has reaped the benefits in repositioning in its brand around the globe. Products such as Samsung galaxy Smartphone series and the Curved and Smart televisions are seen as technologically innovative and sophisticated products. However, it is important to note that as much as is repositioning strategy has been successful, it shifted the concentration of the company away from establishing a distinct identity. The largest competitor of Samsung as at the moment is Apple whose product and corporate brand enjoys a strong emotional connection with its users besides being technologically advanced and innovative. The operating and business environment of Samsung has incurred changes around the globe and in Asia. It requires a holistic, integrated and structured brand philosophy that can successfully connect the corporate brand with the product brand in the portfolio through different effective brand portfolio and architecture strategy to ensure that there is a ring connection.

Current Promotional Strategies to Build Brand Equity

Based on the brand personality, it is accepted that not too long ago, Samsung was not famous as it is now. They struggled and incurred challenges keeping up with the Smartphone market .However, it has not progressed so much that they have developed into the main competitor of Apple. Additionally, it has become one of the largest businesses in terms o revenue and the seventh rankled most valuable brand in the modern era. As such, what assisted it to develop into the leading technology company is down to its promotional and marketing strategy it applied. Its marketing and promotional strategy is stated as an effective strategy that has ever grazed the earth since it assisted a cost-driven company to revolutionize its structure and develop into an authority manufacturer. Because of the ever-changing consumer tastes and preferences in the technology industry, it was normal for companies to follow the in the same breath and offer progressive and evolving gadgets to their consumers. For this reason, Samsung had to incur changes so as to gain a competitive edge on the market and the new promotional and marketing strategy was the primary element to building its brand equity in the evolution process.

The Master Brand as a Promotional and Marketing Strategy-

Growth and development form an instrumental part of technology. In the past, consumers had no attachment to certain technological products; they always purposed to experience and have the best. It is through such situations that have made so many manufacturers to rapidly manufacturer new gadgets that would ensure that the needs of consumers are met and for quite a number of years, Samsung has never failed in this regard. It is in the best interest of the society for a product to maximize their life comfort and reduce the time wasted on unwanted or simple tasks. In the modern day, Samsung has sparked when it comes to innovation and instead of focusing on satisfaction of society needs, they have commenced creating the demand and need for individuals. Additionally, the company has managed to create an interesting product portfolio which ranges from tablets, laptops, smart phones, cameras, refrigerators and televisions. Consequently, this implies that Samsung promotional and marketing strategy has assisted the company in creating trust ad loyalty on every product they manufacturer.

Samsung’s Marketing Mix

Samsung has realized unbelievable levels with its smart phones which have assisted the brand to develop into a symbol of reliability and quality to consumers. In addition to the product, the company is also renowned for its customer service although product variation is one of its powerful elements of its marketing mix.

Pricing strategy

The company; pricing strategy revolves around two pricing techniques which are chosen to meet different goals and objectives. They inklcud eth following”

Skimming price: Samsung Smartphone’s are currently the leading in the market along with the Apple’s iPhones. Just like Apple, Samsung also uses skimming price to help gain a competitive edge over its competitors. For instance, S6 Edge and Samsung galaxy S6 are the current leading company products in the market carrying the slogan “Next is Now” which makes the company to claim that they are the most sophisticated and beautiful smart phones that have ever been manufactured. Without any doubts or worries, S6 Edge which boasts of around 64GB and costs approximately 1180$ will be smoothly and brilliantly be acquired by consumers around the globe. However, the question that so many people are asking is what will happen if other competitors are able to develop a Smartphone with the same features. It is simple to note that the simple thing that Samsung will do will be lowering the price and easily attract consumers from other competitors.

Competitive Pricing:Unike in the smartphone market, Samsing has difficulties in surpassing other companies in other products . For instance, it is accepyted that the company has challenges in keeping up with yhre robotic vacuums such as the Roomba 650 and 880.As much as Samsung is an authentic brand, in terms of home applicnes, it ha sproblems surpassing LG. Addityionnaly, in Cameras, Nikon and Cannon are the currently leading in the market. As such, for Samsung to withstand and cope with the fierce competition, it is important to use competitive pricing. Additionally, the company is never a late comer in innovation and production since they are mostly among the first companies to introduce a change.

Placing

Samsung uses channel marketing and promotional strategy in the industry. In most instances, this strategy only takes service dealers into consideration for corporate sales. The retailers that present the technology chain are capable or bound to include Samsung among its list because of the global recognition that the company has received and can also function as an alternative to customers. Another compelling part of the Samsung promotional strategy is distribution.