Strategic Sponsorships

the world's third-largest cellular phone manufacturer with a 13% market share, and was a leading player in fast-growing refrigerator sales.¹⁴

Mr. Eric. B. Kim further raised Samsung's profile by sponsoring the Olympics and connecting the Samsung brand with films like the "Matrix" trilogy.

Mr. Eric. B. Kim stated in the interview:

"Global branding requires huge amounts of money, so I focused on key leverage points such as the Olympics. We were nobody on the global brand stage before 1998, but being on the same platform as Coca-Cola and other Olympic brands helped us drive our message."

5.4 Major Examples of Corporate Marketing

Support for the corporate branding often comes from marketing. Samsung Electronics conducted several marketing campaigns such as strategic sponsorships of the Olympic Games, sporting events, and entertainment marketing.

5.4.1 Strategic Sponsorships

To ensure global audience affinity, Samsung conducts global strategic sponsorship by globally and locally. The Examples of strategic sponsorship of Samsung are sport marketing, global and local exclusive sponsorship for the wireless communications equipment category, art sponsor of and philanthropic Initiative activity sponsorship, etc.

Olympic Game Sponsorship

Samsung put many efforts to sponsor the Olympics, so it can strengthen its global corporate image and corporate brand value. It has been carrying out a global marketing campaign in a single theme.¹⁵

Samsung began its Olympic Game sponsorship as local sponsor in a Wireless Communications Equipment category since 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

Since 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games, Samsung extended its partnership as

14 Madden, Normandy. “Eric Kim.” Ad Age. Jan. 26th, 2004. accessed April 21^th, 2017, http://adage.com/article/special-report-global-players/eric-kim/97503/

15 Davis, John A. The Olympic Games Effect: How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands. Singapore: John Wiley

& Son Singapore Pte Ltd, 2012. Chapter 14.

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worldwide sponsor by providing proprietary wireless communications platform, called as ‘WOW’

(Wireless Olympic Works) and mobile phones; it provided the real-time, user location-based information service and interactive communications. Furthermore, Samsung hosted variety digital marketing campaigns about the Olympic Games to the people around the world.¹⁶

The lists of Olympics that Samsung participated as TOP sponsors are as below:

2000 Sydney Olympic Games, 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, 2004 Athens Olympics, 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics,2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, 2012 London Olympics,2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics games

Samsung’s participation as the official Olympic sponsor has been remarkable results of brand awareness. During the 2002 Sydney Olympics, Samsung’s brand awareness increased from 5 % to 16.2 %; Awareness grew again during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics from 57% to 62%.¹⁷ Samsung’s top management seems to believe its association with the Olympics has been an important part of its marketing strategy to build the image of Samsung Electronics.

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

Samsung presented 12,500 Galaxy S7 edge for Olympic Games Limited Edition mobile phones to the Olympic Games Rio 2016 athletes, helping them to communicate with family and friends from around the world more easily.

Samsung partnered development of the official Rio 2016 application, a range of features helping users enjoy the Olympic Games such as the competition schedule, event information and

real-time updates, etc.

Throughout the Olympic, the Samsung Galaxy Studio –– its corporate showcase pavilion––

also offered various entertainment space for consumers, athletes and fans experience through the latest mobile products and Gear VR technology, etc.

As part of its commitment to spread the Olympic spirit ahead of the Olympic Games Rio

16 Olympic Sponsors, accessed April 28^th, 2017, https://www.olympic.org/sponsors/samsung

17 John A.and Hilbert, Jessica Zutz. Sports Marketing: Creating Long Term Value. Cheltenham. Cheltenham:

Edward Elgar Publishing. 2013. p130.

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2016, Samsung also created ‘A Fighting Chance – a short documentary that tells the untold stories of four athletes on their quest to overcome remarkable odds to compete at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Samsung also released two stories; ‘The Chant’ is a story of personal progress and celebration of a nation’s first Olympic; the ‘International Anthem’ is a story about the collective progress celebration of break down boundaries to express unity and harmony. ¹⁸ Samsung “Most Trustworthy Olympics Sponsor Brand”- Survey

Samsung Electronics Rio Olympics sponsorship was considered as one of the most successful Olympic campaign that the company ever had. Samsung Electronics made use of its real-life brand advocates through campaigns of ‘Launching People’ which put the spotlight on people who used its technology to turn their dreams into reality, which led a positive effect on how authentic consumers perceived the brand to be. Due to its successful marketing campaign, Samsung was selected as the most trusted Olympic sponsor brand among UK consumers. (see figure 5.14 ) ¹⁹

Figure 5.14 The Most Trusted Olympic Sponsor Source: user generated content platform Reevoo

18 Olympic News, accessed May 26^th, 2017,

https://www.olympic.org/news/samsung-helping-to-make-rio-2016-the-most-connected-olympic-games-ever

19 Digital Training Academy, accessed May 25^th, 2017.

http://www.digitaltrainingacademy.com/casestudies/2016/09/samsung_most_trustworthy_olympics_sponsor_bra nd_survey.php

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Samsung Extend Worldwide TOP Partnership through to 2020

Samsung and IOC decided to extend worldwide partnership through to 2020; the extension includes the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and 2020 Tokyo Olympiad as well as the Youth Olympic Games till 2020. ²⁰

Other Sports Marketing Activities

Beginning with the Olympics, Samsung Electronics’ sports marketing has now expanded its scope to international competitions such as the Asian Games, Paralympics and Youth Olympics and to several International Athletic Federations in athletics, hockey and soccer. Additionally, Samsung has also sponsored sports teams in different countries such as Chelsea football team in England which has made huge contributions to raise the brand image and to increase sales in the European market. They were Official Chelsea’s shirt sponsor since 2005, and that agreement lasted until 2015.

Major Sports Sponsorship:

 Asian Games (since 1986)

 World Hockey (since 2003)

 Hansol Korea Open, a WTA event (since 2005)

 Chalsea FC, a Premier League team (since 2005)

 Asian Football Confederation (since 2006)

 Korean Football Association (since 2006)

 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) (since 2009)

 Confederation of African Football (CAF) (since 2010)

 Asian Amateur Championship, for young professional golfers (since 2010) Other Football Sponsorship:

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 Romania National Team

 Portugal National Team

 Universitari Peru Social Contribution Activities

Samsung Electronics strives to promote the company’s world-class image but also accepts social responsibility as a member of global society. For example, the company maintained a human personality Entertainment Headline sponsor. In their 2010 Tour Marketing Philanthropic Initiative announced and reinforced that Samsung was dedicated to helping children live, learn and thrive.