1. Explain the rationale for the selection of the 4 market segments identified by Samsung?

From the case study, the 4 market segments identified which are high-income families, the
young generation, business users and hobbyists. In my point of view, the rationale behind
selecting these 4 is because Samsung wanted to enhance its brand awareness and move its
image upscale as stated in the case study. They had launched a worldwide campaign using
the tag line “SAMSUNG DIGITall – everyone’s invited” to position the company as a
provider of innovative digital consumer electronics that were also easy to use. Moreover,
they also had high profile sponsorship despite slowing global economic growth. All these
strategies were because they wanted to ensure consistency with its new brand image which
was to cater for everyone needs and social background. To promote its products to the
high-income families, they have also redirected its focus away from mass merchants and
toward specialty retailers which enables them to advertise its new premium positioning.
As brand image played a critical role in their purchase decision, as consumers in this
segment were known to favor well-known, established brands. In the past, Samsung’s
consumer product line consisted primarily of low- to mid-range products sold at affordable
prices via a hodgepodge of retail channels. Thus, due to these reasons, they were viewed
as a follower rather than a leader in bringing new consumer technologies in the market by
consumers in North American and European countries. Since then, they had expanded
aggressively into semiconductor industry which enables them to develop extensive R&D
capabilities. As a result, they were able to produce higher quality digital products. The
company also noticed that the early adopters of digital products were teenagers and young
adults, thus they began to market its own brand to become the next generation provider.
With their constant production of new innovation, they managed to position their brand as
a provider of cutting-edge innovation.

2. Identify the main issue with regards to the product strategy. How it should be handled by
Samsung?
The main issue with their product strategy was that Samsung sold several low-end items
that were not especially compatible with the company’s new positioning as they
concentrated its sales efforts on selling high-end electronics products to the major chains.
However, these were profitable lines and had been a mainstay of Samsung’s operations in
Canada. SECA’s market position varied greatly across the different product categories in
which it had a presence. The company sold value-priced VCRs, conventional televisions
and appliances, but premium-priced high-definition televisions. Its remaining products
 were generally priced and positioned as mid-range offerings. Thus, its marketing objective
had always been to maximize sales volumes rather than margins. Thus, Samsung should
understand if they only want to market to high end consumers or mid-range. The company
could have a different brand name for a mid-range product to differentiate the brand. For
example, Lexus brand is owned by the Toyota Motor Corporation, but they offer a luxury
vehicle for the upper-class society while Toyota vehicle is offered to mid-range class.
However, these 2 brands operates and strategies differently as their market segment is
different with one another.

3. Compare the brand value of Samsung in 2003, 2018 (before pandemic Covid-19) as well
as 2020 as published by Interbrand (www.interbrand.com). Briefly explain.

As published by Interbrand, the brand value of Samsung in 2003 was 10,846 million, and
in 2018 its brand value has increased tremendously to 59890 million and in 2020 it has
then increased to 62289 million. This shows Samsung brand value has been constantly
increasing over the years. The reason behind the massive increase in brand value was due
to Samsung was able to build cutting edge technology and had plans for global expansion
plants of renewable energy which has boost the company’s brand awareness. Moreover,
they had also supplied the first 5G network equipment in the US and Korea market. In
2020, Samsung had made multiple donations for communities to overcome difficulties
during this pandemic. Their devotion to sustainability had also contributed to enhance
their brand value by producing eco-friendly packaging for their products. Moreover, they
had also constantly innovate to meet all customers demands with the ever changing
lifestyle and technology.

4. Identify the main issue (of the case) with regards to the channel of distribution strategy.
Advise Samsung.
Samsung needed to expand its distribution. There were several suggestions to withdraw
from mass merchants as it could hinder Samsung premium brand positioning. As their
main SECA’s strategy had been to focus on building sales through electronics specialty
chains, sponsorship of high-definition television programming on Canada’s broadcast and
specialty cable networks. HDTV was a flagship product for Samsung because it
represented a “cutting-edge” technology on which Samsung was technically equal or
superior to its major competitors. Thus, if they continue to sell in low prices for some
Samsung products, it could undermine the company’s efforts to reposition the brand. Thus,
 to improve their product strategy, they would need to expand its distribution by having its
own national retail channel. It would be a opportunity for Samsung to showcase its
leading-edge products in an ideal retail setting. It would also give the company greater
leverage when dealing with the increasingly powerful Best Buy/Future Shop retail chain.
In addition, retail pricing of consumer electronics in Canada was largely dictated by
specialty chains, such as Future Shop, who would assess a new product against offerings
from rival brands, suggest an appropriate retail price and offer to pay a wholesale price
consistent with their usual margin.

5. As a business consultant, advice Samsung on the type of “marketing communication” tool

that they need to strategically employed to ensure the success of the brand redefining
exercise.

The type of marketing communication tool is to constantly strive for the best product
quality. They can use their extensive R&D development team to produce only high quality
products and also constantly improving existing ones. Besides that, Samsung could
increase brand awareness by sponsoring prestigious global events as the Olympics, with
the express goal of supporting the brand-building efforts of its subsidiaries around the
world. Organising a seminar or open day for corporate customers with high profile press
launch which targets the business users could further increase their company’s reputation
and sales. With the current use of social media advertising, it would allow Samsung to
reach a wide base of customers while promoting their products through ads, videos and
short films. Engaging with famous social media influencers when they launch a brand-new
product could quicky spread the message and gain attention of more audience. By having
loyal customers to spare a few minutes to answer a survey or feedback form would
improve the company weakness and gain competitive market against its competitors.