New York — Samsung is now rolling out phase one of its 2009 national advertising campaign that is leveraging the company’s leadership position in LED-back-lit LCD TV technology, the company’s consumer electronics division marketing communications VP Peggy Ang said Tuesday.
The first leg of the year-long advertising plan has been budgeted for $65 million and will encompass online advertising, extensive in-store merchandising displays, print advertising, national network and cable TV spots and mall showcases, Ang told TWICE.
The primary mission of the effort is to promote LED LCD TV as a new TV category, driving home the message that the LED backlighting delivers “mega contrast” ratio picture performance, ultra-slim panel designs and environmentally friendly attributes.
The effort kicked off at the end of March with online spots and will conclude at the end of June, when the second phase of the 2009 promotional campaign is scheduled to begin.
The in-store component of the initial phase will use in-store kiosks and end-caps designed to showcase core Samsung products and technologies, including LED LCD TVs, digital still cameras, Blu-ray Disc players and home-theater systems.
A national print-advertising component is to begin in early April, Ang said, followed on April 13 with a television component using both primetime national broadcast networks and leading cable TV channels. The spots, she said, focus on LED LCD TVs and will run against prominent sports programs as well as programs that the company sees as being a good fit for its high-technology and design messages.
In addition to the in-store kiosks, Samsung is targeting 12 malls across the country to showcase its “Samsung LED Sanctuary,” comprised of walled, stand-alone environments to be placed in high-traffic common areas. Passersby will be invited in to relax and view a showcased 6000- or 7000-series Samsung LED LCD TV, while learning about the aforementioned three core attributes of the technology.
Consumers will also learn about the [email protected] interactive suite that will deliver a wide range of entertainment options to many of Samsung’s step-up LCD and plasma TVs. The technology uses broadband connections to online content partners and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) links to various forms of digital media on computers elsewhere in the house.
“Unlike other campaigns we’ve had that have used what I call a shotgun method [of promoting many product categories], we are using strategically planned stages in order to communicate this wholly-new technology of LED LCD TV. You’ve got to use the building blocks one at a time to help gain some traction so the message doesn’t get lost as just another flat-panel TV,” Ang said.
The mall sanctuaries will tie in with national or regional retail partners as well as key local dealers “in a 5- to 10-mile radius” of the display. Ang said Samsung is determining now if it will use a coupon or some form of card that consumers can take to partner dealers to receive a special deal on the featured sets.
