Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) makes great phones but in spite of this fact, its gargantuan advertising budget makes sure that the company remains in the minds of present and potential future customers. Whether its in Times Square or on the television, Samsung is everywhere. It’s believed that the company spent upwards of $14 billion on advertising last year. While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to be everywhere, it’s product placements in movies and on television could make the unaware believe that its laptops and computers are more popular than PCs and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) did that with just $1 billion in advertising last year.
To put that in perspective, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s advertising budget is bigger than the GDP of nearly 80 nations including Iceland and Nicaragua.
Airport rebranding
Samsung announced today that it will rename Terminal 5 in London’s Heathrow airport to ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5’ for a two week period. But what does that include?
“The initiative includes all signage throughout the Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5 terminal – at the entrance and drop-off locations, in the lounges, at security and at the gates,” said Samsung in a press release.
“In addition, all 172 digital panels in the main terminal, gate rooms and baggage reclaim areas will feature the rebrand ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5’ and images of the Galaxy S5 smartphone.”
Unimaginative phone, massive ad budget
While the phone has been selling well and has largely received positive reviews, it has been called unimaginative by some and only a marginal improvement over its predecessor.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s UK and Ireland vice president of Marketing Russell Taylor said that the move would “maximise brand impact” and was a “one-off opportunity to push the boundaries like no other brand has been allowed to do before.”
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s UK and Ireland vice president of Marketing Russell Taylor said that the move would “maximise brand impact” and was a “one-off opportunity to push the boundaries like no other brand has been allowed to do before.”
With a massive advertising budget like Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s the only real surprise today was the fact that it was a Japanese company that announced that it, not Samsung, would put the first advertisement on the moon.
