Launching high-end technology products: A Samsung case study Introduction It is very important that a company develops a coherent marketing strategy for the launch of each individual product in its portfolio. It is of equal importance that these strategies are compatible and support the firm's overall objectives. Although Samsung is a multi-national company with 56 worldwide subsidiaries. Background to Samsung Founded in 1938 in South Korea, Samsung has grown from a modest trading company to a multi-national conglomerate with an annual turnover in 1997 of nearly $100 bilion. Samsung operates in three major markets - electronics, engineering and chemicals - and employs people in more than 60 countries. The corporate philosophy is to devote its human resources and technology to the development of a global society through ever better products and services Samsung pursues effective strategies to achieve its objective of maintaining global competitiveness. Quality First Samsung continuously strives to improve product quality, implementing numerous quality control checks. For example, workers are allowed to halt production at any time if a fault is identified. The global strength of Samsung provides flexibility - being a global organization enables it to find the best sources of raw materials, together with the best locations in which to manufacture and assemble its products. Samsung has 26 factories across the world, therefore, its global nature has also resulted in an internationally recognizable brand name. Because Samsung operates in som product and market areas, it combines all its expertise, technology and facilities in order to improve product development. This is known as "synergy. Additionally, Samsung is a vertically integrated company controlling all phases of the process, from raw materials through to manufacture, retailer and customer Marketing strategy To encourage business users to buy Samsung monitors, a radical marketing strategy has been developed with support from Head Office in Korea, a number of initiatives have been introduced to raise brand awareness and instil good perceptions of the product. An open day and seminar for corporate customers, along with a high profile press launch were organised. Advertising was carefully targeted at business users, particularly in the city and in product specific magazines and papers. One-to-one marketing has also been used, mailing promotional material directly to the customer. The cost of this technology means that TFT LCD monitors are still more expensive than conventional CRT monitors, although the price is falling steadily as manufacturing techniques improve and more competitors enter the market. Discussion Question: . Identify the key marketing activities of Samsung with example. Why Marketing strategy is important for Samsung's business success. Justify your answer (5+5) Use the following guidelines for preparing your report . For headlines, use 14 font size or larger . For text, use 12 font size or larger