Strategy Used By Samsung And Hyundai - Essay Example

Marketing Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Product Life Cycle 3 Products, Services and Brands 4 Environment 5 Conclusion 6 References 8 Bibliography 10 Introduction With reference to the article “Samsung and Hyundai Score World Cup ROI Goooal!” (Shayon, 2014) an analysis about the strategy used by Samsung and Hyundai to remain competitive in their industries will be discussed throughout this essay. The essay will identify Samsung and Hyundai’s competitive advantages centered on the customer-driven marketing strategy. This analysis will attempt to identify how Samsung and Hyundai with the use of social media have promoted their products in the market to reach their target customers. Discussion Product Life Cycle Samsung Inc. developed a new video which involved football superstars using Samsung devices and equipment to train themselves for defeating a group of alien rivals. In this campaign, Samsung promoted the Galaxy S5 which is in its introduction phase of the product life cycle (Shayon, 2014; Prezi Inc., 2014). The effort made by Samsung to promote Galaxy S5 is considered as the first of its kind wherein FIFA World Cup 2014 had been taken as a theme and the top players were used to attract customers through social channels. This particular campaign as witnessed has been successful in making a huge impact in the global market which has been quite beneficial for Samsung’s Galaxy S5 in its introductory phase. This is the stage when a particular commodity is newly familiarized in the market which requires certain marketing support. Advertising is used as a marketing tool to create awareness among consumers about the product in order to alleviate its brand image (Soltani, 2012; Trehan & Trehan, 2011). Similarly, Hyundai with the use of hashtag ‘#BecauseFutbol’ promoted its brand along with products to the football fans worldwide. Hyundai, the automobile company, is in its growth phase of product life cycle which effectively used the ‘Tumblr-powered microsite’ to promote its brand in the global market. This is the stage when there is a steady rise in the sales curve of the company along with market growth. Therefore, a company at this stage focuses on formulating marketing approaches so that its offered products are highly preferred in the market (Levitt, 2006). This makes it evident that the digitized World Cup campaign has driven the company to create a better position in the global market. It is worth mentioning that this marketing strategy of ‘Tumblr-powered microsite’ will help the company to achieve better brand recognition and make its product attain greater sales. This will ultimately instigate growth in the product life cycle of Hyundai (Shayon, 2014; Needham, 2012). Products, Services and Brands According to Hoon Kang, Samsung Electronics’ director of global marketing, companies that are specialized in sports product can easily incorporate their product within a sports environment. However, for electronic companies such as Samsung, it is quite difficult to incorporate its products and accessories into the sports context. Although, the task of this incorporation was difficult but Samsung made it appear relatively easier due to which its video was the second most watched video throughout the World Cup phase. This makes it evident that the products and services offered by the company are highly viewed and purchased by people across the globe which has been a result of its brand recognition (Shayon, 2014). Hyundai on the other hand, gave a new look to its brand through the social media campaign which made it possible for the company to showcase its involvement in sports. Hyundai posted its own message and photos in the Tumblr page and shared its perspective on football worldwide. This was a promotion strategy used by the company to lift its brand image and position itself in the global market. Hyundai was able to connect with Tumblr users that tactically helped the company in generating more customers’ attraction and prospect for product sales. Hyundai became the World Cup sponsor through its ‘#BecauseFutbol’ hashtag that ultimately resulted in promoting its products and services along with spreading its brand message to the customers globally (Johnson, 2014; Foresman, 2013). Environment Samsung has taken a huge initiative to understand the marketplace and its consumers. This is quite apparent because the strategy used by Samsung has helped in analyzing the market environment through comprehending the preference of football fans globally. Environmental analysis is considered as one of the most important tools for a company to gather information about ‘technological’, ‘economic’, ‘political’ and ‘demographic’ aspects in the market (Oldroyd, 2012). This particular analysis helps a company to determine its external threats and weaknesses as well as gain insights about the global market environment (Ramaswamy, 2013). It is worth noting that the Galaxy 11 team in the video game of FIFA World Cup 2014 was downloaded by millions of people. This in turn helped the company to gain an insight about customer behavior regarding Samsung mobile phones and tablets. Eventually, Samsung was able to gather the information about people interested in Galaxy 11 team video game that might further encourage it to develop applications along with games in which the customers seem to be interested (Shayon, 2014). Hyundai’s social media campaign of ‘#BecauseFutbol’ made the car maker quite visible as a brand in the global market. It was successful in making an impression through its social media site Tumblr. However, it is considered that this particular marketing strategy has not entirely helped the company to understand the global market environment (Sloane, 2014). Therefore, it is ascertained that Hyundai must form a strategy to understand the existing and potential future changes in the environment. In addition, the company must initiate an analysis that provides complete information about external environmental aspects to decision makers thereby fostering strategic and productive marketing decisions (Meek & Meek, 2003). Conclusion From the above analysis and discussion, it has been apparent that both Samsung and Hyundai have taken an initiative to use social media campaigns for reaching the customers in the global market. On one hand, Samsung used the Galaxy 11 campaign while on the other hand Hyundai used the hashtag ‘#BecauseFutbol’ to enhance its brand image. As both the companies offer different products and services to its customers and they fall under different phases of product life cycle, marketing strategies used by these companies are noticeably different. Besides, both the companies have taken a dissimilar step to understand the market environment as well as customer preferences which might turn out to be productive for them in their future prospect. References Foresman, C., 2013. Apple Owns US Smartphone Market While Samsung Dominates Worldwide. Only Crumbs Are Left For Other Competitors. [Online] Available at: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/08/apple-owns-us-smartphone-market-while-samsung-dominates-worldwide/ [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Johnson, L., 2014. Hyundais Times Square Billboard Goes Digital for World Cup Build Up Campaign powered by Tumblr. Technology. [Online] Available at: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/hyundai-s-times-square-billboard-goes-digital-world-cup-build-158211 [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Levitt, T., 2006. Ted Levitt on Marketing. Harvard Business Press. Meek, H. & Meek, R., 2003. Strategic Marketing Management: Planning and Control, 2003-2004. Routledge. Needham, M. A., 2012. Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation Completes First Phase of PTC PLM System Deployment. PTC Inc. [Online] Available at: http://www.ptc.com/appserver/wcms/standards/textsub.jsp?&im_dbkey=135333 [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Oldroyd, M., 2012. CIM Coursebook 03/04 Marketing Environment. Routledge. Prezi Inc., 2014. Product Life Cycle. Transcript of Product Life Cycle. [Online] Available at: http://prezi.com/xh8rfeezg2ia/product-life-cycle/ [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Ramaswamy, 2013. Marketing Management. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Sloane, G., 2014. How Tumblr Helped Hyundai Spread Its World Cup Message Paid and Free Tactics Give a Lift. Technology. [Online] Available at: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/how-tumblr-helped-hyundai-spread-its-world-cup-message-158939 [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Shayon, S., 2014. Samsung and Hyundai Score World Cup ROI Goooal! World Cup Daily. [Online] Available at: http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2014/07/16/140716-World-Cup-ROI.aspx [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Soltani, S., 2012. Strategic Marketing Plan in Product Life Cycle. Business Economics and Tourisms, pp. 1-84. Trehan, M. & Trehan, R., 2011. Advertising and Sales Management. FK Publications. Bibliography Farabi, Y., 2012. Analysis of Marketing Environment of Virgin Australia. GRIN Verlag. Fitzen, L., 2009. Marketing Environment. GRIN Verlag. Rosselot, K. & Allen, D. T., 2000. Life-Cycle Concepts, Product Stewardship and Green Engineering. Final Draft. [Online] Available at: http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/esm282/dfe/Chap13final.PDF [Accessed July 22, 2014]. Stark, J., 2011. Product Lifecycle Management: 21st Century Paradigm for Product Realisation. Springer Science & Business Media. Read More