Samsung Promotional Strategies

Compare and contrast the promotional strategies used by two (2) different companies for a similar product within the category that you selected. Promotion, one of the 4P’s in the Marketing Mix, is communicating with the customer about a particular product to the customer in such a way that makes the product attractive enough to fulfill a need or want. There are several components, which make up promotion, referred to as integrated marketing communications (IMC). IMC includes advertising, selling, sales promotion, and public relations (Boone & Kurtz, 2013). Samsung and Sony rank in the top five in the electronics industry with Panasonic, LG and Sharp. They are top TV sellers with Samsung leading the way. While Samsung spent $1.7 billion

1 Vivaldi Partners Social Currency Wheel (Nisen, 2012).

Although Sony does not put much money or effort into their promotional strategy, it does advertise on TV, attend trade shows, magazines and billboards. Sony also utilizes co-operative advertising, which may contribute to the significant difference in the amount of money paid for promotions in comparison to Samsung. Samsung, also attend trade shows, website, various print advertisements including brochures, posters and specification sheets (Launching, 2014). Additionally, Samsung advertises on the sides of taxis and buses, which is an opportunity to promote through corporate sponsorship. While Samsung emphasizes quality products, Sony puts weight on customer service. In previous years Sony has been known to have higher prices, but Samsung’s new curved TV with streamlined frame far exceeds any of Sony’s with same size and similar features.

Recommend two (2) ways in which a company within the selected product group could use marketing information to differentiate itself in the marketplace to gain an advantage over its competitors. Provide a rationale to support your

Samsung and Sony are following Apple’s lead in maintaining control of their prices. For example, stores are restricted from offering sales and discounts on certain products like premium line TVs (Byford, 2012). Premium pricing, which reflects the exclusivity of the product, is a pricing objective used by Samsung. Consumers generally equate price with quality; therefore, if they are getting a top of the line product they are willing to pay higher prices. The combined decision to use premium pricing, and to not allow stores to offer discounts is risky because they can potentially lose sales to other top competitors like LG, Sharp and Panasonic. Another strategic pricing objective used by Samsung is product line pricing, which is advantageous to both company and consumer. Product line pricing offers lower end models of the same product without all of the added features to be sold at significantly lower prices, in this case premium TVs. This allows customers who lack interest in the bells and whistles or otherwise cannot afford the high-end models the ability to still purchase a TV. As a result TV’s offered at a lower price has the potential to sell in higher volumes. The competitors should consider skimming to gain the competitive advantage. Skimming will provide information on consumer’s willingness to pay. If skimming were made