MK0389: Analysis of Samsung's Global and Local Marketing Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Samsung's global marketing strategies, focusing on the UK market. It explores Samsung's approach to product strategy, including global, local, and glocal adaptations to cater to diverse consumer preferences. The report examines promotional strategies, highlighting how Samsung utilizes both global and localized campaigns to engage with its target audience. Furthermore, it delves into Samsung's target market, outlining segmentation based on geographic, demographic, and psychographic factors, particularly for its smartphone range. The report emphasizes the importance of 'Think global, act local' approach, showcasing how Samsung balances standardization and customization to achieve market success and sustainability in the competitive global market. It references various sources to support its findings and conclusions regarding Samsung's strategic marketing decisions.

Running Head: MK0389
Global Marketing and Communication

MK0389 1
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Global, local and glocal strategies towards the following areas:...............................................2
Product:..................................................................................................................................3
Promotion:..............................................................................................................................5
Target market:........................................................................................................................6
Segmentation:.........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................8
References:.................................................................................................................................9

MK0389 2
Introduction:
This report entails the strategic decision taken by the modern global brands to market their
products effectively to new countries such that a new market is developed and the company is
able to grow and enhance its global market share. After globalization has ushered in, it has
become possible for a business organization with a substantial financial and human resources
to expand its business across the borders into other countries where there are significant
marketing opportunities. The advantage of going global is that the brand will earn reputation
across the foreign markets and will be able to capture more customers worldwide such that
the business is able to achieve enhanced profitability and sustainability in the long run. As
one of the positive influences of globalization, it has made it convenient for the domestic
consumers to market their products across a number of developed and developing nations as
the trade and other entry barriers have been made lenient and free trade has been legalized
between multiple nations across the world. This report is aimed at highlighting the essence of
domestic brands going global but acting local. In other words, the report endeavors to
encourage the domestic consumer marketers into undertaking strategic decisions to move
global with their brands so that they can expect better profitability and sustainability in the
competitive market dynamics. The positive outcomes of a glocal strategy have been
demonstrated by adopting the example of Samsung, one of the most renowned electronic
brands in the UK.
Global, local and glocal strategies towards the following areas:
Meaning of Globalization:
The globalization strategy can be defined as the free movement of goods and services across
different nations without many rigid barriers in flow of such goods or services between
different economies in the world. The strategy has made it possible for the domestic business
establishments to take their business abroad if they have the required resources (Management
Study Guide, 2017).
Meaning of Localization:
The localization strategy can be termed as the marketing strategy that is undertaken by many
of the global organizations whereby they offer unique and distinct products or services to the

MK0389 3
customers of each country those are exclusive and different from each other. In other words,
these business organizations prioritize on the local buyer tastes, preferences and cultural
beliefs while designing the products and services accordingly (Ishida, 2015).
Meaning of Glocalization:
The glocalization strategy encompasses the process of standardizing some core elements of a
product or service and localizing the other elements. It can be considered as a trade-off
between the domestic and global marketing policies of a multinational brand. Thus, the
concept is based on the strategy that some of the attributes of the products or services will be
the same for all countries however certain elements will be altered depending on the tastes
and preferences of the local consumers. It is considered to be one of the most useful
marketing strategies nowadays by the majority of the global brands (Luigi & Simona, 2017).
Product:
Global Product strategy for Samsung:
Samsung offers a wide range of product portfolio for its international markets. The company
has a wide range of products such as smartphones, laptops, televisions, air-conditioners, and a
variety of other appliances. There are various types and varieties of smartphone models sold
by Samsung across its global markets to suit the tastes and preferences of a wide range of
customers. The Galaxy S series is for the young adults. The Galaxy Note is targeted for the
business class people as it has a much larger display and a lot of applications to support the
business activities. The Samsung Galaxy Neo series is for the senior and children. These
handsets have comparatively simple operations and therefore are more convenient to use for
the children and the older people. The smartphones are one of the most popular product lines
from the brand (GRIN, 2016).

MK0389 4
The sales and profit figures for Samsung product portfolio
Source: https://www.matrix219.com/samsung-electronics/
Local Product strategy for Samsung:
Samsung also sales various products according to the tastes and preferences of the local
consumers in the various countries it operates. As for example, in the various Asian countries
like India, the company offers products such as smart ovens which can be used for cooking
food items such as ‘Rotis’ and ‘Naans’. The company also manufactures a wide range of air-
conditioners to suit the budget of the local customers. They can operate under extremely high
temperature and humidity and save considerable amount of electricity. The products and
services are being offered with a local touch to create more of an emotional attachment of the
customers with the brand. The other key area of localization strategy is the highly efficient
customer services available for the wide range of products offered by Samsung across nations
with the element of localized preferences (Doland, 2017).

MK0389 5
Smartphone brands Market Share in UK
Source: https://www.counterpointresearch.com/apple-leads-uk-smartphone-market-in-
2017q3/
Glocal Product strategy for Samsung:
The glocal strategy of Samsung consists of a mix of its successful global as well as local
policies. The major strategy of glocalization adopted by Samsung is through its native
communications and imagery that it uses to stimulate the emotions of the customers in
different countries. Samsung achieves this strategy through application of objectives such as
developing shared visions like creating superior products and services and widening the
perspectives such as developing a cooperative mentality among the regional and international
management of the company for ensuring that the company is able to manage the global
corporate level strategies and at the same time cater to the specific demands of the customers
in the local markets (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2017).
Promotion:
Global Promotional strategy for Samsung:
For promoting the portfolio of products and services globally, Samsung has a gargantuan
budget. The brand observes aggressive marketing strategies along with sponsorship activities

MK0389 6
for its global market. The company uses the internet advertising such as social media ads, ads
in official webpage and in third-party sites for promoting the various products and services. It
also undertakes sponsorships of events such as in famous sporting events like Olympics and
being the official sponsor of Chelsea Football Club. It is also sponsoring movies in
Hollywood as official partner (Giacomo Balli , 2014).
Local Promotional strategy for Samsung:
Samsung promotes its products and services locally with the help of TV, newspaper and
magazine ads. The social media is also used along with Youtube to promote various
advertisements, tailor-made for the local customers that help the brand getting attached easily
with the emotions of the consumers across the global markets. The messages and visuals are
developed according to the specific cultures and traditions of the countries where the
company operates.
Glocal Promotional strategy for Samsung:
The glocal promotional strategy is performed by Samsung mainly through the
implementation of the internet advertising technology. It uses the various forms of social
media platforms to market the products and services to the global customers with the
standardized features as well as localized features of the products. The traditional channels of
communication such as TV, radio, newspapers and magazines are also utilized for publishing
the several promotional strategies of the brand in the globally local markets.
Target market:
The target market of Samsung comprises of wide range of target market in the UK. The wide
range of products is offered by the company in the global market. The report deals with the
target market of Samsung smart phones. In the UK the target market of Samsung includes
teenagers to old adults. The teenagers are the being targeted by the company for its smart
phone ranges as the youngsters have a keen inclination towards the use of smart phones and
the use of internet. They can afford as there are smart phones of different prices making the
target market to afford them. The adult target group of the brand has the purchasing power
and they can also choose different models with different specifications depending on their
purchasing power. Both male and female comprise the target segment of the company.
Professionals, students, businessmen and households are the target markets of the company

MK0389 7
for its smart phones (Ward, 2016). The market of the UK has been found to be well
dominated by Samsung in terms of its smart phone ranges (SHARMA, 2017).
Segmentation:
The target market for the smart phones of Samsung has been decided depending on
geographic, psychographic and demographic factors. Samsung has analyzed the market of the
UK and then has done the segmentation on the basis of these three factors.
Geographic:
The people living in the urban areas are most likely to be the target market of the brand. The
people living in the rural areas of the UK with moderate affordability have also been using
the smart phones of lower price range.
Demographic
The individuals who are using the devices for regular purposes between the age group of 20
to 60 and above is the usual target segment of Samsung smart phone in the UK. The
individuals having the purchasing power can be the target of the company. Specifically, the
target market for Samsung smart phones in the UK includes teenagers from age group of 15
to 50 and above. People belonging from middle to upper class of the society form the target
market. For example, the target market for Samsung Galaxy S7 is people with moderately
higher income and living in urban developed areas. This model is also considered to be a
status symbol for some people. The different price range of the smart phones serves different
sections of the society. The people as per their affordability buy the smart phones of the
company (Lynn, 2011). . The income of the population in the UK is growing and as a result
of this the customers for the smart phone range of the company will keep on growing. There
are also certain divisions in the smart phone range of Samsung which are of high prices and
the company targets the high income group for that smart phones.
Psychographic
Wide range of smart phones of Samsung is offered for individual lifestyle and personality
where the smart phones are either used for professional purposes, normal uses or for smart
technologies inclination. Apart from different colors and features of the smart phone devices
of Samsung there are also some special features which attract some specific individuals who
use smart phones for multiple purposes. The camera quality attracts the youngsters. The sleek

MK0389 8
design attracts the females. The smart phone users are fond of surfing internet and social
networking along with the normal uses of mobile phone devices (Hanlon, 2018).
Conclusion:
In conclusion it can be said that the modern brands need to spread their business across
borders to gain more growth, profitability and sustainability in the competitive market. The
importance of global strategies of a foreign brand such as Samsung has been comprehended
from this report. The discussion has analyzed and evaluated the global, local and glocal
strategies for Samsung in UK. Therefore, the domestic consumer marketers need to think
about expanding their businesses across multiple nations by adopting the strategy of ‘Think
global and act local’. This will ensure sustainability by gaining competitive edge in the
international arena.

MK0389 9
References:
Czinkota, M. R., & Ronkainen, I. A. (2017). Achieving ‘Glocal’ Success. Retrieved from
ama: https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/achieving-glocal-
success.aspx
Doland, A. (2017). IN INDIA, SAMSUNG WANTS TO FEEL MORE LIKE A LOCAL
BRAND, CMO SAYS. Retrieved from adage:
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/india-samsung-feel-a-local-brand/308146/
Giacomo Balli . (2014). Samsung Mobile Phones’ International Marketing Strategy (Dec
2005) . Retrieved from giacomoballi: http://giacomoballi.com/samsung-mobile-
phones-international-marketing-strategy-dec-2005/#.WsuunC5ubDc
GRIN. (2016). Samsung Electronics and the Global Market. The History and the Competitive
Advantage. Retrieved from grin: https://www.grin.com/document/324000
Hanlon, A. (2018, March 5). The Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning model. Retrieved
from smartinsights:
https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/customer-segmentation-
targeting/segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/
Ishida, R. (2015). Localization vs. Internationalization. Retrieved from w3:
https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-i18n
Luigi, D., & Simona, V. (2017). THE GLOCAL STRATEGY OF GLOBAL BRANDS.
Studies in Business and Economics, 147-155.
Lynn, M. (2011). Segmenting and Targeting Your Market: Strategies and Limitations.
Articles and Chapters, 1-14.
Management Study Guide. (2017). What is Globalization ? - Meaning and its Importance.
SHARMA, P. (2017, November 22). Apple & Samsung dominate UK smartphone Market in
3Q17. Retrieved from https://www.counterpointresearch.com/apple-leads-uk-
smartphone-market-in-2017q3/

MK0389
10
Ward, S. (2016, december 28). Targeting. Retrieved from thebalance:
https://www.thebalance.com/target-marketing-2948355