Samsung - the Top Brand in the World

Samsung - The TOP Brand in the World

According to the global brand scoreboard of 2004 from Interbrand,

Samsung, the Korean based electronics brand, has boosted its profile

and being listed as 21st valuable brands in the world. Its brand value

surged by 16% to 12.5 billion US dollars compared to the figure in

2003 which is 10.8 billion US dollar. (Simon, 2004) It becomes the

world’s leading brand in electronics and digital industry. This

achievement is closely related to its sponsorship strategies. Samsung

associate its name to the “TOP” plan, which is “The Olympic Partner”

plan. It is a plan which leads Samsung to be the top brand in the

world. However, there are many other programs to support Samsung’s

sponsorship strategy. Without these strategies the “TOP” plan will not

have such effectiveness and efficiency.

Samsung’s philosophy is “devote our human resources and technology to

create superior products and services, thereby contributing to a

better global society”. (www.samsung.com) Under this philosophy

Samsung has adopted a sport-based strategy in building its brand. The

multinational consumer electronics firm acknowledges the fundamental

role played by sport and by the Olympic Games as a promoter of its

brand. Vice president of corporate communication at Samsung, Il-Hyung

Chang, rationalizes the important role of sport sponsorship by stating

"sports sponsorship is a strategy that fits well within our operations

at Samsung….it’s an integral part of our company’s philosophy". Philip

and David, 2003 Entering into the “TOP” plan propels Samsung’s

sponsorship to a new era. It has an opportunity to act on the same

stage with the world top brand such as Coca Cola, IBM, and Visa, which

greatly enhanced its brand image. The company’s active and established

role in the heart of the Olympic Movement has contributed to its brand

value surge in recent years.

Samsung’s involvement with the Olympic movement began as a local

sponsor for the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. Then it became the TOP

sponsor in the wireless telecommunications equipment category for the

Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Salt Lake

2002 Olympic Winter Games and Athens 2004 Olympic Games. This status

as a global partner in the wireless telecommunications equipment

category will be continuing in the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games

and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Samsung have agreed to pay the huge

amount for corporate sponsorship because they recognize the vital