Sumita Vaid
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Samsung earmarks Rs 125 crore as marketing budget

To reinforce its association with cricket, Samsung has donned the mantle of the associate sponsor of the World Cup Cricket on MAX

If this year (calendar year 2003) Samsung India Electronics is targeting an ambitious sales turnover of Rs 2,800 crore, the World Cup Cricket has a lot to do with it. "After all we have the golden team with us," remarks Ravinder Zutshi, director, Samsung Electronics. "We are targeting a sales turnover of Rs 780 crore in the first quarter of 2003 and hope to sell 4.5 lakh units in the same period," he adds. And this, the company hopes to achieve through a high voltage sales promo (created by Mudra Communications) which starts today.

The process of building hype around the World Cup began with the Team Samsung campaign, created by "the best talents" from its roster agencies Mudra Communications and Triton Communications. The Team Samsung - a group of seven celebrity cricketers - is endorsing the entire array of Samsung products. And this ‘Team' includes Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Dinesh Mongia and Ajay Ratra. Samsung aired its first ad in the ‘Team Samsung' series on August 19, 2002. To reinforce its association with cricket, Samsung has donned the mantle of the associate sponsor of the World Cup Cricket on MAX.

The three-part Team Samsung India First series takes three different situations to drum in the fact that ‘Team Samsung ho to India first hoga'. The company is working on a new series of commercials for the southern markets.

The latest promotion will run from January 15 to March 25. Under this, the purchase of any Samsung colour television (CTVs) entitles the buyer to a scratch card. The customer stands to win a ‘Sureshot Gift' of a four-year warranty with a Samsung CTV purchased during the period of the promotion. The total budget comprising promotions and the gifts will cost the company Rs 50-Rs 55 crore. The total marketing budget for the calendar year 2003 is Rs 125 crore.

While the company's optimism can be attributed to the World Cup, Samsung's last year's performance too has given it a boost. Says Zutshi, "Our strong performance in colour televisions coupled with the significant growth registered by the company in home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, have enabled the company to register a turnover growth of 26 per cent in the year 2002." The company hopes to increase its CTV market share to 17 per cent by the end of the year 2003. © 2003 agencyfaqs!

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