Digital marketing, CSR crucial: seminar
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Digital marketing strategies and corporate social responsibility remain integral functions for marketers and companies in order to keep brands relevant in the face of rapidly changing consumer behaviour due to evolving communication technology, a Bangkok
“Digital marketing is the centre of our key marketing strategy as well as being a good ‘citizen’ in society,” Sasithorn Kupattanakul, senior director of corporate marketing at Thai Samsung Electronics, said yesterday.
Speaking at Chulalongkorn Business School, Sasithorn also talked about creating brand sustainability and how Samsung had transformed its brands from being considered functional to eliciting an emotional response from consumers.
Vision 2020
Under the company’s Vision 2020 strategy, she said it aimed to be considered an aspirational brand around the globe. As such, the company had earmarked about 7 per cent of its total annual investment budget on product research and development in a bid to inspire users of its products.
Apart from product development, Sasithorn said building consumer engagement was key given the intense competition.
She said her office had focused more on digital marketing.
Its key digital communication activities included Facebook fanpages for its electronic and mobile-phone products. Each page had more than 2 million fans.
“We have to be one or two steps ahead of our consumers,” she added. For that to happen, Sasithorn said Samsung must obtain a better understanding of consumer behaviour, particularly relating to social media and other digital media platforms.
The head of the Korean electronic giant in Thailand said Thais liked to be entertained online, particularly via YouTube and other video providers. As such, the company needed to deliver hero content to create a deeper engagement with consumers.
To create meaningful communication with consumers so that they enjoy life more, Samsung is also focusing on market citizenship.
Sasithorn said the company operated the Samsung Smart Learning Centre to help improve education in rural areas, while Thai Samsung Electronics wanted to become involved in health promotion.
Suthipa Panyamahasup, marketing manager for Unilever Thailand’s Dove, Resona, AXE and dental-care products, agreed with the Samsung executive in relation to the benefits of digital media. But she said spending money via mainstream media like television, radio and newspapers remained key when reaching mass consumers and building brand awareness.
Another speaker, Rit Thirakomen, president and chief executive officer of the MK Restaurants Group, said his company was trying to adopt a digital-media strategy to create new consumer experiences and engage young people. He said the group was considering using young executives in a bid to deliver the right products to that segment.
