Chang Ma

By Chang Ma
Vice President, Mobile Communication Company, LG Electronics

Today, LG stands as one of the strongest companies in the electronics industry.

This represents a significant improvement from when I joined LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company in 2005.

Since then, we have moved from a second-tier follower to a first-tier leader, setting new trends in both design and technology.

Achieving this required a heavy dose of differentiation ― not just from other players, but from our own prior image. But all companies want to differentiate.

How could we set ourselves apart in a way that was truly special?

We developed a strategy underpinned by a belief in the value of consumer insight. We felt then, as we do now, that an emphasis on consumer insight would create a better consumer experience, regardless of whom the competition may be.

We studied consumers in strategic markets to really understand what they wanted out of our products and how they wanted them to fit into their lives.

What we learned is that no single factor, but rather a combination of stylish design and smart technology were needed to set us apart.

Design expresses technology, technology makes design possible. They are both equally important and one cannot exist without the other.

Since our discovery, achieving harmony between these two has been the driving force behind our products.

To ensure that across the world all of our operations and customers understood the importance of stylish design and smart technology, we set out to create a single, coherent global brand identity.

As a company, we also eliminated any sub-brands, ensuring that all of our products were sold under the LG banner.

At LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, we'd already had some success at creating products that use design and style to create an emotional connection with customers.

A perfect example is the Chocolate Phone, which has now sold nearly 20 million units.

Our designers wanted to create a phone with a completely uninterrupted facade. Our engineers made this possible, creating a touch-sensitive keypad that was the first of its kind.

There are other examples of using advanced technology to realize groundbreaking design.

The PRADA Phone by LG was the first full touch screen phone. LG Secret is the slimmest 5 megapixel camera phone available and incorporates new materials such as tempered glass and carbon fiber.

Even more recent is Renoir, a highly advanced multimedia phone with a slim, polished design and an 8 megapixel camera.

Our efforts to create a new brand identity and our application of the principles underlying this identity to our products paid off. LG's brand recognition in the UK soared to 91.4 percent in 2007 versus 80 percent in 2005.

During the same period, U.S. brand recognition of our company rose to 83.1 percent from 65.1 percent.

At LG, we will continue to enhance our brand image and further develop our strategy, creating products based on combining style and design.

We will also continue to seek consumer insight, because we believe that by truly understanding consumers, we can create sophisticated products that will excite and delight them, and thus lead market trends.