LG Shines in Europe With Premium Brands
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
LG Electronics, South Korea’s second-largest electronics maker, is promoting an aggressive premier marketing campaign from mobile phones to LCD TVs in Europe in a way to intensify its brand image.
Analysts say LG’s premium-target marketing strategy seems in line with the company’s continued restructuring efforts and the positive global outlook for its mobile phone business coupled with increased investment in PDP and LCD lines will add to the upward momentum for the recognition of its brand image in the European market.
`Shine Phone’ Storms
Shine, the second handset in LG’s black label series of premium mobile phones, stormed the United Kingdom and Europe by having sold more than 700,000 units as of the end of June, just four months after its first launch in February.
The ultra thin 12mm phone, featured with a wide liquid crystal display screen, a two megapixel camera and document viewer capacity, once again proved itself to be the world leader in the design-led mobile phone sector.
Sales of Shine phone have exceeded 1.5 million as of May 6 in the global market.
Market watchers say Shine’s good performance is yet another inspiring accolade following the phenomenal success of the Chocolate phone, Shine’s predecessor in the black label series of premium mobile phones.
Designed with high-end consumers in mind, another premium mobile line, Prada phone has steadily gained its leadership in Europe from France, Germany to Italy.
``The chocolate phone has benefited LG, and the company will continue its global marketing strategy for the Shine and Prada phone,’’ said Bo H. Choi, LG Electronics vice president at Communic Asia 2007, an annual international exhibition and conference on information and communication technology.
Sports marketing seems another must-win card for LG to raise its brand recognition in European markets.
In July, the company has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Fulham FC, a football club in England’s Premier League.
Under the agreement, LG said it would be allowed to put its logo on jerseys of Fulham footballers for three years.
The move is in line with the company’s continued effort to step up its marketing drive in Britain where LG’s monthly sales had exceeded $100 million last year.
``The multi-year sponsorship agreement will offer us an important opportunity to strengthen our premium marketing in Britain,’’ said Na Young-bae, an executive for LG’s British business.
The electronics maker also held a friendly soccer match `LG Amsterdam Tournament’ in Ajax stadium, the Netherlands, from Aug. 2, bringing together Ajax from the Netherlands, Arsenal from England, Atletico de Madrid from Spain, Lazio from Italy. LG said the one-time show helped the firm raise its brand image to European soccer fans.
Sentimental Approach in E. Europe
In Eastern Europe, the South Korean electronics giant is expanding its footsteps by forming personal ties with influential political figures and placing goods in selected key areas.
A month earlier, the firm supplied PDP TV sets for the meeting rooms of Romanian presidential palace. In the Czech Republic, the company holds annual charity music concerts at the presidential palace in the capital city of Prague.
Such efforts have brought about some constructive results.
In Romania, around 6,000 Chocolate phones were sold two years ago. But the total sales of Chocolate `family’ exceeded 35,000 units last year, according to LG Electronics Romania. The Romanian branch expects sales to increase further as Romanian consumers consistently show keen interests in the phone’s innovative design.
Another strategy in LCD sector is in Poland.
Months ago, the company announced the completion of a big cluster in Poland for LCD-related parts to TV. Group chairman Koo Bon-moo said the cluster will play an important role by providing the biggest value to local customers in the European region.
The LCD cluster in Poland has a manufacturing capacity to produce 3 million LCD modules and 2.4 million LCD TV sets this year. It is equipped with all the production lines including LCD TV sets, LG.Philips LCD module assembling lines, LG Chem polarizing plate sets, LG Inotek and 3 cooperative companies` inverter and power module.
LG.Philips LCD will produce up to 3 million LCD modules for big TV and increase the capacity to 11 million units in 2011. LG Electronics decided to increase the production capacity of full HD LCD TV of 32, 37, 42, 47, 52 and 55 inches from 2.4 million this year to the 10 million level in 2011.