Samsung, LG reinforce marketing for S7, V20

By Yoon Sung-won

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are beefing up their marketing drives for the Galaxy S7 and the V20, respectively, aiming at reinforcing the market presence of their latest premium smartphones in the year-end season before releasing their next flagship handsets early next year.

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it would release the new Black Pearl finish for its flagship smartphone Galaxy S7 edge, Friday, through SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.

The new Black Pearl model, which will give customers an eighth color option for the S7 edge, has a glossier black finish compared to the existing Black Onyx color option. Unlike previous Galaxy S7 and S7 edge models, which had a maximum 64GB storage option, the Black Pearl S7 edge will have 128GB storage. It has been priced at 1.01 million won in Korea, according to Samsung Electronics.

Market expectations are that the new color will help Samsung Electronics solidify the Galaxy S7 series’ leadership in the domestic market, countering iPhone 7’s Jet Black models here.

According to data by market researcher Atlas Research, the Galaxy S7 series re-emerged as the best-selling smartphone in the domestic market in the third week of November, beating Apple’s iPhones. Since Samsung Electronics released the Blue Coral color option for its latest flagship smartphone in November, it has sold 15,000 Galaxy S7 edge models per day.

LG Electronics is also boosting marketing activities for its premium smartphone V20 before the year-end holiday season.

The nation’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer has released a new TV commercial highlighting the superior audio performance of the V20.

LG Electronics also launched a promotional event in which users can download 24-bit hi-fi music by pop acts such as Justin Bieber, Maroon 5 and Ariana Grande for 990 won until Jan. 5 using the LG Smartworld application preinstalled on V20 handsets. The company has uploaded more than 750 hi-fi songs to LG Smartworld, adding about 60 new songs every month, to establish its own hi-fi music database for customers.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expected to unveil their next flagship handsets, the Galaxy S8 and the G6, at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona in February.