#6 to #1 in UK mobile
Company Overview
Company Name
Samsung
Company Size
100,000+ employees
Location
Seoul, South Korea (based in London, UK)
Lines of Business
Consumer Electronics, Smartphones, Home Appliances, B2B
Context
Samsung was ranked seventh in the UK mobile market and needed to challenge Apple's dominance. The brand had strong product across mobile, TV, audio, white goods, brown goods, and B2B, but lacked the integrated marketing capability to translate that breadth into market leadership. The challenge was to build a marketing operation that could take Samsung from a mid-table player to number one in one of the most competitive consumer electronics markets in the world.
Background
I was appointed as Director of Corporate Marketing for Samsung UK, responsible for all brand and performance marketing, research, analytics, and CRM across the full product portfolio: mobile, TV, audio, white goods, brown goods, and B2B. The only area outside my remit was trade marketing. I led a team of over 60 people, managed relationships with more than 15 agencies, and oversaw budgets exceeding £200 million. I was also responsible for Samsung's branded retail footprint, including end-to-end operational management of their first global flagship customer experience store. The London 2012 Olympics was approaching, and Samsung had major global sponsorship rights that needed to be activated at a level the UK business had never previously achieved.
Actions Taken
This engagement required integrating brand building with performance marketing and retail activation into a single, commercially accountable operation across six product categories and B2B. I restructured how the marketing team worked with the 15+ agency roster to ensure consistency and efficiency. I built an integrated go-to-market approach that connected brand campaigns through to retail execution and commercial outcomes.
I was commissioned by the global CMO to help lead the development of the global campaign for the Galaxy S3, the smartphone that would dramatically change Samsung's fortunes worldwide. The S3 was integrated into the opening ceremony of London 2012, and the campaign I led helped establish it as the device that shifted Samsung's trajectory in the global smartphone market.
I led Samsung's Olympic activation for London 2012, which became the most successful Olympic marketing programme in Samsung UK's history. I also developed an innovative campaign focused on turning around Samsung's performance and market share in the rapidly evolving digital smartphone camera market, taking on the traditional DSLR camera category. The campaign drove dramatic market share increases and won Samsung UK its first ever Cannes Gold Lion.
I managed the end-to-end operation of Samsung's first global flagship customer experience store, turning it into the only store in the global network to become profitable. The store also lifted sales in the immediate vicinity by 25%, proving the commercial case for branded retail as a marketing investment, not just a cost centre.
Beyond the flagship moments, I built the sustained marketing engine that drove Samsung's commercial performance week after week: coordinating product launches across all categories, managing the media mix across brand and performance channels, and ensuring every pound of the £200 million budget was accountable to commercial outcomes.
Results
Samsung moved from number seven to number one in the UK mobile market. The Galaxy S3 global campaign, which I helped lead on behalf of the global CMO, helped transform Samsung's position in the worldwide smartphone market. The London 2012 Olympic activation was the most successful in Samsung history. Samsung UK won its first ever Cannes Gold Lion. Samsung's first global flagship customer experience store became the only profitable store in the global network and lifted local sales by 25%. The integrated marketing operation I built delivered sustained commercial performance across all product categories that supported Samsung's position as market leader beyond my tenure.