For the 2022 McCombs marketing case competition, we were presented with a current challenge faced by Samsung; Gen Z women trail 6 points behind Gen Z men when it comes to the Galaxy portfolio.
Samsung sought out a strategic plan on effectively marketing the Galaxy portfolio to Gen Z women aged 12 - 25.
Here's what my team, The Point, recommended -
To better understand the brand, challenge, and target market, we begun by conducting primary research in the form of informal interviews and a qualitative survey.
We spoke to 60 Gen Z women (aged 18 - 25) to learn and understand their tech purchasing process.
Similarly, we surveyed 54 Gen Z girls and women (aged 12 - 25) to assess how they perceive technology brands, the perceived value they receive from tech products, and more.
Some of our key findings from our primary research included -
1. While 55% of Apple users feel a strong emotional attachment to their tech products, only 15% of Samsung users feel such a connection to their products.
2. Most Gen Z women cannot envision being Samsung users because of little to no interaction with the brand. Furthermore, even those girls and women who currently own Samsung products, do not feel a connection to the brand.
3. The general consensus across all interview and survey respondents is that Samsung products typically have better features than Apple products.
In order to best address these three key findings, we recommended Samsung to first shift from being a product and technology centered brand to a consumer centric brand.
The first step in doing so is to connect with the consumer, which we recommended doing through an overarching branding strategy that appeals to Gen Z women.
We also recommended Samsung segment their target market of Gen Z women based on motivations, aspirations, limitations, and messaging considerations.
The Gen Z target market should be split into two segments -
1. Gen Z girls aged 12 - 17
2. Gen Z women aged 18 - 25
Furthermore, in order to most effectively target Gen Z girls, we recommend targeting their parents. This recommendation is based on primary and secondary research suggesting that girls aged 12 - 17 often do not possess the buying power when it comes to technology purchases. This is the case for two primary reasons;
- This age group is not the primary decision maker in the household
- Those between the ages of 12 - 17 are not often spending their own disposable income for such purchases
In order to most effectively target the three identified consumer segments through a customer focused approach, we recommended three marketing strategies - each rooted in a key insight.
We suggested Samsung host experiential events like Pop Up Stores (where consumers can touch, feel, and use Samsung products), Product Feature Showcases (where consumers can visualize the premium features offered by products in a fun and engaging way), and Brand Awareness Experiences (where consumers can engage and interact with the brand with the hopes of building a connection and relationship).
It's recommended Samsung concentrate majority of the short-term marketing to the months of November - January. This recommendation is based on the Google Trends Analysis conducted which revealed a majority of online searches for new tech products are taking place during the holiday season.
A small starting budget of $2,010,000 was recommended based on Samsung's 2021 ad spending in the US ($2.3Billion). This budget accounts for testing the recommended strategies on the three user segments, for a short 5-month period.
