Ch. 18 -Social Media and Marketing

LG utilizes various social media tools to develop relationships with their consumers. They post articles on their blog(US) about various news on their products. However, LG has more Web traffic on their Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube pages. Each social media site has basically two different pages per medium, LG Mobile and LG USA.

The 55-inch Curved OLED TV article is posted on their blog. Click the picture below to read more.

On October 30, 2013, LG announced their new social media campaign, Hidden Worlds. It is a campaign that tells LG's products are "bringing excitement to consumers' daily lives." Participants can engage in the campaign by playing a rescue mission game either with a webcam or mouse to save a female author who is trapped in one of the beautiful colors of television pixels of LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV. According to LG, they try to increase their brand awareness and also their new brand identity theme, It's All Possible, through the campaign, Hidden Worlds. The campaign will eventually be roll out in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Central/South America, Middle East and Africa. Source: LG Newsroom

You can participate the campaign HERE.

Also, here is the full campaign video on YouTube:

For those who wonder about how they make this kind of video, you can check out a video made by the company that produced the LG's campaign video. Click HERE.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

As technologies change rapidly, many not only small gadgets but also a lot of consumer electronics become obsolete. However, when consumers buy electronics that are expensive or that are expected to last longer than other small gadgets, such as televisions or computers, they tend to make their decisions carefully. For early adopters and those who are willing and able to pay more than 10 times higher prices than current LCD/LED televisions on the market for LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV,(55EA9800) you won't regret your decisions.

Whether consumers install 55EA9800 in their living room or businesses install it at a lounge/waiting area for clients in their companies, the viewing experience will impress anyone who sits in front of this television. One of the most important reasons is LG's OLED panel technology. While other competitors use RGB OLED panel technology, LG chose WRGB OLED panel technology. This allows infinite contrast and also wider viewing angles. This superior panel technology absolutely sets apart 55EA9800 from other competitors OLED televisions. 

source: DIGITALVERSUS

For some consumers who need their display output devices in a bright environment, 55EA9800 will be able to surpass their expectations on televisions. Thus, such customers who have seen and experienced high-quality, satisfying results with LG's products, look for LG's product lines. 

LG's logo, symbol, and tag-line are quite easily noticeable. 

Because they all have similar elements that connect each other. The symbol has a letter 'L' in the middle of a red circle and a carefully designed letter G is between the letter 'L' and inside the circle. This symbol is always accompanied by the letters 'L' & 'G' right next to it. Their tag-line, "Life's Good" alliterate with their brand name, LG. Wherever in the world LG's product is sold, their logo symbol and  brand name are used consistently. 

AS the display panel technology matures and the manufacturing costs are reduced, LG will produce more variety of televisions that will serve general consumers who need less options and features at competitive prices for everyday use and power users and businesses who want more useful options and features.

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

When consumers purchase high-end electronics such as LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV(55EA9800), they look for a help/advice from experts so they can make a right decision.When you buy LG's 55EA9800 TV, you are definitely in good hands. Especially at Best Buy, they have a dedicated store-within-a-store, Magnolia, which provides you all kinds of help you would need when it comes to high-end electronics.

Here are some features that you can hear more about from experts.

4.8mm thin. The slimmest 55-inch tv currently available on the market. How does this work for you? You may be able to impress your clients in your waiting lounge area with this TV.

LG's Smart Touch Control for a minimalistic design. 

Reading a manual may not be as clear as seeing it in person.

LG used a special material,carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, on the back of the TV. It protects the TV more securely. But you should note that a wall-mount option isn't available for this model.

If you have other electronics that can be connected to this TV, you need to make sure what ports and inputs are available. Obviously, the easiest and best input would be HDMI.

Photo source: http://asia.cnet.com/product/lg-55ea9800-55-inch-oled-46730710.htm

You can get detailed information about LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV at Best Buy's Magnolia. Many reviewers on the Internet have said that it is hard not to like this TV. If you like this TV but wanted to wall-mount it, you may still be able to it. Even though this TV is not designed to be wall-mounted, you can find out what Magnolia can do for you if you wanted it to be wall-mounted. 

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

We all know that the current main stream television panels are mostly LCD/LED based products and LG manufactures many main stream products that are available in the market, not to mention LG offers them at very competitive prices. While LG prepares the next generation TV panel technology, OLED, they use various marketing tools to attract consumers. One of the most important tools is CES, the Consumer Electronic Shows. It is a trade show/exhibition produced by the Consumer Electronic Association (CEA). According to the 2013 attendee summary audit, the number of attendees from all over the world were over 150,000. Among them, about 6,400 attendees were media related attendees from 73 different countries. A show like this is very effective not only for LG but for any company that can afford to participate. 

Before the 55-inch Curved OLED TV (55EA9800), LG introduced 55EM9600 flat-panel OLED TV and it was selected by CNET (reputable online review website) as the winner of TV category of 2012 CES. 

And at the 2013 CES, LG showed off the 55-inch OLED TV (55EM9700) and they were planned to arrive in the U.S. in March 2013. 

Along with the 55EM9700 model, LG started selling the 55-inch Curved OLED TV(55EA9800) model in August 2013 worldwide.

Also, LG works with a brand ambassador, Ewan McGregor, for the Australian market. As they introduced the 55-inch Curved OLED TV in Australia along with other large area TVs, they introduced Ewan McGregor as their brand ambassador. According to CNET, before he described his brand ambassador role, he said, “LG makes f**king good tellies.” 

Ch. 14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

LG's Curved 55-inch OLED TV has arrived in the U.S. market since July 22, 2013 through Best Buy. When it first released in the market, it was offered at $14,999, but LG has dropped its price from $14,999 to $9,999. Actually, not all of Best Buy's stores carry this TV. It was first appeared at Best Buy's Magnolia Design Center store near Minneapolis and it was said that other selective stores in cities, such as LA, NYC, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and San Antonio, would plan to carry it followed by the Minneapolis store.

Magnolia was acquired by Best Buy in 2000 and introduced to selective Best Buy stores as a store-within-a-store type. These stores offer premium home electronics for Best Buy customers and the store feels like a home theater/ entertainment room. One of the stores let some customers watch a sport event and the employees were very friendly according to the source.

 

Here are some pictures taken by a Minneapolis resident who went to check out the LG's 55-inch Curved TV on the first day of its launching. Although these are cellphone photos, you can still see the difference in contrast compared to other LCD/LED models.

When it first introduced, it was said to be "built to order." In New York City, there was no availability but went to see it anyway if I could get lucky. It was still "built to order," but if you are in other major cities you can check out its availability here.

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

LG 55-inch Curved OLED TV

is currently sold in many countries already. Some consumers who look for a new television to replace their old LCD/LED models, LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV cannot make it to their list. Due to the high production costs, it is offered in the market from $12,000 up to $14,999. But, what's the difference between LCD/LED TVs and OLED TVs?

LED TVs are similar to traditional LCD TVs. LED TVs are better than LCD TVs because LED TVs use smaller backlights. Therefore, LED TVs are thinner and it allowed manufacturers to produce larger screen TVs. Although LED screens can generate great color, it is not bright enough and has washed out black color on the screen. Some people say Plasma TVs have great black color, but still not good enough.

OLED TVs are the next generation TV technology that will replace current LED TVs.
First of all, OLED TVs are thinner than LED TVs. OLED panels have elements that generate light without needing any backlights, thus it needs less space and be more energy-efficient.
Second, contrast ratio is literally infinite. LCD/LED TVs have to still light panels to generate black color, but OLED TVs can simply turn pixels off for black color. Especially, LG's OLED technology has better architecture because each pixel consists of four sub-pixels and this allows simpler structure by design than other competitors'. Read more about OLED panel technology here.
Since OLED TV has self-illumanating materials, it provides wider viewer angle than do LED TVs. LG has researched for 5 years to find the best curvature angle and applied it to the world's first curved OLED TV.

This TV might only be for early adopters with deep pockets. BUT, if you see LG's 55-inch Curved OLED TV for yourself, you may consider buying one when price drops, if not this one. You can go to one of BestBuy Magnolia stores and check it out.

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

LG's the world's first curved OLED TV and other products are available in more than 110 countries. LG Display is one of LG Electronics companies and the multinational corporation LGE controls 114 local subsidiaries worldwide and they employee roughly 82,000 executives and employees.

Every year, LG participates Consumer Electronics Show and shows off their new technologies, innovative products, and meets buyers from all over the world. At 2013 CES, LG's curved OLED TV was introduced and launched in April 2013 in Korea. It is now available in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Israel, Australia, and United Arab Emirates and take pre-orders in other countries.

In the UAE, LG's price(Dh 35,000) is slightly higher than Samsung's (Dh 32,999). According to LG, they are expecting high demand from high-income people because the OLED TV is a new technology and it is actually better than one of their biggest competitors, Samsung. In the UAE, LG's market share is about 28 percent and plans to target market share of 30 percent by the end of this year.

Generally, LG's products are very similar regardless of places, but there will only be one model of 55-inch Curved OLED TV this year. If there's any difference, it would be some minor software changes. LG has always differentiated their marketing strategies depending on countries and it has been successful; LG's global market share of 2011 in the display industry is 27 percent.