Samsung backs Olympics to 2008
Samsung, the Korean consumer electronics giant, has renewed its worldwide Olympic sponsorship in a deal that will last until the Beijing Olympiad in 2008. Samsung is the seventh company to renew its Olympic sponsorship, and joins Coca-Cola, Kodak, John Hancock, Schlumberger, Swatch and Panasonic.
The global agreement with the Olympic Movement includes sponsorship of the 199 National Olympic Committees, and positions Samsung as worldwide official partner for wireless communication equipment. Samsung has been an official Olympic partner since 1997.
Samsung is running a $200m (&£129.18m) global advertising campaign called “DigitAll Experience”, aimed at establishing itself as a creator of digital convergence products. Television and print ads were developed by Samsung’s global creative agency, New York-based Foote Cone & Belding Worldwide.
In a separate announcement, Samsung has revealed that it has signed an exclusive deal with Arsenal Football Club to become the Gunners’ official handset supplier for the 2002/2003 season. In addition to providing players with T100 mobile phones, the company will be bundling Arsenal screensavers, animated welcome messages and three Arsenal polyphonic ringtones with the phones.
Joint marketing initiatives will run on arsenalmobile.com, in match programmes, the official Arsenal magazine and club newsletters.