Samsung & CNET
Last year, Electronics company Samsung headed to CNET, a highly popular online publication that offers reviews, forums,
and comparative pricing for television sets and other electronics. More importantly, CNET is a site frequented by Samsung customers.
The Birth Of Mr. Samsung
Through these visits “Mr. Samsung,” a fictional character designed to answer customer questions about Samsung products, was born. Later, Samsung approached CNET to discuss arranging a branded, sanctioned agreement. Samsung then paid the publisher for “back-end work” to set up Mr. Samsung’s presence on the forum.
The Challenges
Samsung’s biggest challenge in seeing this campaign through involved organizing numerous departments within the company to get involved, such as customer service and sales. Another obstacle required Mr. Samsung to provide responses both efficiently and in a casual tone.
The Rules
Before this campaign was set in motion, CNET established one strict rule: Samsung could not moderate or censor comments. Conversely, Samsung established internal rules in order to maintain the integrity of the community:
- Samsung will not discuss a competitor in the forum
- Samsung will not make direct contact with participants outside the forum
Source: How Three Brands Got Smart About Social Media
By Anna Maria Virzi, The ClickZ Network, Jun 13, 2008