LG, Google join forces for OLED TV marketing

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics is ratcheting up its marketing efforts to foster its organic light emitting diode TV business with an aim to outpace rivals including Samsung Electronics in the world’s premium TV market.

In line with this strategy, LG announced Tuesday that it would join hands with California-based Google to promote LG’s premium OLED TVs.

“(Through the joint promotion) LG will have potential consumers experience the superb picture quality and true values of LG’s OLED TVs and enhance the firm’s brand image,” said Kim Ki-wan, the head of LG’s global marketing division.

Targeting to secure 100 million customers worldwide, LG will try to deploy marketing strategies tailored for each step of the sales cycle ― building rapport with customers, increasing brand recognition and closing deals ― on top of Google’s digital marketing platforms, such as YouTube, according to the Korean firm.

“Google has been supporting marketers to communicate effectively with customers online through Google’s advertising and marketing solutions,” John Lee, chief executive of Google Korea, said.

“The company will continue to help global firms such as LG to promote their products and the values of the products around the world,” he said.

The latest collaboration is also aimed at upping the ante against LG’s rivals in the TV market, especially its compatriot Samsung.

Since putting a hold on the production of large screen OLED TVs in 2013, Samsung has been focusing on liquid crystal display-based UHD TVs.

Most recently Samsung has been rolling out SUHD TVs with the backlights of the displays applied with nano-crystals to improve the color gamut and brightness.

Not to be outdone, LG Electronics and LG Display, the display business arm of LG Group, have been going full throttle to grow the OLED TV and display businesses.

Yeo Sang-duk, president of LG Display’s OLED business unit, emphasized the importance of the OLED display business for the company itself and the domestic display industry as a whole at a press meeting in May by saying “OLED is the ultimate display technology.”

He anticipated that Samsung would resume the production of OLED TVs, echoing with other market experts.

Rumor has it that Samsung would start churning out OLED TVs again in 2017 when the price of a 55-inch OLED TV, currently at around 3 million won ($2,700), is expected to drop to about a third of the price.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)