Imagination as a good enterprise

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show-room of the brave new world.

This is the voiceover I expected to hear at Samsung Electronics’ Imagine road show held recently at Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas. Some of the high-tech toys on display included plasma TVs, LCD TVs, projection TVs, flat TVs, SlimFit TVs, camcorders, MP3 players, and home theater systems. Looking at these gadgets will give people the impression they have stumbled upon the set of a science fiction flick (directed by Steven Spielberg or the late great Stanley Kubrick). Sci-fi? Nah, more like sci-fact since Samsung appliances and gadgets are the results of the marriage between stylish, futuristic designs and cutting-edge technology. Aptly enough, Samsung’s global marketing campaign for this year is called "Imagine."

"Throughout the years, Samsung has remained a visionary – always challenging the bounds of imagination to come up with technology and design innovations," said Spencer Shim, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Philippines. "We are very proud to say that with Samsung, it’s not hard to ‘imagine’ the endless possibilities of digital delight."

"Our marketing slogan in the past was ‘Everyone’s Invited’," said Sang-Jin Park, chief executive officer and president of Samsung Asia, the regional headquarters for all Samsung Electronics’ business in Southeast Asia and Australia. Now, with "Imagine," Park and company seek to establish Samsung as the "preferred brand for those who desire the ultimate in sensory and aesthetic experience."

And imagination has been the key to the brand’s success. Sometimes, the latest "digitally delightful" techie products come in cumbersome packages, monoliths with plugs and hulking frames. (Remember the Stonehenge-like boob tubes of old? Or those sets with unrealistic colors it would seem you’re watching a surrealist painting in action.) Samsung, on the other hand, creates technologically advanced products that are also space-savers.

According to Shim, Samsung wants to become the premium brand of consumers. "Consumers put value on excellence and want to gain maximum enjoyment from their audio-video products," he added.

"Lifestyle-enhancing solutions" is what the guys from Samsung call them. The brand’s target market for these appliances and gadgets: the "high-life seekers."

"Samsung is already a very big part of people’s lives – from mobile phones to appliances," shared Shim. "It’s not hard to imagine where we fit in, and we know Samsung has helped make lives more fun, exciting and productive."

Shim said the company’s goal is to turn customers’ imagination into reality. A good start is by putting in a huge chunk of Samsung’s income into research and development. Last year, Samsung spent $42 billion on R&D, with a total of 27,000 researchers working in Samsung’s R&D centers across the globe.

The results so far:

One of the items at the audio-visual road show is the Samsung SlimFit CRT TV. With the SlimFit, Samsung was able to reduce the depth of the TV by up to 33 percent. It features Nano Pigment Screen technology that enables even distribution of brightness over the entire screen. The result is a more natural color tone and better contrast and brightness.

Samsung’s Plasma Display Panel (PDP) TV possesses a 13-bit reproduction of colors that offer the highest color brilliance of over 549 billion colors as compared to the industry standard of 68.7 billion.

Also included in the new fleet of Samsung TVs are the liquid crystal display (LCD) TV and the Digital Light Projection (DLP) TV.

One reason not to leave the house and watch movies (with morons who give an annoying blow-by-blow account of the flick in progress) is Samsung’s home theater system, which boasts extreme surround sound. The theater system also has live surround mode, virtual headphone function, and auto sound calibration (ASC). You could watch a Weather Report concert DVD and hear everything from Zawinul’s ARP Prophet keyboards to Jaco’s fretless bass to the heady brew of exotic percussions.

Two products that would give the market leader in MP3 player a run for its money are Samsung’s versions: the YH-J70 and the YP-T8 (available in red, blue, black and white). These gadgets are capable of storing 128 MP3 files into a 512 memory space. The designs are as funky as a James Brown groove, and also quite handy. Which is in conjunction with the product’s catchphrase of "bringing the party with you."

Imagination, really, comes a long way.

"Imagination is a potent force that allows our company to achieve what the consumers’ eyes want to see, ears want to hear, minds want to think, and hearts desire," concluded Shim. "Everything is possible."