Samsung Electronics, according to reports, is set to spend Iceland’s GDP on marketing and advertising its products this year. Not the country’s actual GDP, of course, but the same amount from the company’s coffers – around $14 billion.

However, that sort of budget isn’t always buying what Samsung wants. The report states that several of Samsung’s initiatives this year, a sponsored short film competition in Australia, product placement in a British television show, the Galaxy S4 launch in New York and even the launch of several products here in South Africa, have met with criticism due to the way they they were implemented.

Oh Jung-suk, an associate professor at the Seoul National University’s business school, is quoted as saying that “Samsung’s marketing is too much focused on projecting an image they aspire to: being innovative and ahead of the pack. They are failing to efficiently bridge the gap between the aspiration and how consumers actually respond to the campaign. It’s got to be more aligned.”

It is true that Samsung is one of the biggest spenders on product advertising and placement at the moment and it doesn’t look like they will be letting up any time soon. Samsung told Reuters that they will “…continue to leverage our brand power to maintain growth momentum, while focusing on optimizing the efficiency of our marketing activities.” They may have to refine their product message a little, is all.

Source: Reuters