The electronics and technology giant has made this announcement right before a key launch.
Samsung Electronics has recently announced that it has named a new mobile marketing chief, as the South Korean device manufacturer prepares for its upcoming unveiling of the next generation of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone.
The new head of mobile advertising has been appointed after having previously been the head of Russian operations.
The new mobile marketing head will be Lee Sang-chul, who had previously led the Russian operations for Samsung. He has been identified as strategic advertising for the smartphone, tablet, and wearables based business, said a spokeswoman. Lee Sang-chul will be replacing Kim Seok-pil, who stepped down from the position. According to several reports, an unidentified individual who is familiar with the matter has said that Kim chose to step down for reasons unrelated to performance, but is instead facing health concerns that brought about the decision. The same source stated that the exec will be returning to work for Samsung at a later date.
The new mobile marketing chief has also previously worked for the company’s Latin American operations.
With only under a month left before the latest Galaxy S device is expected to be launched, Lee will now be expected to take over the oversight of that event, as well as the mobile advertising and promotions that will surround it and follow it. This is no small responsibility, as the success of this flagship smartphone will be vital for that of Samsung.
The mobile technology company has been facing a considerable slide in its mobile earnings and sales, with a reported drop of 64 percent in the last quarter of 2014, when compared to that same quarter in 2013. It is also headed toward the first decline that it has seen in its profits in three years.
Some analysts have reported that the success of the mobile marketing of this device could be critical, and that Samsung would not be able to afford another round of unsuccessful sales of a premium smartphone device. The reason is that the current flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, has suffered comparatively poor sales when compared to previous generations.
The company reported that the last quarter of 2014 brought in $3.59 billion in overall advertising revenue. Of that, 69 percent came from mobile ads, with the remainder being generated from the desktop and laptop side of things. This means that almost $2.5 billion was brought in through mobile ads, alone, in a period of three months. Year over year, that represented an improvement of 53 percent. It also proved to be the first quarter in which the mobile advertising revenue at Facebook broke the $2 billion level.