Samsung apologises over 'fake' online forum comments against rival HTC

According to media reports, the Korean consumer electronics giant allegedly fabricated posts praising Samsung at the expense of its Taiwanese rival.

Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission said on Tuesday it was investigating the matter, and could punish Samsung with a fine of up to NT$25 million (US$835,000) if it is found to be in violation of fair trade rules.

Samsung Electronics today issued an official statement through Weber Shandwick that the company remained committed to engaging in transparent and honest communications with consumers as outlined in its online communications credo.

The statement said: "We have encouraged all Samsung Electronics employees worldwide to remain faithful to our credo. The recent incident was unfortunate, and occurred due to insufficient understanding of these fundamental principles."

The company said it has ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments and will ensure that all activities are compliant with the company's online cummunications credo. "We will continue to reinforce education and training for our employees to prevent any future recurrence," the statement continued.

One agency head in Taiwan, who preferred to remain annonymous, said this kind of smear tactic is nothing unusual, especially in the auto, IT, cosmetics and medical industries. "Traditional advertising plays a less convincing role in explaining the product advantages in these categories, as they require long explanations to convince consumers," the source said. "Consumers tend to trust internet forums and discussions and see them as a user experience before they make the purchase, especially in categories that are more expensive and with higher usage risk."

The practice is by no means limited to Taiwan. "It is not unusual," the source added. "The whole point is why HTC took legal action against Samsung. It is actually a 'bite-back' strategy from HTC. Bite-back strategies can provide you with a 'victim' position to win some sympathy and also make your competitor look evil. And trust me, the 'victim' usually has more power."

Campaign Asia-Pacific has reached out to a number of industry sources and HTC for more comment and will update this story accordingly. 

Updates: 18 April, 10 am:

Statement from Kevin Foo, head of public relations, Asia-Pacific, for HTC: "We are disappointed that a competitor would resort to misleading consumers to discredit our innovation. HTC values its product innovation and design, and we will take appropriate actions to protect the interests of the company and our customers."

Comment from Yves Huang, CEO of ADK Taiwan: "Although sales of Samsung are good worldwide, there are many fans for Apple and HTC in Taiwan as well. Therefore, Samsung might have aimed to use an aggressive way to achieve their goal in Taiwan. In this case, the technique of the digital-marketing is kind of over."