Profile: Gyehyun Kwon, head of global marketing operations at Samsung

Globally, South Korean native Gyehyun Kwon is the man behind Samsung’s sponsorship of world sporting events. As global corporate vice-president, his responsibilities include global communications, external relations and public affairs, and worldwide sponsorship and sports marketing. Kwon points out, the brand’s global sports marketing programme is valued at $45 billion, of which eight per cent is ear-marked for sponsorship.

Over the past 25 years, South Korean giant Samsung has become not just about mobile phones and electronic gadgets, it’s also all about sports.

With football sponsorship a key battleground in the ultra competitive consumer electronics market, Samsung grabbed the Chelsea shirt in 2005 (about US$15 million in sponsorship a year) after it lost out to Sony for Uefa Champions League and Fifa World Cup rights. And as an International Olympic Partner, the company also sponsors the Olympic torch relay around the world, escorted by the controversial men in blue suits.

Kwon has successfully handled a number of world events including last year’s Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the Asian Games in Doha 2006, Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games, three consecutive Samsung Super Leagues (equestrian sports), the World Taekwondo Federation Title, and World Hockey titles. The electronics behemouth’s first such sponsorship was the Asian Games in Seoul fifteen years ago.

Kwon’s role is vast, but as a former diplomat at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, he takes it all in his stride.

“I served the country for 18 years in what we in Korea call the Blue House - it’s like the White House for the US,” Kwon explains. “My passion was working for the public, making a contribution to the people of my country. But there were so many issues happening at the same time, it was a very hectic time in my life, the security issues in Korea made my job very difficult to do. The complicated nature of politics meant I couldn’t do what I felt was right. I was thinking about retiring, I couldn’t go on, there was a wall I couldn’t get through, I was very frustrated.”

Two days after resigning from his diplomat post, Kwon sent his resumé to Samsung. “Samsung called me and said they were interested. Samsung was becoming an international company in 2005. They said they were looking for somebody who knew the international context, someone who had an understanding outside of Korea and who could communicate with the outside world, someone that had an understanding of international markets. A diplomat is a marketer, a publicist for the country, so I effectively changed from being the marketer for South Korea to the marketer for Samsung.”

Brutally honest and with a huge grin on his face, Kwon admits that before he came to work for Samsung, he knew very little about the company. “I had no idea about electronics and technology. But this organisation needed me. They needed my skills with people, external relationships, initiatives, activation and meeting people, especially the media. This is what I did previously as a diplomat.”

Kwon notes that Samsung took a huge risk by developing new products during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It also established its global brand by sponsoring the Olympics at a time when the company was almost broke. But the gambles paid off and gave the company an international marketing push, and brand presence.

At the time, he says the Korean firm was evolving from a “very mediocre electronics company,” into one ready to go global, looking for something that would boost its brand awareness worldwide. “So we chose the five rings,” he says. “Our focus is not sales. Our focus is the growth of our brand power. Sports marketing is one of the biggest focuses for Samsung, we allocate a lot of money to this area.”

China has become a rising sports sponsorship market, thanks to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Guangzhou Asian Games, explains Kwon. By the opening of the Asian games in Guangzhou, 53 companies had signed sponsorships with the games’ organising committee. The sponsorship value surpassed $452 million, five times more than the 2006 Doha Asiad.

“The efficiency at the Asian Games has been very, very good,” Kwon points out, going on to note that the global sports sponsorship market increases by five per cent each year.

“In contrast, the traditional advertising of companies is decreasing,” he says. “Sports marketing is huge, especially in China, and it is growing rapidly as sporting events are comprehensive platforms to expand market channels and boost corporate branding. The Olympic Games in Beijing presented me with a golden opportunity to understand China. I’ve now visited more than 70 cities throughout the country.”

There’s a common sentiment in the West that sport is ‘bigger’ there than in Asia. Does Kwon agree and how does sports marketing work in the region compare to the West? “I think there is no distinction between the West and Asia,” says Kwon. “There are three definite groups: first China, Japan and Korea; then Europe; and then the US. In Europe sports are perceived as social and community related, this is often because there is nothing to do in the Winter. In the US it’s very commercial and professional. This tradition remains unchanged.

“Japan and Korea are very hybrid markets for sports. China is really something different altogether and it’s this market that, for Samsung, is becoming much bigger than the US. But in terms of investment we wish to maintain a very equal distribution of our markets, because of the growth of the China market we may have to simply increase our investment.”

There are two ways in which Samsung chooses which sports events to sponsor. First, it targets events that will increase Samsung’s visibility, and secondly it tries to choose an unpopular event because of Samsung’s strong Corporate Social Responsibility. “We have chosen soccer as our basis. We have conducted some very thorough analysis - how it contributes to Samsung’s brand recognition, and its KPI. For the community and for the future.”

As far as sponsorship of future sporting events, Kwon isn’t giving much away. What he does say is that Samsung has three pillars it will focus on: soccer, Olympics and track events.

“We try to maintain these while getting a good combination of sponsorships, this will be our focus for the future. We are in the middle of building up our long-term strategy.”

The global sponsorship role calls on Kwon to travel - a lot, in fact for more than 200 days a year. “This sometimes causes problems with my family, problems with my son, sometimes it causes me health problems - but there are a lot of advantages as well. Airmiles and tax aren’t generally a problem,” he jokes.

Outside of work, Kwon doesn’t have a lot of time on his hands, and what little he does have he says is spent sleeping and with his family. “My son is already grown up and going to university. But I didn’t spend very much time with him. I wish I’d had more time with my family. Everywhere there is a Samsung event, my staff need me and they have worked so hard for myself and Samsung. How can I miss that? Even if I can’t spend more time with my family I have to be very faithful to my job.”

Despite the pressures of the job, Kwon says he wouldn’t work anywhere else.

Well maybe. “If you have any recommendations, please tell me,” he jokes. “I’ll send you my CV.” 

This article was originally published in the January issue of Campaign Asia-Pacific.