In mid August, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7. According to the tech company, this new smartphone was a breakthrough for the company’s Galaxy series (“Samsung Unveils...” 2016). The handheld device provided the perfect balance of work and play, boasting new features for optimal satisfaction. These included a sleek new design, advanced security and “best-in-class” entertainment (2016). With the addition of a completely water resistant body, the new Galaxy Note 7 had just about everything…or so the company thought. While the new phone can hold its own against some H2O, it apparently is no match for inferno. It wasn’t long after the August 19th release, that Samsung started getting reports of the lithium batteries in the Note 7 overheating,
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There are a few other public relations moves that Samsung can and should make to properly deal with this crisis. The first would be to try and salvage the reputation of their communication skills as a company. The best way to do this would be to keep up with providing up to date, detailed press releases to the public or perhaps hosting a press conference. Most of the information that has been released to the public so far has been vague and sparse. While this may have been the plan all along, it allows for a lot of room for interpretation from consumers, tech bloggers, and other interested parties. Another helpful move for Samsung would be to distance itself from the Galaxy series all together and possibly even mobile phones. While the company can still focus on handheld devices if it desires, it would be a smart public relations move to discontinue this model, and while they are working on a new flagship phone model, shift the marketing focus onto Samsung’s software and other electronic products. Note that I said shift the focus onto other Samsung products. The driving force behind Samsung’s public relation platform is competition, specifically with Apple and the iPhone. While this is a smart move when the company is at the top of their game, comparing its products to a company like Apple right now would be a disastrous public relations move. In this time, Samsung should stray as much as possible from shedding any light on companies like Apple and instead, should consistently try to keep all eyes and ears on the progress that the company is making to overcome the Galaxy Note 7
There are a few other public relations moves that Samsung can and should make to properly deal with this crisis. The first would be to try and salvage the reputation of their communication skills as a company. The best way to do this would be to keep up with providing up to date, detailed press releases to the public or perhaps hosting a press conference. Most of the information that has been released to the public so far has been vague and sparse. While this may have been the plan all along, it allows for a lot of room for interpretation from consumers, tech bloggers, and other interested parties. Another helpful move for Samsung would be to distance itself from the Galaxy series all together and possibly even mobile phones. While the company can still focus on handheld devices if it desires, it would be a smart public relations move to discontinue this model, and while they are working on a new flagship phone model, shift the marketing focus onto Samsung’s software and other electronic products. Note that I said shift the focus onto other Samsung products. The driving force behind Samsung’s public relation platform is competition, specifically with Apple and the iPhone. While this is a smart move when the company is at the top of their game, comparing its products to a company like Apple right now would be a disastrous public relations move. In this time, Samsung should stray as much as possible from shedding any light on companies like Apple and instead, should consistently try to keep all eyes and ears on the progress that the company is making to overcome the Galaxy Note 7