Samsung’s Olga Suvorova sat down with The Current Podcast to discuss engaging with Gen Z audiences, balancing omnichannel strategies and tapping into cultural trends. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.[00:00:12] Damian: This week we're delighted to talk with Olga Suvarova, the VP of Mobile Experience Marketing at Samsung. [00:00:18] Olga has recently overseen the launch of new Galaxy foldable phones and family of new wearables powered by Galaxy AI, a watch, buds, and a new smart Galaxy Ring.  [00:00:35] On a recent LinkedIn post, Olga wrote, “We are reimagining how we create, interact, work out, communicate, stay healthy, multitask, travel, capture ordinary and extraordinary with Galaxy AI.” [00:00:47] That, sort of, almost sums up the human experience. [00:00:51] Ilyse: So much of phone tech is tied up with culture, and that's where we start. [00:00:55] Damian: So Olga, we know culture plays a large role in smartphone sales. Do you think this is even more true today?  [00:01:04] Absolutely. Phones, smartphones, wearables, tablets are such an important part of people's lives. More so than it has ever been. So we're thinking about not just driving sales and connecting to culture, but understanding what are the cultural spaces, what are the nuggets of interest that are resonating with our consumers and how can we build experiences specifically for that? [00:01:33] Whether it's the new ways to create things thanks to Galaxy Eye, whether it's the new ways to track your health and sleep and overall wellness, or a completely reimagined experience of productivity and work. [00:01:50] Damian: And as you said in that LinkedIn post, the phone is connected to all these different aspects of our lives. That's kind of mind blowing when you think about it. [00:01:58] So, you know, you, talk about [00:02:00] culture and it's very interesting to me that culture and pop culture in particular is so connected to the idea of smartphone sales. [00:02:09] I mean, it's a fashion item as much as a, you know, a utility item. How do you tap into sort of current trends and fashions? And how do you tie that to marketing the phones and the wearables, indeed?  [00:02:24] Absolutely, and because smartphones are at the center of what we do every single day, whether it's more of a utility or truly fun and delightful experiences, we have always been big on driving partnerships and collaboration with like minded change makers and incredible players within different cultural spaces. [00:02:46] And fashion is one of the greatest examples because when we think about technology and fashion. At the core of both is this relentless drive of inspiration and creativity and [00:03:00] self expression. So just recently, we've built an entire partnership around New York Fashion Week, partnering with an incredible designer, LeQuan Smith, and working with him to put the smartphone and the smart ring, so foldable phone, fold six, and the galaxy ring at the core of his creative experiences. [00:03:25] And redesigning and reimagining what it could be and launching an entire new collection that we called Lucid Dreams by LeQuan Smith. But what was very exciting about it is not only finding a way to build something incredible together, like this new collection, but also watching and getting inspired by LeQuan using  our incredible Samsung Galaxy technology, including Galaxy I throughout the process. So for example, Live Translate and Kohl's being automatically translated in over 15 languages [00:04:00] that he used to drive a lot of conversations with partners and vendors around the world. [00:04:06] Ilyse: Now I want to get into how you think about your audiences. As you said, everybody uses a smartphone these days. Obviously there's a lot of focus on reaching Gen Z audiences who are, to put it, lightly less than brand loyal sometimes. How do you appeal to these potential customers through your exploration of culture? [00:04:27] Olga: It's definitely not a one size fits all approach. And the ways they behave and where they spend their time could be different than other audiences. And we think about all those elements as we design different experiences. [00:04:51] We're not just trying to target them with the same ads, no matter how amazing they are, as we would do with like the other [00:05:00] demographics. and that's why, when it comes to Gen Z and engaging them, deploying other strategies comes into play. for example, We've built an entire ecosystem of team Galaxy creators that are fantastic at building relationships versus trying to transact with that audience, and they are the champions of our brand, but they also the incredible connector to what those audiences care about and help us build that meaningful conversation with them. [00:05:30] Ilyse: What about outside of, say, social media? Because we're really living in like an omnichannel world now. How do you layer in different channels when it comes to your strategy, and how do you balance brand awareness and then performance?  [00:05:45] Olga: I know there is a lot being talked about brand awareness versus performance, but I really like to think about it as not one versus the other. Brand drive performance. And it's about building that puzzle [00:06:00] together and finding how different pieces come into play. And for us, it's really building this omni channel approach, and it's not just the social media. [00:06:09] It's building that reach ecosystem off experiential activations, partnerships, tapping into influencers, thinking about how can we create media worthy moments. So for example, Team Galaxy Creator Collective is one of the ways we drive that relationship and engagement. Building a lot of conversation and community engagement in our social channels plays a huge role. [00:06:35] Experiential and partner activations, whether it's New York Fashion Week or our partnership with Red Bull, and reimagining how we show up at incredible first female competitions like Magnitude or a cliff diving or something else incredible. [00:06:52] Damian: mean, one of the challenges of your job is to stay on top of the fast moving, nature of culture. You have to be responsive. And I [00:07:00] think one of the most brilliant illustrations of that was earlier this year when, there was a certain ad that was that rolled out called, crushed where creative tools were being smashed into a tablet. [00:07:10] And Samsung had a quick responds with an ad called Uncrushed. Could you talk a little bit about that, that moment and what happened there and how you responded and generally about how you need to be sort of quick on your feet when it comes to being a marketer [00:07:25] Olga: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it comes down to a combination of being very clear about what you stand for as a brand and what your reason for being is, and being quick and nimble and constantly evolving to be at the center of that conversation. [00:07:43] And for us, when that, um, competitive ad came out, that was pretty much against everything we stand for. Which is open innovation and forcing and fueling the creativity and self expression on people's terms. And that's why for us it [00:08:00] wasn't just a rebuttal, but it was a very thoughtful It was a very, very quick response to, even though very, very quick articulation and expression of what we hold near and dear to our heart and championing that incredible community of creative people, and that's why we call that response and crash. [00:08:15] It wasn't a campaign plan for months. it was a very quick response. it went on social because it was so true and authentic and because it was executed in a very quick manner, we were able to garner. A lot of response and a lot of coverage without actually spending any money on it. [00:08:34] Damian: That's amazing. Do you think sometimes those quick response, campaigns, if you like, or ads, in some ways, are kind of more unexpected ads, are more, what's the word? effective in some ways than ones that may have taken a long time to plan. [00:08:48] Olga: It's probably a combination of both because I don't want to say don't plan, go with the flow and try to do everything within 48 hours. I wouldn't recommend that. But as you said, [00:09:00] The brand's ability to stay current and to stay top of mind for consumers is being constantly in tune with what consumers are doing and what they care about and what's happening in the competitive environments and what is top of mind for people. [00:09:17] So it's probably a combination of both and that what defines the brands that are able to champion what they stand for in a way that never loses authenticity and relevance. [00:09:28] Ilyse: Originally I saw a lot of backlash when it first out. Did you look at that backlash at all? Or was it something that you weren't even paying attention to and you just wanted to jump on it regardless? [00:09:40] Olga: wanted to be very much focused not only on what we're against, but what we're for. And that's what drove that response. We are about creativity, we are about open innovation, we are about celebrating the expression, and we're about pushing boundaries [00:10:00] rather than crushing everything underneath that. So that was probably as important, if not more important than trying to think what people are pulling apart around that original ad. [00:10:11] Ilyse: in a world where there's two operating systems, okay, you have iOS and Android. How do you view the competition in the space? Is it one system versus another? Or is it all about the product? [00:10:25] Olga: Well, at the core of the Samsung mobile brand has been this idea and ethos of openness and open innovation and collaboration and building the products and experiences and the ecosystem of products that pushes away the boundaries that might be forced on those products and ultimately deliver subpar experience. [00:10:47] So for us, it's relentless focus on delivering that. Open innovation, and that comes through how we build products, how we design those experiences, how we partner with like minded change makers in the [00:11:00] industry to really reimagine what those experiences are. Products could be whether it's partnering with Google to build circle to search, incredible functionality or Qualcomm or Microsoft for us. [00:11:12] The fewer barriers there are in the world, the further we can all go. The more we can drive towards that truly accessible, equitable, representative world and human innovation. So I would say I like to think about it not as a competition per se, but, What is our enemy? And oftentimes the enemy is the barriers and complacency and the inertia that exists within the industry or within the consumer behavior. [00:11:43] And how do we build not only the product experiences, but also incredible marketing messages and campaigns to really shake that up and drive towards progress. [00:11:56] Ilyse: Now when you're marketing, and especially when it comes to like [00:12:00] new products and new pieces of technology, what would you say is a sell for a new piece of tech? So is it the technology itself or is it looking at the tech and how it can enhance creativity for that user? [00:12:14] Olga: One hundred percent the latter one. It's all about it's never about technology and the conversation. We started with is smartphones and tablets and the mobile experiences being at the core of what we do every single day. So our focus, even with the latest launch earlier this year of Galaxy AI, has been how do we showcase what it could do for people, whether it's sketching AI photo editing, whether it's communicating across boundaries, because you have this wonderful life translated. [00:12:48] you know, reimagining your capability or reimagining how your earbuds connect to your phone and your tablet in a very, very seamless way. So it's all about what you can [00:13:00] do with it, whether it is something to help you save time or it's truly for fun. [00:13:05] Damian: fun. Now that brings us to the question of A. I. And the integration of A. I. Into new phones. And that for sure is a hot topic right now. And it's not just phones, of course. Could we talk a little bit about, you know, your thoughts on A. [00:13:19] I. On and the marketing of the products that you there on your watch? A. [00:13:26] Olga: and Galaxy Eye that we introduced in January and since then rolled out across the portfolio of our mobile products is not just a fancy and flashy new feature. It's truly at the core of where technology is going and how we can make it more accessible. More exciting, more delightful, more useful to our consumers. [00:13:48] And we see that in how they have been using that technology. Right now there are over a hundred million devices. All around the world that have been using [00:14:00] Galaxy AI. We know that just in the US alone, within a week, there are [00:14:05] Damian: are 78 [00:14:06] Olga: 78 million of instances when people are using those Galaxy AI features. And that's an incredible consumer response that tells us we're in the right track and we're building something that people love, that people find value in, and that helps us get more ideas for how we can innovate further. [00:14:24] Ilyse: You know, on that note, you are a big proponent of brand love and, and really diving into what I guess makes consumers keep coming back to a brand. Why would you say it's important to generate that kind of buzz around a brand? [00:14:45] Olga: It's really important to keep being relevance and being meaningful to consumers. It's important for people to feel something about your brand and in order to build and nurture that brand [00:15:00] love. We need to be very, very clear about what is that reason for being? What do we want to be remembered for, known for? [00:15:09] How do we want to make people feel? And on the other hand, continue to constantly evolve based on what people are telling us. Being open to it, having the desire, having the drive to really, keep reinventing ourselves without ever losing that core and that ethos of our brand. And for us, it's always been that idea of openness and open innovation and relentless pursuit of breaking barriers and pushing boundaries.  [00:15:40] Ilyse: So, Olga, how do you layer in different channels when it comes to your overall strategy? [00:15:46] Olga: It's a combination of different channels that help us in a very personalized way reach Diverse communities and audiences from the demographic from the psychographic perspective, so we think about our [00:16:00] universe, including online video advertising, because that creates the opportunity to be extremely targeted and very measurable. [00:16:10] We also deploy, um, a lot of our advertising through programmatic ads by similarity. It allows a lot of precision and a lot of scale, but we also layer in different approaches to social media platforms. So, for example, how we build for platforms with matter is different for, uh, What we do with snap and spotify and twitch, which again allows us to show up in a consistent way, but in a more relevant and tailored approach, obviously, that all is connected to the work that we do through our partnerships, through our influencer work and a lot of our experiential and out of home media.  [00:16:51] Damian: I have to ask you though we mentioned at the top the Galaxy AI ring, you’re wearing it. Can you tell us a little about it?  [00:16:59] Olga: a [00:17:00] huge fan. I can't get enough of it. It's an incredible piece of technology. Again, it's powered by Galaxy AI, and it's an incredible device that allows you to track your sleep patterns, your health, your energy score. [00:17:16] So it tells you basically how you are doing, what you could be doing differently to feel better, gives you What we call wellness tips, and it's perfectly connected to your other devices, whether it's watch or the Samsung Galaxy phone, so you can actually get obsessed about those metrics. I have to say, I haven't been the healthiest person, according to this ring, but I have tons of wellness tips to get me to a better place. [00:17:40] Damian: That's great to hear. Well, thank you so much for speaking with us.   [00:17:46] Damian: And that's it for this edition of The Current Podcast. [00:17:48] We'll be back next week, so stay tuned. [00:17:51] Ilyse: The Current Podcast's theme is by Love Caliber. The Current team includes Kat Vesce and Sydney Cairns. And remember,  [00:17:59] Olga: We are [00:18:00] about creativity, we are about open innovation, we are about celebrating the expression, and we're about pushing boundaries rather than crushing everything underneath that. [00:18:11] Damian: I'm Damian. [00:18:12] Ilyse: I'm Ilyse. [00:18:13] Damian: And we'll see you next time. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a review. Also, tune in to our other podcast, The Current Report.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.