Samsung Electronics’ marketing playbook has changed. It has moved away from traditional one-way promotion centered on ads highlighting product performance or appearances at large exhibitions. It is growing creator-led marketing in which young consumers make and spread content themselves. The strategy is to create “Samsung fans” through games, exercise, and hobbies enjoyed by people in their teens and 20s, and to reshape the company’s overall image. In a recent survey of Gen Z college students, the proportion of respondents who viewed Samsung Electronics as “innovative” surpassed Apple, signaling a shift in brand image. At global exhibitions, it has pivoted to a pragmatic approach by emphasizing independent spaces where it can discuss business in depth with transaction partners and business-to-business (B2B) customers.
According to the industry on the 4th, Samsung Electronics is carrying out a variety of marketing activities that span people in their teens through 30s. The standouts are: ▲ creator program “Galaxy Crew” ▲ IFA’s “Samsung Creator Hub” ▲ mobile gaming tournament “PlayGalaxy Cup” ▲ running event “Galaxy Watch Run @Safari” ▲ education discount mall “Galaxy Campus.” The common thread is that all are run in a way that adds users’ experiences and stories to product strengths and features, widening touchpoints with younger consumers.
In the industry, the view is that building “brand fandom” in the IT device market—such as smartphones and laptops—has a significant impact on sales performance. An electronics industry official said, “Consumers who become fans of a particular brand seek out new products on their own and share their user experiences,” and added, “Loyal customers who choose the same company again when replacing a product, or even buy additional products, are born when attachment to the brand builds up.”
◇ 90 million views for Galaxy Crew content… IFA also becomes a stage for creators
Galaxy Crew is cited as a representative example of Samsung Electronics’ changed marketing approach. Since early this year, Samsung Electronics has officially operated “Galaxy Crew 2026,” made up of 70 creators across 11 fields including fitness, fashion, gaming, and travel. For about a year, they create content showing how they use Galaxy products and artificial intelligence (AI) features in their daily lives. Samsung Electronics provides access to the latest products and event participation opportunities, and supports content production training.
Samsung Electronics piloted Galaxy Crew with about 20 people in 2024 and about 60 people last year. The content they produced last year totaled about 4,000 pieces, with cumulative views of 90 million. A Samsung Electronics official said, “Galaxy Crew is operated to listen closely to customer voices with creators from various fields and to strengthen communication with people in their teens and 20s,” and added, “Creators are presenting content that naturally shows how Galaxy products and Galaxy AI features are used in real daily life, and we aim to expand brand experience based on relatable content.”
Samsung Electronics also actively supported creators at IFA 2025, Europe’s largest home appliance and IT exhibition held in Berlin last year. According to TikTok Business, the creator-linked content campaign Samsung Electronics ran for seven days at IFA 2025 last year recorded “250 million impressions.” Venue visits increased eightfold, and user-generated content (UGC) was found to have increased by 1,100%.
At this year’s IFA, it widened creator touchpoints further. At “IFA 2026,” held in early last month, Samsung Electronics positioned creators as a channel to meet consumers. Although it set up a separate exhibition for transaction partners, it also prepared a “Samsung Creator Hub” at Messe Berlin, the main venue. There, Samsung Electronics set up a lounge and spaces for filming and live broadcasts, and ran a “Samsung AI Escape Room” using TVs, washing machines, smart monitors, and more.
Samsung Electronics also ran the “PlayGalaxy Cup” this year for the first time as a regular league with regional qualifiers leading to a world final. Thirty-two teams from 17 countries participated in the regional qualifiers. The world final, held at gamescom in Cologne, Germany last month, was played on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the live broadcast of the championship match recorded cumulative views of 12.1 million. The idea was to let fans follow the tournament from qualifiers to the final and see people enjoying games on Galaxy. At gamescom, Samsung Electronics enabled attendees to experience multiple products together, such as gaming monitors and TVs.
◇ “Innovative corporation” Samsung 62% vs. Apple 51%… From image to purchase and repurchase
In a survey of 500 college students nationwide released in Feb. this year by Binulabs, which operates the campus-life platform Everytime, 62% picked Samsung Electronics as an “innovative” corporation, outpacing Apple (51%). Since the survey began in 2023, this is the first time Samsung Electronics has led Apple. The share viewing Samsung Electronics as a “stagnant” corporation also fell from 40% last year to 21% this year.
This perception was also influenced by the products and businesses consumers encounter. According to Samsung Electronics, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8, and Flip8 sold 1.44 million units in Korea during the preorders held from July 28 to Aug. 3. It is the highest preorder record for Galaxy smartphones to date. In particular, half of Samsung.com preorder customers were in their teens to 30s, and the number of women in their teens to 30s who bought the Fold8 Ultra and Fold8 more than doubled compared with the previous Fold7.
Galaxy Campus, the official education discount mall for students and teachers, surpassed 1 million cumulative members in Jan. this year. About 80% were college students. Along with product discounts, it offers study methods using Galaxy AI, product-use content, and study verification events.
An electronics industry official said, “Young consumers have come to perceive Samsung Electronics as an innovative corporation as they encounter the smartphones they use directly and semiconductors they are interested in as an investment,” adding, “This kind of corporate image has a positive impact on the phone business.”
◇ Consultations with transaction partners move to independent spaces… Focus on B2B
At global exhibitions, a shift is also evident toward prioritizing “pragmatic operations” by changing how it meets transaction partners. At “CES 2026,” the world’s largest IT and home appliance exhibition held in Las Vegas in Jan., Samsung Electronics set up a standalone pavilion of 4,628 square meters at the Wynn hotel instead of a large public booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). It brought product displays and announcements, technology forums, and consultations with key customers and partners into one space to keep the focus on products. At the time, Samsung Electronics described this as not just a venue change but a “paradigm shift in exhibitions.”
At this year’s IFA as well, it left the main exhibition hall and built a separate, transaction partner–focused space. It overhauled its approach by inviting a small number of distributors and B2B customers to Humboldt Carré, an urban venue about 8 kilometers from Messe Berlin.
An industry official said, “As the ‘Zalpha generation’ (a term combining Gen Z and Gen Alpha) emerges as the main purchasing cohort for IT devices, what matters is not how much you show products, but how long consumers keep coming back to the brand,” adding, “Samsung Electronics has crafted a strategy to build relationships with young customers through creators, and at exhibitions to focus on business discussions with transaction partners to link them to actual purchases and transactions.”
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