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Samsung?s Gift of Galaxy campaign makes VR the star of the holidays

After controversy surrounding the exploding Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is attempting to bolster its other properties, including virtual reality offerings this season with the Gift of Galaxy campaign, which offers a holiday VR experience encouraging customers to purchase a Samsung Galaxy for a friend.

The promotion includes a new ad spot that highlights the capabilities of Samsung?s VR offerings. Along with the promotions, Samsung is also giving customers a free Galaxy VR pack with the purchase of a Samsung Galaxy phone.

?At Samsung, we believe that technology is so much more than a device?it?s an experience,? said Marc Mathieu, CMO of Samsung Electronics America. ?Our technology has the ability to bring families together, even if they?re separated by thousands of miles. 

?We can show people the majesty of standing on the top of a mountain, or the wonder of diving under the ocean, all with a single device. We don?t just make technology, we make magic and ignite awe. 

?This holiday season, we want to bring that power to connect, delight, and inspire to everyone, and to show them what?s possible with our mobile products. We want to give the ?Gift of Galaxy.??

Saving grace
With the most recent backlash against the cell phone manufacturer regarding its Galaxy Note 7 has left a bad taste in many consumers? mouths.

The exploding phones, which were such a danger to consumers that they were forced to be recalled, have left Samsung floundering for any of their other products to latch onto to take attention away from its current problems.

One of the ways it has done this is through the issuing of free Samsung Gear VR headsets to all Note 7 owners as a way of showing contrition.

Rather than pulling away from this though, Samsung has leaned into VR as an alternative point of focus heading into the holiday season.

A VR promotion encouraging users to purchase another Galaxy phone and get a free VR headset is the salve for still-healing wounds.


Virtual reality
VR has been a saving grace for Samsung after its recent troubles. The technology is exciting and new, taking consumers minds off other rough waters the manufacturer has found itself in.

Samsung has been making use of partnerships with big names, such as the NBA, which it partnered with for an NBA 2K17 VR experience (see story).

Samsung?s other main area of focus in the wake of the Note 7 controversy has been around its mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, which has slowly begun to challenge the slight lead that Apple Pay has had on the market when it was introduced.

Most recently, the manufacturer added an internal rewards system to the app, allowing customers to earn points and deals for using the mobile payment system (see story).




?We?ve designed Samsung technology to bring joy to people?s lives ? from the smile you get when a VR experience unfolds all around you, to the warm feeling when you buy a present for your loved one with your Galaxy phone,? Mr. Mathieu said. ?We want this holiday season to be special for all our customers, and we?re using Samsung technology to make it happen ? one smile, one gift and one magical experience at a time.?