Samsung Galaxy Grand phone pre-order campaign begins in Lagos

By Olubunmi Adeniyi

Lagos. February 1, 2013: Samsung West Africa has announced the launch a brand new mobile device called Samsung Galaxy Grand, with a newly-added female brand ambassador for its mobile division.

According to Samsung, the new 5-inch display, smart dual-SIM Galaxy Grand combines the features of Samsung’s game-changing Galaxy S III and the revolutionary Galaxy Note II, which were released by the manufacturing giant last year.

The device maker says the device has gone up for preorder on various online stores in Nigeria, ahead of its release this month.

On the added ambassador, Kate Henshaw, Nollywood actress has been chosen by Samsung West Africa it new as brand ambassador for the year 2013.

Henshaw will be replacing Yetunde Alabi ‘Sasha’, the Nigeria’s famous female rapper as new brand ambassador for Samsung mobile division.

Henshaw who was officially unveiled at a media breakfast meeting organised by Samsung, will now be working together with Bankole Wellington ‘Banky W’ to raise awareness for Samsung mobile products and ultimately contribute to making the brand the preferred product in West Africa.

Speaking at the unveiling, Brovo Kim, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, states that Henshaw and Banky W represent the values that Samsung has stood for over the years.

“The Samsung brand stands for qualities of innovation, change, discovery, self-expression and excellence in performance. And these very same qualities are epitomized by Banky W and Kate Henshaw, whose quality and depth of work as well as versatility as artistes have endeared them to Nigerians today. We are indeed very proud and privileged to have them as our Brand Ambassadors” Kim said.

Kim further describes its signing of Kate Henshaw as an opportunity for Samsung to reach out to its customers through Nigeria’s movie industry.

“We want to further connect with our customers at all touch points, especially through film as it is one of the passions of people in West Africa,” he explained. Samsung plans to leverage Henshaw in its brand advertising as well as product advertising for mobile phones, he adds.

Samsung notes that consumers who take advantage of the preorder campaign are entitled to a free limited edition flip cover of the device, autographed by Banky W, while those who redeem their order before Valentine’s Day stand a chance to win a ticket to the official unveiling of the device on February 15, 2013.

The opportunity to spend a weekend at the prestigious Oriental Hotel and also enjoy dinner with the brand ambassadors is also open to consumers who preorder the device.

According to Emmanouil Revmatas, Samsung Electronics West Africa’s Business Head (Hand Held Products), the Galaxy Grand is revolutionary not only in terms of the great Smartphone experience that it will provide but also in terms of its value proposition.

Revmatas adds that, “we feel that the Galaxy Grand will further fuel the growth of the Smartphone market in Nigeria and will especially delight consumers looking for a great Smart dual-SIM phone. The Galaxy Grand best meets the growing consumer preference for a large screen device that gives them a great multimedia experience and superior performance.”

Samsung Electronics led both the smartphone and overall handsets market in the fourth quarter of 2012, with the company shipping 106 million handsets, of which 60 million were smartphones, according to ABI Research.

Samsung had a 31 per cent share of smartphone shipments in comparison to Apple’s 24.5 per cent share, the research firm said.

Having cornered 41 per cent market share, Nigeria leads other African market in the sales and adoption of various Samsung electronics devices on the continent, especially in the mobile phone segment, the company says.