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Tag: LG

  • LG in campaign to push 3D TVs

    LG in campaign to push 3D TVs

    MUMBAI: LG is moving ahead with an experiential marketing campaign to differentiate and demonstrate the prowess of its Cinema 3D TV line-up — targeting the youth world-wide. With the aim of providing a platform to the consumers to experience excellence in the form of the Cinema 3D TV, LG has announced the mega blockbuster Cinema 3D Game Festival 2011.

    The three-day gaming event taking place from 9- 11 December 2011 was inaugurated at the R-City Mall, Mumbai and will be hosted in five cities -Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. The LG Cinema 3D Game Festival is a step further towards demonstrating to the public the potential of LG’s 3D products in the gaming environment. More than 5,000 enthusiasts are expected to visit the gaming festival in each city.

    LG India MD Soon Kwon said, “3D TVs are changing the way we view movies, play games and more. The Cinema 3D TV has been recognised as the best 3D TV world-wide. As part of its new marketing campaign LG is differentiating its 3D line-up through 3D game marketing targeting youth audiences across the globe. We have a strong product line-up and an aggressive marketing strategy with investment of Rs 1 billion in 2011 for flagship product communication Cinema 3D TV. We are aiming for 50 per cent share in 3D TV market by 31st March 2012.”

    LG Cinema 3D TV is the medium for the gaming lovers who want to blend with the 3D world. LG Cinema 3D TV is backed with FPR technology, which is the only, and till date the best technology, comprising all the features for pillaring the 3D TV science in the world. The picture being offered is absolutely vivid, clear and lively from all angles, the company claims.

    The Grand Finale which will be held on 11 Dec of the Game Festival will require gamers to go through qualification rounds.

    The Cinema 3D Game Festival has three zones. The first zone is for serious gamers who will compete against each other by playing Gears of War 3 in Cinema 3D. The second zone would have multiple consoles with popular games such as Disney Advertureland, Forza 4, Dance Central and Kinect Sports 2 among others. The third zone is Cinema 3D TV experience zone showcasing the revolutionary FPR Technology.

    Of the serious gamers, three winners will be selected from each city. The first winner of the gaming contest will win a cash prize of Rs 100,000, while the first and the second runners-up will be awarded a 32-inch LED TV and a Kinect game, respectively. There will also be gifts for consumers coming to the Cinema 3D Game Festival.

  • Rediffusion – Y&R Delhi gets Vishal Chemjong as the creative head-copy

    Rediffusion – Y&R Delhi gets Vishal Chemjong as the creative head-copy

    MUMBAI: Rediffusion – Y & R, Delhi has appointed Vishal Chemjong as creative head – copy. He joins in from GIR Communications where he was handling the LG portfolio.

    Rediffusion – Y&R, Delhi ECD Chraneeta Mann said “We‘re happy to have Vishal on board. He has won a number of national and international awards and is a good team leader. He has done some impactful brand building campaigns such as the ‘me & meri maggi‘ series. We‘re looking forward to him maintaining that same balance of ‘insight‘ and ‘executional cut through‘ in the work that he does on brands for us at Rediffusion.”

    Rediffusion – Y&R VP Delhi Abhik Santara, added, “Vishal is an ideator. He does not think just one media and that‘s what excited me the most. In today‘s time, we believe brands are not built by marketers, but by consumers. And for that one needs specialists who could deliver on strong conversation ideas. Vishal‘s inclusion will further help us in our journey to help brands start those right conversations.”

    Chemjong said, “This is an exciting time to be in advertising. A lot of new mediums and avenues of communication are opening up and a lot more are being explored. I look forward to adding value and doing some interesting work here at Rediffusion.”

    Chemjong comes with 11 years of experience and has worked with agencies like McCann Erickson, Bates, Mudra, Leo Burnett and Publicis India.

  • We are confident of achieving a turnover of Rs 4.5 billion in the digital audio video segment by year end : Moon B Shin- LG managing director

    We are confident of achieving a turnover of Rs 4.5 billion in the digital audio video segment by year end : Moon B Shin- LG managing director

    Electronics major LG Electronics India Ltd (LGIL) recently announced their foray and focus on digital audio video products in Bangalore. LG showcased their latest offerings in the USA – the Super Multi Blue– a product they claim as the world’s first dual high definition player.

    LGIL managing director and LG Group president South West Asia Moon B Shin took on the reins of Indian operations in January 2007. A core member of the LG team, Shin is traveling over 100 countries including the Middle East, Africa and India.

    In an exclusive interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Tarachand Wanvari Shin highlights LG’s plans for India, with a special emphasis on the digital audio video segment.

    Excerpts:

    LGIL has a turnover of Rs 82.5 billion. Considering that the audio-video segment is expected to account for just Rs 4.5 billion, how are you planning to push your presence in this category?
    I know that comparatively this is a small amount, but these are the products that we expect good growth from. In the video category, we are placed number one with 26 per cent market share, Phillips is next with 22 per cent share. In audio we are far behind, we are around 13 per cent I think there number one is Sony and number two is Phillips because our presence at the moment is very small and we set the targets and these are the areas that we have to pickup. We have to beat Sony and Phillips. We have really worked very hard, product planning and selling, marketing for the last couple of years. We have come with really very new range of products.

    Phillips and Sony are strong in the cassette and audio tapes analog space. You don’t seem to have launched any products in that category?
    Today we launched MP3, MP4, the portable DVD player, the car audio system – from the lower end segment to the high-end, we have a really full range. That analog tape market is the rural market and is coming down. Our focus is on digital.

    How do your other products stack up against competition?
    Overall in India the presence is quite sound. In consumer electronics and home appliances we are around 28-29 per cent. For GSM this year we are going to sell around five million sets and we are going to reach minimum revenues of US$ 200million from this stream. AV is around US$ 100million. We expect a total revenue of Rs 95 billion or around US$ 2.2 billion, so the 300 million translates to a little less than 15 per cent of our overall revenues.

    How important is India as a market for LG?
    India accounts for around 6 per cent share of the global revenues. India is tremendously important for LG. By 2010, our target is to increase the India share to 10 per cent of LG’s global revenues. Our top management, they really pay attention to this market. The market conditions are very good and the government is very smart, they maintain an open policy, India is a market driven economy. All these things are very positive for us. The corporate attention on this market is really huge. Maybe even more than China.

    LG has a large amount of visibility as far as mass communications are concerned. What are marketing and advertisement spends?
    Every year for above the line and below the line, we spend around US$ 50 million in India. Last year we invested around US$ 46-48 million, this year we plan US$ 50 million. This figure may change because every month we are growing by 20 – 25 per cent. We are on right track.

    So which segment is driving the growth?
    The flat panel display, GSM, computer monitors, and now AV these are driving our growth. And they are also our future growth engines. Maybe PC’s too.

    What is your market share in PC’s?
    Laptops and desktops is around 6 million, and this will grow fast, so at the moment it is very minimal, around 3 per cent. But, we are coming up with good designs and technology so the PC potential is very good. The market size of laptops is area that we have to focus on.
    ‘Flat panel display, GSM, computer monitors, and now AV are driving our growth‘

    Do you have lower end laptops also?
    Yes we do, but we are not going to play in the low-end segment. We are going to really play in the top of the line products.

    What are your forecasts for the next year – your growth targets?
    Every year we have to grow by a minimum of 20 per cent. By all means we have to grow by this percentage. By mobilizing the attention from headquarters, from market surveys and through consultants like McKenzie, maybe work together with them if we feel that we cannot meet the targets.

    What is the proportion of the products that you sell here that are made in India?
    Almost 90 per cent. About 10 per cent we import as finished products or complete business units (CBU). The balance 90 per cent we manufacture and export too. Some are CKD, some completely manufactured in India. The local content varies product wise. But it’s between 50-70 per cent.

    Any plans to expand further here in India?
    Not for the next several years no. In Pune we have a large space at Ranjangaon. I would not say that we have idle capacity, we have other buildings-two as a matter of fact, one is full of operations and the second building is 20 per cent operational. So there is space. We have to invest only in the manufacturing facility. The building and everything else is ready. We have to invest only in the machinery, that we will go on within Pune.

    How long have you been in India and what is your experience here?
    I have been here two years. Over this time, I have travelled a lot, to almost every corner of the country, I have pretty much covered the A and B class towns. I was a real frequent flyer, I wanted to see what is taking place in every corner of India and I could observe and find that the potential in India is really good. I think India is the only country that can fight against China. India will definitely be in the forefront as far as economic growth, or the GDP growth is concerned, it will be neck to neck with China in the next 30 years or so. China is growing very fast, but India is also growing as fast. The potential is there and I am going to communicate with the headquarters about this marketplace and how it is important. My outlook for India is very positive.

    Could you speak about the infrastructure in India?
    I was born in a very tiny town in Korea and I have grown up there. Maybe at times the infrastructure was even worse than it is today in India. So I am really accustomed to the poor infrastructure in the rural areas. For me there’s no problem at all.

    What is your opinion about the skill levels, the knowledge quotient of Indians?
    They are good, they are very fast learners. We used to send people to Korea and train them over there and then bring them here. We sent them to our other subsidiaries to benchmark. Their adaptation is excellent. Skill levels are good. I really appreciate them.
    Any R&D work being done in India for the LG group globally?
    Not much. In India we have only around seven people working on design. They have not yet contribute to the designing for LG globally. We have our own design centers all over the world, in Europe, China, in the United States. We have design centers located in every corner of the world to come up with local design and also to supply global designs.
  • ICC pilots Media Notes publication in build up to the World Cup

    ICC pilots Media Notes publication in build up to the World Cup

    MUMBAI: With less than six weeks to go to the start of the cricket World Cup the International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched the first pilot edition of a new publication aimed at the world’s cricket media.

    Media Notes will be available to download from icc-cricket.com and will be produced on a regular basis in the build up to world cricket’s showcase event.

    The publication will promote major tournaments and ICC events, highlight the women’s game and also look at matches of significance involving the ICC’s Associate and Affiliate Members.

    And it will also keep readers up to date with the latest movements in the LG ICC Rankings, both for teams – the Test and ODI Championship tables – and individual players. The LG ICC Rankings are the only officially endorsed ratings for international teams and players.

  • LG, Prada to develop iconic mobile phone

    LG, Prada to develop iconic mobile phone

    MUMBAI: LG wears Prada! Consumer electronics major LG Electronics and luxury brand Prada have announced a partnership to develop an iconic mobile phone.

    The first Prada telephone by LG will combine high-end technology with avant-garde design offering the best in both style and performance. This forward-thinking product is the result of a different approach to the typical fashion designer and mobile phone manufacturer co-branding exercise.

    Leveraging on their respective expertise and know-how, Prada and LG have jointly explored and developed all aspects of this new product. The collaboration focussed on the key elements inside the phone, such as software, user interface and music as well as its look, for example design and packaging.

    The initial launch is planned for early 2007, with distribution starting in Europe (firstly in Italy, the UK, France, and Germany), followed by countries in Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. The Korean version of the phone is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2007.

    LG Electronics Mobile Communications president and CEO Mun-Hwa Park says, “ Prada’s legacy for classic and sophisticated design meant they were the perfect partner to develop this shared vision of innovative technology and ultimate style. We are passionate about developing exclusive phones that appeal to consumer’s desire to express their personality through their choice of mobile and feel very strongly that Prada shares this belief.”

    Prada president and CEO Patrizio Bertelli said, “As we do with ready-to-wear and accessories, we were looking at a break-through. Consistently with our approach, we are not branding an existing product. Rather we have been working with LG to give this new phone a very strong character and unique style, both in its contents and in its design. We, just like our partners at LG, are known for the attention to detail and uncompromising quality of our products. And we find these characteristics in the new mobile phone.”

  • LG targets Rs 1 billion+ flat panel business by ’07-end

    LG targets Rs 1 billion+ flat panel business by ’07-end

    NEW DELHI: Electronics major LGE India Limited launched its latest product that gives the owners the kind of digital edge in home entertainment not seen in the country before: a TV set that allows “you to control time”, the company’s national product head, Prashanta K Das said at a press conference here.

    Aiming at a market of Rs 1.14 billion “in the flat panel business alone by the end of 2007”, the slick LCD and Plasma versions of this latest from the LG bouquet is named “Time Machine”, and has a built-in 80 GB hard disk that allows between 33 and 20 hours of recording programmes.

    The unique offer is the user can record any programme even if s/he is not at home or sleeping, and then watch it at leisure. There is option for replay, fast forward, slow motion, and even skipping irritating commercials in the recorded programme at your will “and a push of a button.”, Das said. “This is the only TV in the world that has an inbuilt DVD recorder,” announced Moon B Shin, deputy managing director of LG.

    In fact, two programmes can be watched at the same time, one with a full-screen image and the other in a sufficiently-sized frame within the main screen, and one of these two programmes can be recorded.

    One can watch a programme and record another one simultaneously, and switch the programme being watched without disturbing the recording. And like any recorded programme, too, one can go back to a favourite scene or piece of action at will ad as many times as one wants.

    “The advantage is that there is no need for a separate DVD recorder and multiple remote control equipment,” Das said. Priced at between Rs 120,000 to 240,000 , Das claimed it gives a better option over the recording facility that DTH boxes allow, at a lesser cost of conversion.

    During the spectacular presentation – with the new product rising from the background – Das said that the set automatically records any programme being watched – at one hour intervals when the TV set is on, but one can set it to a channel of choice, and programme the time and duration of recording using the remote control, and the machine will keep the recorded version ready for viewing when the user desires.

    “It will store 33 hours of normal video quality and 20 hours of very high video quality, and you can delete previous recordings and record whatever new programme you want.” The company, in fact, is working towards making the hard disk upgradable. “So you can watch cricket while your kids watch cartoons,” Das said.

    The gizmo uses “Clarofilter”, LGs advanced optical film filter which replaces the conventional glass filter in plasma TVs “to give brighter, sharper and anti-reflective images”, with 20 per cent improved contrast ratio and five per cent brightness improvement. The company claims that the TV offers the “world’s highest brightness” level at 600cd/m2. The other technical edges are the new XD Engine using advanced digital circuit, which ‘unites multiple processes at 3-dimensional levels to create crystal clear colour images’.

    The technology used also converts low resolution images into hi-res ones and adjusts dynamic ranges of each scene to accurately redefine the image. The ‘image noise’ will be reduced using Spatial Noise Filter using multiple data analysis systems The “Hue-Saturation Control” controls the images to give appropriate feel and the “Colour Temperature Control” activates the UV Plot to separate colour domain to give life-like images, a company dossier on the new system said.

    “Actually, the demand for LCDs are higher,” said Das. The company is confident of meeting the high target it has set because of a number of factors: consumer behaviour is supporting such target setting because the young consumers are spending substantially on luxury; secondly, the company is offering higher-purchase system, “which has done such a magical thing to the automobile market”; and finally the digital edge and the sizeable reduction in cumbersomeness of recording programmes at times when you aren’t there, or watching two programmes simultaneously are unique offers.

    Besides, the new set will be just eight to 10 per cent costlier than the genre so long present in the market, Das said. “We also do not have any competition in this product, because we are the only ones to offer it,” Das explained. He added that instead of cash incentives for buying the expensive sets, the company will give a DTH appliance free with each set so that viewing is of even higher quality.

    To meet the target of Rs 1.14 billion the company needs to sell 260,000 sets in the coming year. LGEIL has an expected target of Rs 90 billion turnover, improving vastly over its turnover last year at Rs 75 billion.Shin explained that company has detailed an elaborate marketing plan, and will unveil it in stages

  • Siemens to showcase potential of IPTV, mobile TV at Berlin trade show

    Siemens to showcase potential of IPTV, mobile TV at Berlin trade show

    MUMBAI: When the international consumer electronics trade show IFA opens its doors in Berlin on 1 September, 2006, visitors will experience the look and feel of the new world of television at the Siemens Communications booth.

    Siemens says that with its mobile TV service via DVB-H, customers of communications companies can be more than just passive viewers of TV programs on their mobile phones. The company says that with services such as music voting, it is easy to let consumers have a say in shaping what they watch. IPTV in HDTV will mean a new era of home media use.

    The living room media center is supplied with programming from the Internet via DSL and has an intuitive user interface. At IFA Siemens will be using the example of the Dutch carrier KPN to show how an IPTV interface works.

    Traditional television Siemens says is entering a new era. Mobile TV and IPTV offer network operators a way to compensate for the drop in revenue stemming from falling prices for voice connections in wireless and fixed networks and to win customers with new media offerings. At IFA 2006 Siemens Communications will show how the new offerings can be structured and how the technology behind them works.

    Mobile TV via the DVB-H standard enables mobile operators to offer services. They include interactive television programs that let viewers participate in votes and surveys, access to information in the Internet at a click of the mouse, interactive games for several players and real-time traffic reports that integrate navigation systems are just a few examples.

    While the market for Mobile TV is still in its infancy, market researchers at Informa believe that by 2011 some 210 million people around the world will be using their portable devices as interactive TV sets and that around ten percent of all mobile handsets will have a TV receiver integrated in them.

    At IFA, Siemens will show that its own mobile TV solution already runs on a wide range of common mobile phones (e.g. BenQ-Siemens, LG, Samsung), on PDAs with special SDIO cards and on state-of-the-art UMPCs from Samsung with Intel technology – perfectly and in high quality. Siemens will be showing programs from various broadcasters in Berlin, including RTL Television, nt-v and Super RTL.

    Stefan Schneiders who is an expert for Mobile TV at Siemens says, “One thing is sure – carriers are very interested in tapping new revenue streams and winning their customers for trendy services that offer added value. Initial results from field trials, for example in Spain, show that Mobile TV has what it takes to fulfill the expectations of carriers and their customers.”
    Siemens will be showcasing the IPTV offering of its Dutch customer KPN at IFA 2006. KPN customers in the Netherlands who have a DSL connection can receive TV from their phone socket and use numerous additional services such as a personal video recorder or TV of Yesterday. In Berlin, visitors will be able to try out KPN’s user interface, as well as getting an impression of how intuitive and simple the user guidance is from other examples, and discover that PC expertise is by no means a must.

    They can also see what TV via DSL in high-definition quality using the compression standard H.264 looks like. Siemens says that it is committed to open standards for IPTV via HDTV. That also goes for the set-top boxes that are required for receiving IPTV and of which a selection will be shown in Berlin.

  • LG outlines growth strategy in the US

    LG outlines growth strategy in the US

    MUMBAI: LG Electronics in the US has recently celebrated innovation, technology and design at an event at Madame Tussauds’ Wax Museum, where more than 200 of the world’s most famous personalities are celebrated and honoured.

    The company hosted its annual LG – Life’s Good summer line show at New York City where LG US CEO Michael Ahn updated guests on progress in the company’s key products categories – digital displays, digital media, home appliances and mobile phones.

    Ahn said, “LG continues to strengthen its premium brand image, and develop products and technologies that enrich peoples’ lives on a daily basis. Our ‘Life’s Good’ marketing theme embodies our commitment to creating leading-edge technologies and design that enhance the way we live, work and interact with each other.”

    Ahn highlighted progress in key areas, including brand, revenue and market leadership: He noted that since the official US brand launch in 2003, LG has increased its aided awareness from 33 per cent in 2004 to 65 per cent in 2005, demonstrating the company’s success of the “Life’s Good” campaign, as well as its premium brand positioning.

    This year, the company launched a new broadcast and print advertising campaign, highlighting its three product divisions, and announced the exclusive three-year title sponsorship of the LG Skins Game a golf event. Ahn noted that what helps to further enhance its brand in the US are premium products and technologies – such as its flat-panel HDTVs with integrated high-definition digital video recorders, the TV Refrigerator with WeatherPlus, the LG SteamWasher and the

    all-new ‘Chocolate’ mobile phone.
    Ahn explained that LG Electronics continues to see impressive growth across all divisions. For the first half of 2006, brand revenues grew by 11 per cent from the first half of last year. For the full-year 2005, LG revenues in the US, Canada and Mexico increased by more than 17 per cent, with sales totaling $9 billion.

    He said, “We are dedicated to bringing premium products to consumers, and continue to make great strides in establishing and maintaining our leadership position across all divisions” . For example, LG continues to be the fastest growing mobile phone brand in North America according to Strategy Analytics and is the largest provider of CDMA handsets worldwide. Supporting continued momentum for LG mobile phones are unique new mobile phone designs and features coming to the US later this year.

    As the world’s largest producer of flat-panel displays, LG says that it continues to capitalise on its technology leadership for the US market, Ahn said. He explains that the long-term winners will be those like LG Electronics that possess core technologies in-house. Combining style and functionality, LG claims to have the only LCD and plasma HDTVs with built-in high-definition digital video recorders.

    Further, LG says that it continues to maintain its number one position in the US digital storage market led by its Super Multi optical drives (including its new Blu-Ray drive), while continuing the growth of its LCD computer monitor business.

  • LG commences India’s first optical drive plant at Pune

    LG commences India’s first optical drive plant at Pune

    MUMBAI: LG Electronics India has commenced operations of its Greenfield facility for ODD products at Ranjangaon, Pune.

    LG has begun manufacturing DVD Writers thus becoming the first company to manufacture the same in India. The DVD writer plant in Ranjangaon is the second largest DVD Writer plant in Asia. The facility presently has a capacity of producing 600,000 units of DVD players per month .

    The facility will also have an additional product range to the existing line up. LG Electronics has already begun manufacturing of GSM mobile phones early last year making it the first mobile phone manufacturing company in India. The Pune plant in addition to its current manufacturing facility at Greater Noida will enable the company to expand its consumer reach.

    The plant aims to reach up to 1500 manpower base and an investment of Rs. 300 crores till 2010 for ODD plant . With this unit LG India has become the export hub for LG DVD writers catering predominantly to the European markets. The company aims to touch an export turnover of USD 450 million by 2008.

    The Ranjangaon plant already caters to manufacturing of refrigerators, colour television sets, microwave ovens and GSM handsets.

    LG India MD KR Kim said, “It gives us great pleasure and encouragement to be the only company in India to have a first of its type ODD plant. The Greenfield facility manufactures premium end models of the product which are primarily for exports. The disk drives manufactured in Ranjangaon will cater mainly to the European markets.”

    LG adds that the encouraging optimism that the Indian consumer durables market has to offer to LG has driven it to invest Rs. 9 billion for the manufacturing facilities at the Pune plant, out of which Rs 3 billion would be invested in DVD writers. The firm hopes that the move will give it an edge over other players in terms of production and subsequent market share.

  • Mainland China, Taiwan’s exports of broadband products up 55% in 2006

    Mainland China, Taiwan’s exports of broadband products up 55% in 2006

    MUMBAI: Mainland China and Taiwan are expected to export over 54 million broadband communication products in 2006 worth over $2 billion — up 55 per cent year-on-year according to Global Sources’ China Sourcing Report: Broadband Communication.

    Mainland China is expected to ship 22.3 million units in 2006, while Taiwan is projected to export 31.8 million units. Report publisher Mark Saunderson said, “Broadband device manufacturing in mainland China and Taiwan relies heavily on exports. In 2006, sales of broadband products are expected to reach about $2.4 billion, with exports accounting for at least 85 per cent, or more than $2 billion.”

    Despite growing demand, manufacturers say export prices will fall in 2006.

    Among Taiwan makers, 64 per cent expect prices to fall between 10 and 20 per cent. Among mainland China makers, 84 per cent said prices will remain stable or drop by up to five per cent in the months ahead.

    The survey also shows:

    Taipei and Hsinchu are the main manufacturing hubs in Taiwan
    Shenzhen and Dongguan are the key production centers in mainland China

    Taiwan makers are developing voice and multimedia over DSL/cable products, while Mainland suppliers are focusing on faster speed and extended transmission distances

    Makers serve brands and customers worldwide including Dell, Fujitsu, Italy Telecom, LG, Linksys, Lucent, Siemens and Thomson

    China Sourcing Report: Broadband Communication examines manufacturing, technology and pricing trends for cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) modems, gateways, routers, optical networking equipment and related products. It profiles 27 leading suppliers in mainland China and Taiwan, with specifications for 72 best-selling export products.