Samsung delivers series of powerful videos in China

We don’t need to tell you the importance of businesses connecting with people. This is especially true for companies like Samsung, where communication plays a major role in its business. Over the years, Samsung has made a continuous effort in creating shared value around the world. Recently, with the goal of promoting the importance of youth education and medical volunteering to over 1.3 billion people in China, Samsung has initiated its first-ever CSV campaign in China, ‘Dream and Hope to Youth’.

So far, a total of 4 videos for the campaign has been posted on Samsung China’s official site. Two stories featuring Yan Yuhong (顔玉宏), who has to walk on both hands, and Liu Qingnan, who was born with congenital cataracts, tell the story of human triumph. The videos are so heartwarming that we felt compelled to share it with you here.

The 12-year-old boy in Yibin, Sichuan, suffered polio when he was 6, which meant that he could only get to school by walking on his hands. CCTV aired a feature story to mark ‘Children’s Day’ on June 1. Samsung China has decided to donate a motorized wheelchair to him and said that it would continue to assist in his rehabilitation going forward. The story of Yan Yuhong has inspired Chinese people with his indomitable spirit.

Liu Qingnan is a 14-year-old girl living in Renqiu, Hebei. She lost her sight to congenital cataracts. In 2008, she recovered her sight when Samsung China paid for her eye surgery. Later she made her dream come true and became a 2012 London Olympic Games Torch-Bearer. Samsung China promised to keep sponsoring her so that she can achieve her future goals.

“I have produced a variety of campaign videos so far but I was deeply impressed to know that Samsung was so active in giving back to society through a wide array of CSV campaigns. I came to have a totally new understanding of Samsung while working on this project,” said director Zhang Xianfeng (張險峰). “I truly hope that campaigns like these increase in both quality and quantity in China and advance a world where heart-warming human stories become more and more common.”

In its efforts to diversify projects for youth education, Samsung China recently signed an agreement with China Youth Development Fund, run by the Communist Youth League of China. The 5-year CSV project aims at extending realistic support to Chinese young people. Samsung China also plans to sponsor college students’ volunteer work in rural areas on a regular basis.

Aside from these projects, Samsung China will work with the Welfare Fund and invest more in disabled youth-related campaigns. This joint initiative is expected to give young people with hearing or visual impairment and other physical disabilities the opportunity to overcome challenges and live as a proud member of society.

Samsung China will seek to switch from the product-oriented marketing strategy to a campaign that it hopes rebuilds its reputation as a “business that is truly loved by Chinese people and contributes to Chinese society.” Samsung China hopes to be regarded as a company that fulfills its social responsibilities through these image-changing campaigns as a corporate citizen in China.

“If we are to win over the Chinese consumers, we should increase our investment in socially responsible projects and at the same time be more aggressive in conducting a variety of advertising campaigns to let people know that Samsung dedicates itself to giving back to society. So we started this campaign for the first time in China,” said an official who is familiar with the current situation.

One of the hottest promotion trends in China engages storytelling that emphasizes public interest combined with moving stories of real people. Reputation-building ads like those by Samsung are becoming increasingly popular in China. 

Adopting the stories of ordinary people in a creative style, Samsung’s corporate image campaign is expected to become a trailblazer not only for businesses operating in China but also for the Chinese government hoping to launch its own public ads.

Also, by enhancing Samsung’s prestige by showing that the company generously gives back to the public, Samsung China’s social initiative will likely inspire other corporations in China to reimagine their mindset about their role and duty in society, thus encouraging them to instigate more initiatives that are in the public interest.

*The videos above are scheduled to be updated with English subtitles.