A new report says the former head of mobile marketing at Samsung, Paul Golden, has joined HTC as a contractor, although his exact role within the firm isn’t certain. While Golden himself isn’t a household name, his work with Samsung is better known. He claims to have “created and launched” the Galaxy brand for Samsung, a strategy which catapulted it to stardom several years ago.
According to Golden’s LinkedIn page, he still works for the marketing consultancy Brand Slam – which lists Samsung’s turnaround as one of its achievements – so his role at HTC may be temporary. Will his assistance be enough to add some much needed Galaxy-style magic to HTC’s brand profile?
Bloomberg says its sources indicate Golden is an advisor to HTC’s chairperson Cher Wang, and that he has been present at meetings throughout April. Given his background, he is most likely to be advising on marketing and promotional strategy, an area where HTC has suffered. HTC hasn’t confirmed Golden has been brought onboard, telling Bloomberg only that it “continues to invest in talent and recruitment,” but offering no specific details.
Strong marketing campaigns have never been HTC’s forte, and the company has long blamed poor communication with customers for its dwindling market share. It has also repeatedly promised to turn things around. Since dropping the Quietly Brilliant campaign, we’ve seen Robert Downey Jr., Gary Oldman, and even Hipster Trolls have a go, and now, it appears the man behind Samsung’s Galaxy is next in line.
Shortly before the HTC One M8 launch, the company’s chief financial officer said the new phone, along with an unannounced smartwatch, will be instrumental in turning around its fortunes. Apparently, the watch isn’t expected to be on sale until the latter half of 2014, and Golden’s appointment – even if it is only short term – could be to assist in hyping up the One M8 and smartwatch combo.
