Samsung has a Global Program by the name “Mob!lers” where in on an average there are 20 bloggers / creative people who are invited to join this program and given some exclusive entries to product launch events and International trips. If you remember I have had received the Global Award at Seoul and following that have been invited to major events in India.
The program has two options : Reporters & Promoters
Reporters : If you are invited to a event as a Reporter, you will always be invited to the Product Launch event / Unpacked Event and would be asked to wear their Mob!lers Tshirt for the Group Photos and for the Meetings which were happening at the same hotel where we were staying. This was informed prior to the events itself about which you can find below. At the Unpacked event you would get the Partner Pass to get the entry and you also get a 3G SIM Card during the trip to cover the event and stay connected with everyone.
Promoters : You are in short going to work with Samsung during the IFA for a short period and would be handling the booths by showcasing the devices to the visitors. You would be given all the perks along with a Uniform to wear which is compulsory and if you are not fine with this you can always report back to the agency and opt to not join at the event. You would also gett a subsidy/daily allowance for expenses which is not confirmed but is around high xxx Euros for spending during the event. You would get access to the devices a day in prior to the actual event and would be given detailed information / presentations around those products and you will also be taught on the packing of the devices and related stuff.
The Reporters were invited for a 3 days trip while the promoters were invited for a weeks time because they have had to stay during the IFA at the booth which is their job. There is also an Internal Facebook group between the Samsung International Mob!lers where they keep publishing about all the activities happening around and everyone was clear on whats their job and whats expected at IFA.
Here is a Copy of the Emails which were sent to us by the Global Agency which was handling this specific event which clearly shows that the Agenda was sent to everyone a week before the event and if someone was not interested to abide with, they could always cancel their trip.
The General Information file which is embedded below was sent to Promoters & Reporters, has all the time schedule, information on the accommodation and also the dress codes, along with this the Reports were clearly told that they would be leaving back on 1st, while the promoters would be staying back for a longer duration.
If someone mentions that they were not informed about this, then its clearly wrong because everyone in the group were CCed and everyone knew about Promoter Activities. Along with this they were still given a choice to become a Reporter and join the IFA event if they didn’t wish to continue as a Promoter.
There is always an Second Side of the Story and this clearly shows that Samsung invited Reporters to experience the event, while promoters promote their products which is why they were called Promoters. If someone have had a problem with “Promoters” then they could have never boarded the flight and started complaining later. You cannot expect Samsung to spend around 5000 Euros [estimated] on a promoter and just expect him to never be with the group and enjoy his stay, because he is not a guest but a Promoter for this event. The Reporters were actually more like guests invited to this event, because they could anyway watch the event live from their home but Samsung wanted to offer them something better & real.
Note : Iam not a Samsung Fan Boy and this article is just to publish a few facts around the current incident which is being shared on the web [The Next Web]. Also i was a Reporter from India who was invited and was asked to wear the Tie Bow at the Unpacked event to ensure that the whole group looks like a team in black suits, and we all were at IFA for some fun, interaction between other mobilers and also for getting an experience of the devices long before the others could get the same which is more like an opportunity for Tech Enthusiasts.
Update : Samsung has responded to the issue regarding blogger [Clinton Jeff] who was stranded in Berlin and was offered return tickets by Nokia.
Samsung Mob!lers is a voluntary community of active Samsung mobile device users, who are offered the opportunity to participate in our marketing events across the world. At these events, all activities they undertake are on a voluntary basis. No activities are forced upon them.
We regret there was a misunderstanding between the Samsung Mob!lers coordinators and the relevant blogger, as we understand he was not sufficiently briefed on the nature of Samsung Mob!lers’ activities at IFA 2012. We have been attempting to get in touch with him.
We respect the independence of bloggers to publish their own stories.
There is still no update from Samsung regarding the blackmailing. If Clinton have had opted not to do any activity, why did they act the bad guy way and offer him a option to either wear the uniform or pay the trip by himself. They could have clearly offered him a return ticket and opted to never contact him instead of expecting this bad press.
About Amit Bhawani
I read about this on a couple of blogs and I knew that was just one side of a story. They paid for your trip, food etc. because they expect something from you which is obvious. Its your duty to make things clear before accepting the freebies… every freebie on this planet comes with a catch and you need to understand it.
Why not link to the TNW post for some context?
Amit Bhawani Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Yep missed that, will update the same. But this article was not against CJ or TNW, it was just for some clarification about the program and our emails.
What if someone signed up for reporter (clearly mentioned in the TNW article), insisted twice that he be treated as reporter, refused to sign an NDA, and still be expected to behave like a promoter?
Amit Bhawani Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Be a Reporter or Promoter, you need to sign the NDA since you get access to devices before the actual public event and this is a normal rule everywhere.
got one question – when as a blogger i have told you i want to be a reporter and not a promoter why do you ask me to be the salesman. just because you have paid doesn’t mean i am suppose to do anything and everything.
Amit Bhawani Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Very true Prasant, but if your status was not changed, why did you even opt to board the flight? This is their program, their selection, you got a choice to either join the event or even withdraw earlier when initial emails were sent.
Okay but TNW mentioned that CJ asked to be a reporter, not a promoter. Then what ?
Thanks for more clarification here Amit..
But according to reports..CJ was asked how he wanted to go and cover the event and he clearly mentioned as a Reporter and not promoter..!!
Now if you are forced to wear a T-shirt of the company or even asked to demo their product to others… That’s clearly not ethical..!!
At the top of it, he was asked to shut himself down and then only company will arrange for his wayback else be of your own.. What kind of blackmailing would you call it…Even if their is other side of story,…Samsung should atleast maintain their standard instead of pushing a Blogger to play a role of their pupptboy instead of being an Individual as Blogger…
Your point about Promoter and reporter is justified but in this scenario when CJ already mentioned that he will be covering event as Reporter and not as promoter… Samsung action was not only immoral but a shameful act!!
You seem all along to imply that CJ was enrolled as a Promoter and that his status could have, but didn’t have been changed to Reporter, which is different from what he reports and from what the TNW article reports also. Do you have any evidence of what you claim? Unless you clarify this, I don’t see the purpose of your article, because all what you say is obvious…
Can you then justify what Samsung did to your fellow blogger? the cancellation of ticket?
Looks like Samsung ‘polices’ the bloggers. Similar story here: http://int13.net/france/blog/i-won-a-contest-to-go-to-the-london-olympic-games/
So worst thing happens, someone screws up. The response to cancel the return ticket and leave someone up to their own devices is always the wrong one. Maybe Samsung needs to be a bit better at picking their employees.
The Blackmailing Event is uncalled for and Samsung has shown extremely pathetic corporate standards.
Always samsung india behave like rotdu with bloggers
Why we should believe CJ only and not the Samsung?
Why Nokia intervene in the matter and why they are a silent spectator? It looks fishy now!
Is the registration over for the season..or there are more conferences to go??
Hi,
I am looking for technology blogs/ sites for doing guest post. I found this site: amitbhawani.com very informative and interesting. I wonder if you give me a opportunity for doing a guest post for your site. I use to add text link in my article or in the author bio as suggested.
I am looking forward for a positive reply from your side soon.
I have been in PR for last 13 years.
To refuse a reporter (no matter what you call him – promoter, helper etc etc) hotel accommodation or flight is pure PR blasphemy.
Things could have got resorted later on. At that moment, it was important that you take care of your guests and ensure their safety is of utmost priority.
I am really surprised that the PR folks there goofed up so bad!
thanks sir sharing this post
Very good information on the Samsung Galaxy.
interesting..
my only point is had the same happened to you…would you have been so liberal?
moreover with such a thing going on…usually u guys of same profession should show solidarity
yet this post..
i am not implying but simply wondering as a reader that is this write a face saving attempt by Samsung?
in the end its not black n white…its simply what sides u take…n u raise valid points here
every company does this. i know of a very popular blogger who is invited to cover a lot of events and he in turn writes favourable blogs posts for them. Earlier on he never even acknowledged that he was advertising for them. After a lot of readers pointed it out. He started putting ADV in the title of the posts.
Well, to each his own.
If I’m an independent reporter, as you were, I wouldn’t wear clothes as they specify. Unless it was a black-tie event, you show your allegiance to Samsung wearing what they specify with a bow tie of the color their branding is. C’mon!
If Cj messed up with the promoter guidelines (assuming what you say is correct), being a reporter in this program is no fair deal as well.
Any good information amit sir.Every company does this,You are correct
I got the information that I was searching for. You guys have provided useful information and it will be good for many people. Great job