Press Releases

Samsung Electronics America Selects CCS to Deliver Dedicated Training to Top Retailers

CULVER CITY, CA – June 10, 2002 – Samsung Electronics, one of the top ten electronics manufacturers in the world and a leader in the digital convergence revolution, has selected Creative Channel Services (CCS), the leading provider of sales training and product education programs for the retail channel, to create and deliver an unparalleled in-store field training and awareness program targeting major retailers nationwide. Through this expanded partnership, CCS will be responsible for managing all of Samsung's training and merchandising initiatives in the U.S. throughout key Samsung retail accounts.

"At Samsung, our dedication to providing affordable, cutting-edge technology doesn't stop at the consumer level," says Erin Burns, Samsung's Channel Marketing Manager, Retail. "The key to our continued and growing success relies on our commitment to providing our valued retailers with timely and informative training on our innovative products and technologies. CCS offers Samsung a competitive advantage by creating a completely integrated training methodology wherein we are able to reach retailers at the corporate level, while also directly targeting the frontline sales associates selling our products every day."

This comprehensive in-store coverage model elevates Samsung's strategic, long-term partnership with CCS to a new level of customized retail training and support, and comes after three successful years of double-digit market growth experienced since the relationship with CCS launched. The key objectives of this wide-scale awareness initiative are to leverage CCS' established retailer relationships to deliver top-quality product and brand training through a mobilized team of Authorized Samsung Representatives. Acting as a seamless extension of the Samsung corporation, the highly trained Samsung experts will conduct specialized training initiatives covering Samsung's two major product divisions: The Digital Information Technology Division (DITD) and the Digital Consumer Electronics Division (DCED). Products within these categories include Samsung's award-winning SyncMaster™ line of flat-panel and CRT monitors, laser printers, fax machines, multifunction devices, optical disc drives (ODD), Flat CRT, Plasma and Rear Projection HD-ready televisions, DVD Players, Digital Audio Players, Digital Mini DV Camcorders.

"We are delighted that Samsung Electronics continues to look to CCS to drive its critical efforts at the retail store level." said Andy Restivo, CCS' Senior Vice President of Business Development. "The Samsung-dedicated field marketing and training team marks yet another important step in what has become a widely successful partnership spanning three years, and we look forward to assisting Samsung accelerate its growth as a global leader in the consumer digital convergence sector through our unique retail marketing and training solution.."

In addition to providing regular training and sales support in retailers such as Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, The Good Guys, Ultimate Electronics and Sears, the Authorized Samsung Representatives will also be responsible for Samsung merchandising, product placement, in-store demonstrations, market research and feedback, while also providing in-depth program reporting via CCS' proprietary web-based reporting vehicle. This new in-store initiative represents a valuable addition to Samsung's powerful integrated retail solution through CCS, which also includes extensive online product training to thousands of retail sales associates via CyberScholar.com™ and product education seminars at CyberSmart™, the computer and consumer electronics industries' premier nationwide series of face-to-face training events.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics and information systems products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung Telecommunications USA, Samsung Electronics Canada and Samsung Electronics Mexico. Please visit www.samsungusa.com for more information.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, and digital convergence technology. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., with 2001 sales revenue of US $25 billion, is one of the world's top electronics companies. Samsung Electronics employs approximately 64,000 people in 89 offices in 47 countries. The company is the world's largest producer of memory chips, TFT-LCDs, CDMA mobile phones, monitors and VCRs. Samsung Electronics consists of four main business units: Digital Media Network, Device Solution Network, Telecommunication Network and Digital Appliance Network Businesses. Samsung was recently named one of the world's Top 100 Brands by Business Week magazine.

About Creative Channel Services, LLC
Creative Channel Services (CCS) is a leading retail marketing agency focused on helping manufacturers and retailers improve sales performance by creating influence at the point of sale. CCS' integrated solutions include field sales & marketing, training development, interactive services and promotional marketing, with a primary focus on creating brand advocacy through retail sales associates. Established in 1995 and headquartered in Culver City, California, CCS is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

For more information, contact:

Mark Boeder, Director of Marketing
Creative Channel Services
310-665-9900, ext. 345
Email Mark Boeder