Re: Really?
Samsung's $14Bn marketing budget is for its whole product range - there's probably a significant chunk there for smartphones and tablets, but there's also going to be considerable spend on marketing TVs, dishwashers, memory cards, cookers.
And so is its profit: the article is simply incorrect in saying the $6.1Bn profit comes from smartphones. It's the whole reported corporate profit, so obviously stated after advertising costs. $4.4Bn came from their 'Internet and Mobile' division, which would include mobiles.
And the advertising budget is annual. The $6.1Bn profit figure is for the second quarter of 2014: you can't just multiply by four, of course, but approximating that way would indicate a profit for a year of about $24-25Bn. Annual revenue for 12013 was around 30Tn Korean Won, which is $218Bn. On that turnover, a $14Bn marketing budget is not unreasonable, in a sector that competitive.
Source: . http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/investor_relations/financial_information/financial_highlights.html
Biting the hand that feeds IT
