• by John Gaffney , May 28, 2003

The Matrix Reloaded may be fading at the box office but Samsung is still riding it to success on the Internet.

The consumer electronics manufacturer has become a major force in Internet advertising this year, currently running several ad executions stemming from its affiliation as the exclusive rights holder for cell phone promotions with The Matrix as well as a separate 3D campaign for several of the company's products. Over the past year, Samsung has increased its presence on the Web. In fact, Peter Weedfald, senior VP of strategic marketing for Samsung North America likens the company's advertising presence to having a network of its own on the web. Samsung's presence on 340 Web sites and home pages - such as Fortune.com, Forbes.com, ABCnews.com and USAtoday.com -- delivers over 720 million impressions per month, according to Weedfald.

"It is very clear to me that we're in the new knowledge economy," says Weedfald. "And in that economy the Internet is the ultimate channel for everything that's important to our business. We belong on the Internet. It's the ultimate evolution for business. The Internet is like Darwin on speed."

So far Weedfald has put his money his mouth is. Matrix related ads are still running on several websites including ABCNews.com and other Disney group sites. For example, an ad on ABCNews.com invites users to win a Samsung Matrix Cell phone just like the kind used in the movie. The banner clicks thru to a contest jump page where users can enter The New Reality Sweepstakes and order one of the phones if they want. And Samsung collects critical potential buyer information. According to Weedfald, Samsung will introduce a new cell phone SKU every two weeks this year.

The 3D campaign is the newest Internet commitment from Weedfald and his team. It is running on many business and lifestyle sites including Fortune, Business 2.0 and Business Week. The top page banner on those sites invites consumers onto a demo page for six of Samsung's latest products. By moving the cursor over a selected product, the product moves in 3D fashion and allows the user to zoom in on specific features.

The campaign currently features the Internet HomePAD refrigerator, the portable DVD-L100, an LCD computer monitor, a laser printer, wireless phone and plasma monitor.