Samsung Apparently Paid 500 People to Attend the Galaxy S6 Launch Event in China
The launch occasion of Samsung’s latest flagships, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, was grand. The event witnessed close to 1,000 people and most of them appreciated both the devices. But what if all those admiring attendees were actually pretending to be lured by the fresh offering? A latest report surfaced by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper confirms that around 400 to 500 people present in the press conference were planted there to promote the products.
According to the report, a recruiting specialist was hired to bring fake fans and they were paid a certain amount to appear in the event. The source contacted one of the recruiter and he notified that around 100 people were brought by him to the Galaxy S6 launch conference. Some other recruiters were also hired for the job and the total number of paid fans reached 400-500. This accounts to half the population attending Samsung’s official launch event.
The source also brought to light that it was the demand of the Korean electronics firm to bring young people to the show. As per the company’s directions, the fake attendees should look like students and don’t have to be more than 30 years. The company paid each of the clients 30 yuan ($4.80) for an hour and the recruiters were paid 20 yuan ($3.20) to bring each person. The paid fans were asked to like Samsung’s page on Baidu as well. The Paper also disclosed that the hired fans were informed to tell the press that they were true Samsung fans and were fascinated to see Samsung’s brand new handsets.
However, the company is denying to all the reports and is calling them “totally groundless and bogus.” A statement released by Samsung reads –
Our findings have indicated that under no circumstances has anyone been hired or given money to attend the event. In fact, the more than 1,100 attendees, including consumers and industry officials, have all been formally invited to the Shanghai Culture Square where the event took place.
It’s not the first time Samsung is accused of adopting unfair practices. Back in 2013, Samsung was charged for spreading negative remarks about HTC through Taiwanese students.
Samsung is losing a major chunk of its fan base in China to Apple and Xioami. The newcomer in the smartphone business, Xiaomi, has showed tremendous results and is leading the race in China and India as well. Samsung doesn’t want to rely on its smartphones only and is trying every possible bit to regain its lost status.
