Samsung in drive to boost e-warranty awareness in Kenya

Samsung Electronics has launched a promotion geared at raising awareness about its E-warranty service in Kenya.

The E-warranty promotion – dubbed “Buy and Win with Samsung” – will see consumers educated on how to verify the 2 year warranty on Samsung products, and get rewarded for purchasing authentic Samsung electronics from authorised partners and dealers.

With industry experts estimating that Kenya loses about Kshs 30 billion annually due to trade in counterfeits, more manufacturers are actively raising awareness on how consumers can identify authentic products with warranty.

For handset manufacturers the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number has proved to be the quickest identifier of genuine products. With other electronics products, the serial number is used.

But despite the ease with which one can use the IMEI number or serial number to identify authentic electronic products, a significant chunk of the consumer population remains unaware of this benefit

Speaking when he unveiled the promotion, Samsung Electronics East Africa Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Robert Ngeru acknowledged the success of past efforts to raise awareness, but noted that more still needed to be done.

“We have run similar campaigns in the past and found them to be successful, having raised the number of Samsung consumers checking and registering their products to about 80 per cent. However this means that a further 20 per cent are yet to be aware of the user and economic benefits of purchasing products covered by warranty, and this is what this campaign is about,” he said.

Samsung offers a 2-year warranty, applicable to all Samsung products purchased from authorised dealers and partners, from mobile devices to all other electronic products. In addition to entitling owners of Samsung products to free software upgrades where applicable, the 2 year warranty covers any manufacturer defects, giving consumers an avenue for recourse in the unlikely event that a genuine product purchased from an authorised dealer and/or partner is found to be defective.

To confirm the authenticity and warranty cover of a Samsung product, consumers can follow a simple one step process as follows:

For mobile phones: Send an SMS: Check*IMEI number# to 22585

For other electronic products: Send an SMS: Check*serial number# to 22485

“Our E-warranty checking system not only makes it easy for consumers to confirm that the products they are purchasing have warranty in Kenya, but also provides the psychological comfort that comes with knowing that you are using an authentic product,” added Mr. Ngeru. “Using counterfeit products exposes consumers to loss of money and physical harm in some instances, in addition to denying them pleasant user experiences and costing the economy valuable revenue that could be used to address some of the social and economic challenges that affect us all. It is for this reason that we decided to raise more awareness about this system, and reward our loyal customers,” said Mr. Ngeru.

The 8-week campaign will run up to June 22, 2015, and will see winners receive various prizes including the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, with the ultimate winner receiving a Samsung home makeover worth over Kshs 500,000.