Samsung’s fourth edition of the PlayGalaxy Cup Z Fold Edition wasn’t just another gaming event- it was a strategic showcase of how the brand is reimagining gaming not as a campaign vertical but as a central tenet of its marketing and product DNA.
As gaming continues to blur the lines between content, commerce, and community, Samsung is doubling down on it- not as a one-off play but as a long-term marketing operating system. From creator partnerships and experiential tech innovations to ecosystem-first storytelling, the brand is building a youth-facing narrative that positions mobile gaming as a cultural lifestyle.
On the sidelines of the PlayGalaxy Cup, Marketing Mind spoke to Aditya Babbar, Vice President – Head of Product Marketing and E-commerce Business, Samsung India, to understand how the company is crafting a future where tech, trust, and talent meet at the intersection of gaming.
As giant LED screens streamed live BGMI and Valorant matches on July 10, the ballroom at JW Marriott Aerocity buzzed with more than just gameplay. Samsung’s PlayGalaxy Cup Z Fold Edition returned for its fourth edition, bringing together some of India’s biggest gaming creators TechnoGamerz, Mythpat, Triggered Insaan, Kaashvi, and Desi Gamers. But while the matches captured attention, the bigger play was strategic. Samsung signalled that gaming is no longer a vertical; it’s now a key thread running through its marketing, product, and community ambitions.
Shortly after the PlayGalaxy Cup Z Fold Edition kicked off, Marketing Mind sat down with Babbar, to decode the brand’s long-term playbook and why gaming has become central to its marketing DNA.
“Year on year the PlayGalaxy Cup has become stronger, bigger,” said Aditya Babbar, Vice President and Head of Product Marketing and E-commerce Business, Samsung India. “The last PlayGalaxy Cup had a 300 million reach. We envision today we will be touching 350 plus million reach, which itself is a testimony of the love the consumers have showered on us.”
Incorporating gaming across the ecosystem
This isn’t about one-off IPs or events. Samsung wants gaming embedded across every consumer touchpoint in-store demos, at-home play, wearables, and creator content.
Babbar said, “We want to activate gaming at every step. Whether it’s at our shop floor, at home with consumers or with our hero gamers, we want to leverage our own ecosystem where you can wear Buds and play with the Galaxy devices.”
Samsung sees gaming not as a channel, but as a lifestyle flow. Young users today move fluidly between apps from cab bookings to food delivery to gameplay and the brand’s presence needs to reflect that.
“Whether you are booking a cab, ordering food or playing games, as a marketer I will advertise everywhere. Because that’s where you are. And that’s our belief, that we need to be in the life of the consumers,” Babbar stated.
Building community, not just campaigns
The brand’s investments in gaming are deeply tied to long-term creator partnerships, not just influencer drops. Babbar shared that Samsung aims to scale to 500+ Galaxy Creator Partnerships (GCPs) by the end of 2025.
“We aspire to go to 500+ GCP by the end of this year. Last year one of our GCP won a silver medal at the world stage. Somebody who did not have a device went with a Galaxy device and won silver in a football tournament on the e-sport. So we will continue to empower India with our devices and nurture the talent out of the GCPs.”
At the press conference, Samsung also announced plans to train and scale 20,000 creators over the next five years, with YouTube as the core platform. The effort is positioned around enabling younger creators to build, monetise, and grow using Samsung’s tools in a mobile-first world.
A creator-first, metrics-driven approach
Even amid the gameplay and fanfare, Babbar was sharply focused on performance metrics. “As a marketer ROI and KPIs are the key which drives me every day. Sometimes you can be lost in views but numbers don’t lie. You will not have a green picture. So continue to learn, continue to improve.”
Babbar also noted that creator-first formats have helped push engagement rates from 50% to 60%, a significant jump in a crowded, scroll-heavy environment.
“None of them are short-term measures for us. They are strong builders. And we are building for a long-term community of people who can enjoy gaming on the Galaxy devices.”
At the heart of Samsung’s gaming push is a clear emotional proposition. The company wants to design not just fast devices but reliable experiences that preserve moments of high emotional value.
“Clicking a picture is a functional aspect. But clicking a wedding picture is a very special moment. We need to make every experience with our device special and uncompromising, that makes the Galaxy ecosystem extremely special,” Babbar said.
Innovations that live inside the game
Babbar also spotlighted several product innovations built to elevate gaming moments. A standout was Circle to Search, a feature that lets players search anything mid-game, without exiting.
“People are playing games and suddenly want to know ‘Which bridge is this?’ ‘Which mountain is this?’ ‘What gun should I use now?’ Now we have brought everything into the game. You can circle to search and a window pops up,” Babbar said.
Its Game Launcher technology is also being upgraded to handle frame rate drops caused by weak connectivity, and dynamically manage power and processing in real time. “We manage the power, efficiency and frame rate. A lot of the time what happens is because of low internet speed sometimes your frame rate drops. Now we are building a solution and technology for that, to be really able to protect our gamers.”
Underpinning all of this is Samsung’s broader brand philosophy of openness not just in software, but in partnerships and community-building.
“Anybody who wants to work with us, we will open our arms and bring them into the Galaxy ecosystem,” Babbar concluded.
With gaming no longer treated as just a campaign idea but as a core part of the brand’s identity, Samsung is positioning itself for the long run- one that’s built on creator trust, consumer engagement, and reliable technology.
