Jakarta, Gizmologi – Innovation is the foundation of the technology industry, and Samsung is no exception. For the South Korean technology company, innovation isn't just about products, but also encompasses services and ideas that deliver tangible benefits to consumers.
Three young Indonesian talents – Alishia, Ima, and Mutiara – prove that relevant innovation can be born from a deep understanding of Indonesian culture and customs. Through a locally focused approach, they have successfully created solutions that are not only appealing but also simplify everyday life.
Through the collaboration between technology and traditional values, they present products that are widely accepted by the community, creating a positive impact and inspiring the next generation to continue innovating.
Alishia, Ima, and Mutiara demonstrate that Samsung's innovations are truly relevant to the needs and lifestyles of Indonesian consumers. Their stories also demonstrate that young Indonesians are capable of producing innovations that, despite their simplicity, are enthusiastically embraced by the public.
What's the story like? Read on below.
Alishia: relevant innovation for Indonesian consumers
Alishia Gozal joined the Mobile eXperience Product Marketing department, consistently playing a strategic role in designing marketing for Samsung's flagship products. Based on her understanding of Indonesian consumer behavior, Alishia encouraged the team to adopt Indonesian and Korean culture through the Nusantara x Hangul collaboration in the design of Galaxy Wrap accessories – the cover coating for the Galaxy Z Fold6, Z Flip6, S24 series, and S24 FE – and popularize the Indonesian Galaxy AI.
"We understand that Indonesian consumers also enjoy South Korean culture. At the same time, they also take pride in their local culture. Based on this insight, we present a collaboration between Indonesian and Hangul elements, so users can personalize their smartphones with a unique and culturally meaningful style," explained Alishia.
He also emphasized that the local approach is not only applied to product accessories, but also to Galaxy AI innovations. The Indonesian language update of Galaxy AI, introduced in April 2024, aims to make Galaxy AI even easier for Indonesian consumers to use. From work and leisure to everyday communication, Galaxy AI Bahasa Indonesia is an assistant that makes it easier for Indonesian users to complete their work/tasks and build networks with various nations.
Siti Muslimah: innovation that comes from simple habits
One of the contributions of the Samsung R&D Institute Indonesia (SRIN) team is the refinement of Galaxy AI Bahasa Indonesia, which is inseparable from the role of Siti Muslimah. The woman, familiarly known as Ima, joined SRIN last year. She played a key role in ensuring the AI's ability to understand and respond to user input contextually. Along with other research teams, Ima conducted a series of field studies to directly observe how people, both in urban and remote areas, use Indonesian in various situations.
Ima explained, "Relevant innovation doesn't always come from the most advanced technology. Often, significant innovations emerge from simple, everyday habits." Therefore, Ima and her team at SRIN consistently research consumer behavior before developing solutions needed in the daily lives and work of Indonesian users.
In developing Galaxy AI Bahasa Indonesia, Ima and her team faced various challenges, such as understanding cultural nuances, diverse accents, complex vocabulary, and narrative contexts. However, they overcame all of this to gain valuable insights so that Galaxy AI can be more inclusive and relevant to the Indonesian public.
Since the launch of Indonesian language support for Galaxy AI, Ima and her six colleagues on the Galaxy AI development team at SRIN have continuously refined this language's capabilities to make it more relevant to current Indonesian speech and comfortable for Indonesians. The development process involved various test cases designed based on real-life interactions between Indonesian users and Galaxy AI.
In addition to Galaxy AI, SRIN also developed Samsung Gift Indonesia, S-Lime, Samsung Pay, and Salaam—an app specifically designed to assist Muslims in Indonesia in their worship. Its features include a digital Quran, a Qibla finder, prayer reminders, a collection of hadiths, daily prayers, and a guide to the Hajj and Umrah.
Mutiara: inspired by typical Indonesian cuisine
Similar to Alishia and Ima, Mutiara Ramadhani, who began her career at Samsung Electronics Indonesia through the Management Trainee program, also continues to gather insights from the public and users of household electronics products in Indonesia. She does this through various methods, from analyzing social media conversations, conducting in-depth surveys, to speaking directly with consumers.
These findings led to the innovation of the Ungkep Compartment, a special refrigerator storage space with soft-freeze technology that keeps food cool without freezing it. This feature allows foods like braised chicken to be cooked immediately without the need for time-consuming thawing or defrosting, which can damage the flavor and quality of the food.
"From insights from Indonesian consumers, we identified opportunities and new ways to communicate features to make them more relevant to their needs. We then introduced the name 'ungkep' for this feature, and the response from Indonesian consumers has been very positive," said Mutiara.
The success of this strategy even caught Samsung's attention regionally. This culturally appropriate approach was also adopted by other Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, where the majority of the population buys fresh fish daily and requires storage without freezing. This cultural approach, initiated by Indonesian talent, was key to the success of Samsung refrigerators in strengthening the acceptance of Southeast Asian consumers.
Mutiara and her team also leveraged consumer insights to market the Bespoke AI Refrigerator, a smart refrigerator with SmartThings AI technology that not only monitors electricity consumption but also provides recipe suggestions based on available ingredients. All of these features are accessible directly through the SmartThings app on mobile phones, providing users with complete control and peace of mind.
Explore other content from Gizmologi.id
Subscribe to get the latest posts by email.
