Samsung Canada hopes that travelers that visit a new business lounge at Toronto’s Pearson Airport will be so impressed with the Samsung-supplied televisions and wireless printers they’ll go out and buy one – after they’re back from their travels, of course.
The electronics vendor has partnered with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Plaza Premium Lounge to open a new common user passenger lounge, located in the international departures pier of Pearson Airport’s Terminal One. The lounge will be available to any ticketed traveler for $35, or may be offered by some airlines to their business-class passengers. Annual memberships are also available.
In addition to food, refreshments and comfortable chairs in an environment that’s a little more peaceful than an airport concourse, the lounge also features desktop computer stations, WiFi access, and a range of the latest technology offerings supplied by Samsung.
“This lounge will prove to be a great showcase of digital convergence,” said Ron Hulse, vice-president, IT marketing, Samsung Electronics Canada. “When we travel as business travelers, or we just travel on vacation, we’re always looking for a safe, quiet zone where we don’t have to give up the convenience of being connected to our business world.”
Patrons of the lounge will have access to an ML-4551 monochrome printer and a CLX-6210FX colour multifunction printer from Samsung if they need to print off an e-mail, file or presentation, and will be able to print wirelessly as well as from the workstations.
The workstations feature Samsung’s T200 Touch of Colour monitors and a number of 400DXN 40-inch Large Format Displays from Samsung will allow patrons to monitor their flight departure times. As well, lounge users will be able to follow the news or the hockey game on a number of Saumsung’s 52” Touch of Colour 6 series LCD TVs located throughout the lounge.
Hulse said for Samsung, partnering with the GTAA and the lounge manager, Plaza Premoim Lounge, is a great way to expose people to the latest Samsung technology. And as a 100 per cent channel company, any business generated will mean more opportunities for Samsung’s channel partners.
“We think this is a great showcase opportunity for us, and that’s why Samsung became involved,” said Hulse. “We’ve worked with the airport for some time on digital signage projects, and we hope to continue to do that.”
All the Samsung technology featured in the lounge has been released in the last three to six months. In particular, Hulse said he hopes the lounge will expose Samsung’s emerging presence in the printing and imaging market.
“This is probably one of those great living labs where you test your ability to showcase and deliver digital convergence in a compelling way,” said Hulse. “It’s a great showcase for us.”