With some $50 billion in annual revenue, Samsung Electronics has big ambitions to emulate Sony's consumer electronics success. The Korean conglomerate already possesses formidable technology prowess. It's a leading global supplier of memory, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and cell phones. Samsung also provides components to many of its rivals. Now, the company is trying to spiff up its dowdy image in the consumer electronics market, a task that falls to Eric Kim, its executive vice president of global marketing. The facelift seems to be working because the company's brand value has leaped up the charts, according to brand research firm Interbrand. Still, the move has not come cheaply. Samsung has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to change its image--and the effort comes at a particularly tricky juncture. The consumer electronics market is sagging, and even an established giant like Sony is smarting as margins decline and consumers pare back their spending. What's more, American computer makers Dell and Gateway are stepping up their presence in the consumer electronics market with crossover products designed for the very consumers Samsung is targeting. Read the full interview with Kim over at CNET.