Samsung had a rough 2014. It lost the number one place in the global smartphone battle to Apple, and in China dropped to fifth behind Xiaomi, Apple, Lenovo and Huawei.

That's quite an enormous drop, but it seems Samsung had it coming. The South Korean smartphone vendor doesn't have much customer loyalty in the region, shown by the need to hire people to attend its Galaxy S6 event in China.

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The event had over 1,000 people in attendance and half of the people were fake fans. Samsung paid the fake fans 30 CNY ($4.80) per person to attend. Recruiters were told to find trendy students to come to the event.

Recruiters would receive CNY20 ($3.20) for every person coming to the event. Samsung even hired "professional fans" for CNY50 ($8.10) to attend. These people are contacted by Samsung HQ and need to provide personal information.

Several onlookers claimed most of the people at the Samsung event were taking photos with iPhones. The professional fans would regularly cheer when Samsung made an announcement, followed by fake fans applause.

Samsung has been trying to run keynotes similar to Apple's own but at events like CES and MWC, the crowd is under no obligation to cheer. Apple's own events are dotted with employees and friends of Apple, who keep the crowd clapping.

In China, Xiaomi is the only company seemingly able to evoke a sense of excitement in its products. CEO Lei Jun is called the "Steve Jobs of China" for his outgoing personality and apparent attention to detail, although Jun does not consider himself anything like Jobs.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are both good products and already look to hit massive numbers worldwide but if Samsung is to truly compete in the smartphone market, it needs to make sure both China and India are solid markets for its products.

TagsGalaxy S6, press events