Samsung: WORLDS MOST FUNCTIONAL TV-SPOT

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: SAMSUNG
Agency: STARCOM
Category: Best Use of Screens
Adsales Director/Discovery Channel: Allan Spelmann (Discovery Channel)
Sales Manager: Dag Haavardsen (Discovery Channel)
TV Manager: Dag Ormåsen (Starcom Mediavest Group)
Client Service Director: Celia Calkin Hansen (Starcom Mediavest Group)

Strategy
The Norwegian smartphone market is driven by multiple brands, each with heavy media support and frequent product launches. Apple in particular is virtually synonymous with emotional, user-friendly experiences. Powerful technology has always been a hallmark of Samsung but with the launch of the Galaxy SIII, we saw there was a chance to make a strong emotional connection with the product and position it as the most personable phone on the market. Our main target group consisted of young, discerning consumers, most of whom are men living in large urban centers. They’re tech enthusiasts but not big TV watchers. However, we discovered there’s been a growth in niche television programming over the past few years – more specifically high quality reality shows that skew male. Our task wasn’t as simple as creating a traditional TV spot, we wanted to give users a comprehensive product trial without ever having to handle the product.

Execution
We landed on a compelling proposition: a full ad break on the Discovery Channel entirely curated by Samsung. Moreover, this break’s commercials were all played on the screen of an actual Samsung Galaxy SIII phone.We decided to play to television’s strengths – live images/sound and high quality production content – to demonstrate phone functions including 'slide', 'share', 'dual screen' and 'touch'. The demo transitioned elegantly between spots and maintained focus on the phone’s unique tools. Among the ads was a spot for Tele2 (a Telecom operator) that featured a Galaxy SIII price offer, and the overall break culminated in a Samsung spot, concluding the presentation seamlessly.We were able to command the entire ad break, illustrate the possibilities of the phone dynamically and quickly communicate the message that our technology is smart, innovative, and part of an organic user experience.

Effectiveness
Our campaign managed to create a wide and effective impact with our key audience. A third of our target group reported seeing the Discovery ad break, and 80% recognized that the main message was to showcase the Galaxy SIII’s unique functions. A full 51% described the Galaxy SIII as 'innovative', while an impressive 53% touted Samsung as being 'user-friendly'. The biggest increase in brand sentiment had 58% of the audience saying the device was 'smart'. Samsung now sits at number one in Norway in both cell phone and total electronic device volume.