To succeed, we needed a campaign that moved beyond badging, branding and slogans, to speak to something fundamental to the games, and something more human: the spirit of openness that matched both the brand’s ethos and the Olympic values.

Olympic sponsorship can feel distant — often polished, predictable, and disconnected from the real emotion of the Games. In a world that feels more polarised than ever, Paris 2024 aimed to be a beacon of hope. Hosted in the City of Love, it was set to be the most open, inclusive and sustainable games ever.

We recognised that this would define Paris 2024, and chose to focus on what this means for those who follow and care about the Games. The moments that matter most at the Olympics are the ones where people open up, emotionally, physically, culturally. Openness, not just excellence, is what really wins.

Openness is core to Samsung’s brand and focus on innovation. Behind anything new and astonishing is a different way to view an idea, a new path towards a solution. To champion open ecosystems and shared access to innovative technology.

The insight that shaped our campaign was simple: in a world that often closes people off, the most powerful thing a brand could do was celebrate openness.

The idea Open Always Wins captured this idea perfectly. It connects the spirit of the Games to the spirit of Samsung’s brand.

Handily, openness was key to the physical design of the new Galaxy Z Flip6 — a phone that literally opens. More than just a feature, this fold is a metaphor. It stood for emotional honesty, inclusivity, and a willingness to share.

This led to a new kind of Olympic activation, where we celebrated openness in all its forms across Paris 2024.

Open Always Wins was more than a campaign line. It was about celebrating athletes, fans, and stories that break down barriers — cultural, personal and technological.

For Samsung at Paris 2024, openness meant:

• Open stories – real-time, emotional, behind-the-scenes content from athletes and fans.
• Open access – giving everyone a front-row seat to the Olympic spirit through platforms they use daily.
• Open to new fans – to be the champion of emerging sports at Paris 2024— skateboarding, surfing and breaking.
• Open technology – devices that are intuitive, flexible, and built for sharing – like the Z Flip6.

The strategy was to spotlight the human side of the Olympics — the tears, triumphs, and unexpected moments. Samsung didn’t try to control the narrative. Instead, it created space for stories to unfold — from TikTok trends in the village to medal-winning selfies — and let fans join in. In a world of polished perfection, openness was our aim.

We brought athletes together. They were given the Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition to capture personal “Victory Selfies” on the podium. They crossed political divides to capture this moment together, making history and amplifying reach.

We brought new fans together. We created a tailored virtual reality experience that allows fans of skating, surfing and breaking to join in alongside the events, and “compete” against other fans using their bitmoji’s in a gamified version of these sports.

We brought fans and athletes together, launching The Openness Awards, recognising those who are brave enough to open up about their vulnerabilities, not just victories, on social media. We sent real glass medals to those who deserved them most.

We brought media partners together. TikTok worked with Eurosport to create a daily recap of the best moment from the Games, not just the winning moments. We focused on human stories, triumph over adversity and the most emotive moments from track and field.

Our activation spanned countries, cultures, sub-cultures, ages and languages. It started 100 days before Games time, folded in our Flip6 ‘unpacked’ launch event and then exploded across channels during the Games itself.

We focused the activation across seven key platforms: Warner Bros. Discovery, TikTok, Meta, YouTube, Snap, X and online video. The openness moments we spotlighted – and messaging – were tailored across seven European countries, creating cultural relevance without diluting the core idea.

With 100 days to go, we launched on Eurosport with 30″ TV spots, seeding our Open Always Wins message among core sports fans.

We then introduced “Open Lens,” a creative series spotlighting the unique stories and subcultures of skateboarding, surfing, and breaking on the Road to Paris. This highlighted openness, creativity, and self-expression, receiving acclaim across 6” & 30” TV spots and engagement on TikTok, Meta, Snap, and online video.

Just before the Games, we rolled out a roadblock on the IOC’s YouTube channel, leveraging viewership of iconic and upcoming Olympic moments.

During the games, we worked with TikTok creators in the Olympic Village to provide authentic, social-first content. Daily content ran on TikTok and Eurosport, created and published under the “Openness Medal” theme. It showed stories of triumph, compassion, and human connection across Games time. Fan Cams and live moments brought authenticity to the forefront.

Samsung’s content wasn’t just seen — it was felt. Viewers connected emotionally through candid, unscripted stories, reinforced by premium media placements and strategic partnerships.

The campaign delivered across all our key objectives: social impact, broadcast cut-through and sponsor stand-out.

Social Impact: Our TikTok activation drove statistically significant lifts in Ad Recall and Familiarity across all key markets — +3.3% in the UK, +2.7% in Germany, +3.4% in Italy, +3.1% in the Netherlands, and +7% in Belgium.

Broadcast Cut-Through: On Warner Bros. Discovery platforms (the official European broadcaster), Samsung ranked #1 in prompted brand awareness among Olympic sponsors. Those aware of the campaign showed an 11% increase in likeability and a 12% rise in product usage.

Among the most engaged viewers, 87% said the campaign improved their perception of Samsung and increased their interest in purchase. Viewers described the brand as “trustworthy,” “dynamic,” and “full of possibilities.”

Sponsor Stand-Out: Samsung achieved the highest brand affinity of all Olympic Tier 1 sponsors by the end of the Games, and the second highest ad recall overall. More than three quarters of global fans said they liked the brand.

Amongst all global sponsors, Samsung had the greatest consumer affinity for its products after the Games: brand affinity rose 4.2 percentage points from 57.6% to 61.8%. Samsung also had the second-highest ad recall across all Olympic sponsors.

In a crowded field, Open Always Wins didn’t just stand out. It connected, inspired and put Samsung at the heart of the stories that mattered at Paris 2024.

Open Always Wins global Samsung.com landing page

Samsung Openness Award, one of our key Open Always Wins initiatives