Challenge

THE HARD REALITY: How to disrupt a default like Apple

Finding new growth in smartphones is hard. People default to what they own or what they assume is the best. Winning young buyers is now crucial, knowing they will carry these defaults with them.

In the US and Europe, Samsung has to work harder to win this key cohort. Despite leading the way in foldable phones, offering a genuine alternative to the competition, Gen Z still default to Apple. Foldable phones, like the new Galaxy Z Flip 4, may offer a materially better experience and alternative way to capture and create – but many are simply blinded by their default to an iPhone.

Shifting this entrenched behaviour doesn’t happen by serving up more brand or product ads to them. They form their perceptions of phone brands through lived experience, and the experiences of others.

We set out to shake them out of their comfort zone, improving preference for the Z Flip 4 against Apple, by zeroing on what really matters to Gen Z when they consider their next phone.

Brand:
Entered by:

Content Solution

THE HUMAN INTELLIGENCE: If you’re the best phone for TikTok, you’re the best phone.

For Gen Z, the single most important place for creating and sharing is now TikTok. By showing them that the Z Flip 4 helps them makes better TikToks, we increase the odds they’ll choose us.

Although TikTok is undoubtedly a video platform, music is still at the heart of it. And music is Gen Z’s biggest passion. Up to 80% of TikTok users discover new music on TikTok. In Europe alone, over 130 trending songs have crossed over from TikTok to the official local charts. For Gen Z, TikTok is the place where cultural trends start and then ripple out elsewhere.

We set about connecting Gen Z’s love of TikTok with their passion for music, showing how the Z Flip 4’s unique form factor and tech helps them make TikToks in ways they haven’t yet imagined.

Phone brands generally try to hijack attention in TikTok by asking creators to show what their phone does. We what wanted to show them what they can do with the Z Flip – a new, authentic and engaging way to TikTok made possible by the Z Flip 4.

The Media/Content Amplification Solution

THE BRAVE PLAY: A new way to TikTok, made even better with Z Flip.

We collaborated with TikTok, Syco Entertainment and Universal Music Group to fund, launch and champion a global first for Samsung, TikTok and the music industry: StemDrop.

StemDrop is a ground-breaking evolution in global music collaboration and discovery that gives creators a platform to showcase their talent to the world, and collaborate with some of the best songwriters of all time – led by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Ali Payamiand. In a genuinely new platform innovation, StemDrop Mixer gives creators unprecedented access to make their own unique hits based on ‘stems’ that have been made available to the TikTok community.

This innovative partnership was activated across the US and eight European countries. TikTok stars Ari Elkins, Astrid S and Your Boy Moyo were ambassadors for StemDrop and Z Flip, hosting live daily Stemdrop shows on a Samsung-sponsored @StemDrop channel on TikTok.

We showed this community that the Z Flip 4 is the best phone for making StemDrops, and in turn the best TikToks. We collaborated with dozens of creators across Europe to create their Stemdrops hands-free, at any angle, using multi-window to see their lyrics while honing their performance.

In each country, PR, co-marketing and paid media activation has helped Gen Z’ers on TikTok discover, enjoy and create their own Flip-enabled Stemdrops.

0 bn
Total #StemDrop views on TikTok, including 28m of the live finale hosted at Samsung.
0 m
Total #StemDrop creators.
0 bn
Total PR views on related coverage around #StemDrop.

Results

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL RESULTS: Making waves to close the perception gap.

StemDrop has been popular inside and outside TikTok, helping more TikTok’ers see how the Z Flip 4 is better alternative than their default device.

To date, across all nine countries, there has been a massive 20.3bn #StemDrop views. There have been 1.5m StemDrop Mixer creators, 28m views of the live finale hosted at Samsung KX, and dwell time on StemDrop has been 2x higher than TikTok benchmarks.

2.7m people have gone onto visit Samsung.com to see how Z Flip phones make better TikToks, and there’s been a 580% lift in Samsung-related searches in TikTok.

StemDrop has made waves outside of TikTok too. There have been hundreds of articles about it in mainstream news outlets, achieving a cumulative 3.9bn PR views across Europe, surpassing norms for TikTok tentpole launches and positioning Samsung as an innovative platform partner.

Most importantly, their perceptions have started to flip.

For those who saw StemDrop, top box brand consideration increased +7% ppts, and preference by +12 ppts. Brand love, usually hard to shift, jumped +6% ppts. More iPhone owners now think that Samsung ‘offers unique and innovative phones’ (+8%) and ‘offers something different’ (+14%).

By showing a new way to TikTok, we are shaking Gen Z out of their defaults – and into Z Flip.

More Information

StemDrop on TikTok
Samsung | PR: StemDrop launch
TikTok | PR: StemDrop launch
Starcom Worldwide