Shortlisted 2020

Technology and Telecoms

Brand

Samsung

Entered by:

Starcom

Credits:

CNN, Leo Burnett, Adam & Eve/DDB

TV Is Making History Again

The Challenge

How do you showcase the lifelike imagery delivered by SK without an SK television?

Samsung has dominated the television market place for years with a consistent global market share . However, in recent years the new technology race has accelerated – leading to a lack of brand/product distinctiveness and consumer confusion regarding the ideal value equation .

Against this backdrop, Samsung launched the first ever QLED 8K TV at CES 2019. The promise: changing the future of picture  quality & resolution and transforming the way consumers experience TV.

The pressure was on: Samsung had to showcase the true product superiority of their QLED 8K TV to drive awareness and purchase intent in a cluttered category. And we had to find a way – at scale – for people to experience the QLED 8K difference, without having the TV needed to see the difference.

The Creative Solution

Insight: Impressing true techies requires being on the front lines

Our audience are true technology geeks. As early adopters, they are of course up to date on the latest technology trends and crave the innovation that fuels their life. They optimize every part of their day-to-day with tech and get joy from integrating new gadgets or software into their world.

But they don’t just live at the front of the innovation curve. These consumers get as excited about the future of technology as they do about what they can buy today, as they want to be on the front lines exploring the boundaries of what is possible.

Strategy: Exploring space – around a 2019 cultural moment enabling TV to make history again

 We had to find a solution for people demonstrating the incredible 8K picture quality without actually having an 8K TV in front of them. Hence, we were inspired to think of the greatest boundary we could imagine to explore: Space.

 We identified well-known NASA astronaut, Scott Kelly, record holder of the longest space mission, to be our spokesperson . And we created a custom video of Kelly watching footage he captured during his 340 day journey into space and on the International Space Station, all delivered in Samsung QLED 8K.

As he watches, he is able to clearly and emotionally re-live his experience in space, saying ”The amount of detail [in the TV image] makes it seem like I’m back in space” and recounting how space inspired him “to believe that if we can dream it, we can do it.”

We released the video on July 20, 2019 – the 50th anniversary of the moon landing – a cultural current driving social chatter and attention. Our team also distributed the custom content plus moon landing footage at point of sale on Samsung QLED 8K TVs, where Kelly’s travels through space differentiated us from other TV manufacturers’ footage of travels on Earth .

All in all, we gave viewers a look at how Scott Kelly explored the boundaries of technological possibilities, and his reaction to the lifelike 8K imagery helped our audience experience the 8K difference through the eyes of this credible authority.

The Media/Content Amplification Solution

Partnership: Key to an impactful implementation was identifying the right media partner – CNN. A thought leader publication , a global authority figure and an excellent curator of content, there was no doubt that CNN would deliver and they did. CNN not only unlocked access to footage from the Apollo 11 film, talent and production teams. We were also able to deeply collaborate on different elements of this partnership while setting up an amplification plan for our custom content.

Retail: Prior to the big release of our custom content on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, our team created a robust media plan that began a few months earlier in May. Using footage from the 1969 moon landing, we were able to negotiate a custom Apollo 11 trailer that Samsung had the right to use in their retail stores around the world, showcasing fantastic 8K picture quality. This retail footage set Samsung apart from all other brands as this was digitally mastered and up-scaled 8K content that ran on their demo TVs.

Digital: We executed various sponsorship elements and takeovers on CNN’s custom digital hub which covered topics around technology, space and the future – owned by Samsung. This activity ran globally with heavy-ups targeting the US, UK, Germany, France and Australia.

Linear: Our team also strategically secured a linear TV buy with Turner which exclusively premiered the Apollo 11 movie. We then ran Samsung’s “TV is Making History Again” :60s spot that incorporates various emotional elements which showcase how TV played an integral role in the democratization of space exploration. When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon and humans stepped foot on the moon’s surface, the event was broadcast on live TV – achieving universal accessibility . This connection between TV and such a global monumental moment could not be missed.

Social: Complementing all the above elements , we executed an extensive social amplification plan in the US, UK, DE, FR and AU. Assets lived across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – especially highlighting our custom content with Scott Kelly. He re-tweeted the video to his 5.SMM followers and 1.1MM Facebook followers.

The Result

This globally scaled program of 468M impressions and 13M engagements delivered brand and business results – measured through an integrated approach by Millward Brown.

United States:

  • 30% lift in unaided/ unprompted awareness of Samsung QLED 8K
  • 75% of in-market shoppers identified Samsung 8K TVs as the brand they are aware of offering 8K technology (unaided/ unprompted)
  • 39% lift in Samsung 8K TVs being perceived as a premium product
  • 47% lift in Samsung 8K TVs having excellent picture quality
  • 13% lift in purchase intent for Samsung 8K TVs (21% for our key audience of 18-34)

International UK/AU/FR/DE:

  • 81% lift in unaided/ unprompted awareness of Samsung QLED 8K
  • Samsung ranked #1 in unaided awareness, and 3X higher than next best competitor (Sony)
  • 59% of respondents interested in latest technology, would consider purchasing a Samsung QLED 8K TV