2013 Winners & Shortlists

SAMSUNG GET'S REAL

BrandSAMSUNG
Product/ServiceGALAXY SIII, NOTE 2, TAB 10.1, AUDIO DOCK AND SMART TV
EntrantSTARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryBEST USE OF BRAND SPONSORSHIP INTEGRATION
Contributing Company LIQUID THREAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Entrant Company STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

Branded Entertainment is a new phenomenon to the Middle East, most stations have strict rules on what is deemed acceptable - censorship and limited emotional content made most of the locally produced TV content very stiff and limited to professional experts (doctors, therapists..etc). Even worse, most content is already post produced with only a few shows that allow branded content/entertainment - mainly in the form of superficial product placement. The main challenge with brands has been trying to find relevant-situations to integrate brands where key USP's come out as "real" versus paid for advertising and of course making sure that these situations are entertaining!

Results

The information age has transformed the way humans behave both with themselves and with others around them. Multi screens and devices are embedded in people’s day to day lives but it’s not the devices that are able to enhance life and create meaningful experiences but rather the ecosystem that allows these devices to communicate with one another. Samsung wanted to talk to it's youthful audience in an environment that was relevant and one where they could literally see how their technology could enhance life through the functionality of its devices in real time. The Voice was the prefect platform to make consumers imagine the possibilities of Samsung devices within the natural environments of their favorite reality stars. Samsung devices were at the heart of the show’s emotional connection with consumers, contestants and their families. TVs were part of every act, mobiles were part of every moment by connecting the contestants with their family, capturing a special moment or simply enjoying a relaxing minute with a game of angry birds. Even when it was time for some serious rehearsals, Samsung tablets were used to showcase the songs, and the allshare feature was used to view previous performances from the phone on the TV. Consumers were also encouraged to vote and participate using Samsung’s predict the winner app and through Facebook and Twitter social pages. Every feature of each product was naturally amplified, becoming part of the contestants life, capturing the real moments of a show that was bringing promising upcoming stars to the Arab world.

Leading TV station MBC, was airing a local version of the international talent show, The Voice. We integrated Samsung devices into the storyboard of the show to become part of the lives of contestants as well as their families and fans. For the 1st time ever, a relevant brand was integrated into the natural story line of a program unlike the typical forced product placements that have become the norm from big FMCG players in MENA. The audience was engaged, and making it the number one show on TV for 3 consecutive months, with a peak rating of 56%.

'The predict the winner' application was among the most viewed application on Android devices with 9,945 downloads predicting the winners and getting the results in real time! (Source : Android Platform App Stats) Fans couldn't, get enough! 15 million impressions and 5 million video views were achieved. We were also able to contribute to over a 500,000 increase in Samsung's facebook fans and experienced a 220% increase in social mentions on the specific product categories integrated within the show. (Source : Facebook Insights, Buzz Metrics) During the 3 month campaign, 48 million viewers tuned in religiously every week to watch the show. The program ranked #1 capturing 37 ratings, for perspective the next program that ranked 2nd only managed to deliver 20 rating points. (IPSOS Viewership Data) The client was very happy with the results and will be re-creating a similar branded content execution on the Voice Season II.

Credits

Name Company Role
Sara Abu Zahra Liquid Thread Associate Director - Branded Content
Mai Eilia Starcom Senior Media Manager
Ramez Zeineddine Starcom Senior Media Manager
Moustafa Mohammed Starcom Ip Media Manager
Ali Rahal Starcom Ip Media Executive
Ali Ahmed Samsung Corporate Marketing Manager
Raymondo Arizi Samsung Digital Manager
Sara Abou Douma Samsung Brand Manager
Sonny Yeum Samsung Brand Manager