2016 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

In Q4 2014, the market share of smartphones in the $100–200 price bracket had risen to 33 percent. Samsung’s bet was to reconnect its brand with a powerful army of millennials. Powered by cutting-edge design and powerful cameras, A Series, a consolidated lineup of mid-range smartphones, would rekindle the brand’s lost connection with teenagers. In this bet, its objective was three-fold: raise awareness for the new A Series category, build strong brand association and preference to overcome price sensitivity within the segment and position the A series as a mid-range category leader away from price-driven competition.

Results and Effectiveness

By March 2015, our movement had been successfully hijacked by our target audience. On Twitter, it drove 483 mentions with an estimate reach of 9,400,000 impressions*. Among the youth segment, awareness for the A Series category had achieved double the brand recall (50%) than projected, brand association exceeded our KPIs by 91% for the main product USP*** (front camera) and by 64% for the #NotTheNorm communication platform***. In a span of only 3 months, Samsung’s market share increased from 45% to 63%, with the A3 recording 120% average monthly growth in sales and the A7, 329% during the campaign period.

Creative Execution

Four daring influencers posted completely out-of-character teaser selfies using #NotTheNorm, which generated a wave of interactions across all the relevant social media circles for Samsung. We on-boarded RJs to recruit youngsters. On TV, we created a Samsung’s movie night on FOX Movies and Dubai One engaiging the brand in the top-rated show – The Walking Dead. High frequency trailer promos integrated scenes from the show with Samsung device, showing selfies with zombies; very much against the norm! We partnered with AUD, invited students to take #NotTheNorm selfies and we published the best pictures in the number one students’ magazine “One8one”.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Primarily targeting teens and tweens, price-sensitive yet tech-savvy*, these Gen Zers lived in social media tribes that advocated individualism and influences. Their mobile phones were platforms, not devices; a key insight at the heart of the A Series launch campaign that translated into an umbrella idea: decluttering a price-driven market by transforming a device into a youth-powered movement and platform. A power partnership with two leading influencers was at the center of our A Series youth movement, amplified by user-generated content and supported by special tie-ups on TV, OOH, radio, cinema and print - tapping into youth’ main passion points.