THE UNCLOSABLE STORE

Short List
TitleTHE UNCLOSABLE STORE
BrandSAMSUNG
Product / ServiceSAMSUNG
CategoryB05. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
EntrantCHE PROXIMITY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation CHE PROXIMITY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Media Placement CHEP MEDIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production VANDAL Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Gavin McLeod CHEP Network Chief Creative Officer
Justin Ruben CHEP Network Executive Creative Director
Richard Shaw CHEP Network Creative Director
Jeremy Hogg CHEP Network Creative Director
Will Winter-Irving CHEP Network Senior Art Director
Joe Ranallo CHEP Network Senior Copywriter
Tash Johnson CHEP Network Head of Strategic Production
Bella Jarman CHEP Network Producer
Jonny Berger CHEP Network Managing Partner
Grace Vizor CHEP Network Group Account Director
Lucy Jones CHEP Network Senior Account Director
Raisa Mushrafi CHEP Network Senior Account Manager
Joe Tran CHEP Network Senior Digital Designer
Kenn Huang CHEP Network Senior Designer
Joe Greathead CHEP Network Writer
Mary Anne Truong CHEP Network Operations Director
Cleo De Kerorguen CHEP Network Operations Manager
Cameron Dowsett CHE Proximity Creative Director
Mark Tallis CHEP Network creative director

Why is this work relevant for Media?

We turned the 15m2 cladding outside our under renovation store into a unique media placement - because where others saw a boring wall, we saw the chance for an interactive brand experience. A physical wall that drove to 100s of unique digital experiences. QR codes that encouraged people to walk from one end of the wall to the other. So not only was the visual itself drawing attention, but so was the crowd that was huddled around it, scanning each code.

Background

In November of 2021, Samsung were completing renovations to their Sydney, Parramatta Experience store, it was going to be better than ever once complete. Trouble was, they were closing down right Sydney was opening back up. And with our flagship store out of action, our number one objective was to grab people’s attention, and steal footfall from our biggest competitor. The brief therefore was to prime Parramatta shoppers to notice the store while it was being renovated, give them a way to engage with Samsung, and be aware of the reopening date.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Where others saw cladding outside an under renovation store, we saw a unique media opportunity. So we turned it into a one-of-a-kind interactive experience. A 15m2 mosaic wall made out of hundreds of completely unique QR codes had people glued to the wall, scanning them to unlock games, fashion, music, AR experiences and good old fashioned prizes.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Samsung stores are the best place to experience the Galaxy devices; the full range and expert guidance. While we knew that clever geolocation targeting around Parramatta would engage our current owners, our real opportunity for growth was to spark the interests of other brand owners, namely those with an iPhone. Of the switchers we had persuaded over to Samsung in the past, it was driven by their explorer mindset, with the biggest driver being the desire to ‘try something new’. So rather than telling them about the reopening and hoping a specific device would appeal, we needed to give them an experience of what a Samsung device could offer; a world of experiences that previously went unexplored. But the question intrigued us...why wait until reopening to drive people to the store to explore Galaxy when we had 15m2 of otherwise unused hoarding.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

For a month long period before our stores reopening, we covered the entire wall in a mosaic made up of 100s of QR codes that formed the words ‘Expand Your World’ At a single location in Parramatta, people could come up and scan the wall, with each code unlocking something completely different. The wall itself was in a prominent piece of media which drew a lot of attention, but it was also promoted through in-mall OOH panels, and through our social channels.

List the results (30% of vote)

The wall was a huge success. We had 279% more engagement with the wall than we had footfall to our store before it went under renovation. The wall was scanned a total of 11,498 times. Every prize hidden on the wall was found. (with a few failed attempts to hack our servers to steal them). Most importantly, 57% of people who engaged with the wall were on an iOS device, proving you don’t even need to be open to steal foot traffic from your biggest competitor.