| Title | THE SMART PHONE LINE |
| Brand | SAMSUNG NEW ZEALAND |
| Product / Service | GALAXY S4 |
| Category | A02. Best Use of Social Media |
| Entrant | COLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Entrant Company | COLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Advertising Agency | COLENSO BBDO Auckland, NEW ZEALAND |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Assembly Ltd | Animation |
| Amanda Chambers | Assembly Ltd | Producer |
| Bob Wilson | Oceania Led Systems | Av/Led Wall Supplier |
| Craig Macgregor | Colenso Bbdo | Digital Developer |
| Adam Wood | Colenso Bbdo | Digital Developer |
| Paul Headington | Colenso Bbdo | Digital Developer |
| Scott Chapman | Colenso Bbdo | Agency Producer |
| Amanda Theobold | Colenso Bbdo | Agency Producer |
| Paul Courtney | Colenso Bbdo | Executive Producer |
| Andy Mcleish | Colenso Bbdo | Head Of Planning |
| Scott Coldham | Colenso Bbdo | Group Account Director |
| Simon Vicars | Colenso Bbdo | Copywriter |
| Brett Colliver | Colenso Bbdo | Art Director |
| Aaron Turk | Colenso Bbdo | Creative Director/Digital Creative Director |
| Nick Worthington | Colenso Bbdo | Creative Chairman |
| Jeff Nusz | N/A | Post Production |
| N/A | Starcom Nz | Media Agency |
| Debbie Fell | Samsung | Group Marketing Manager |
| Mike Cornwell | Samsung | Marketing Director |
We were asked to create a social media campaign to build hype around the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and inform people of the phone’s exciting new features. We knew Samsung fans couldn’t wait to get their hands on the new Galaxy S4. So instead of launching the phone ourselves, we got our fans to launch it for us. Fans joined The Smart Phone Line through facebook and Twitter. To get the first Galaxy S4 in the country, all they had to do was get to the front of the virtual line. Every day we sent them exciting new features of the phone. Fans could jump the line by sharing these features with their friends via social media. The more their friends Shared, Liked and Retweeted these posts, the further up the line they moved. The Smart Phone Line was broadcast live to a 150ft electronic billboard, turning the virtual queue into a real world line. Instead of leaving our most impassioned fans waiting outside a store doing nothing, we turned them into our media channel. Instead of talking to each other, we had them talking to the country. Day and night, rain, hail and shine, Samsung fans spread the features of the Galaxy S4 across social media. For two weeks, 12,000 fans shared 36 features of the phone, reaching the facebook pages of 2.9 million people. With a digital media budget of just $10,000, we launched a smartphone to the entire nation. Thanks entirely to our fans.
We knew the incredible features of the Galaxy S4 would sell the phone. Our objective was to spread these features to as many people as possible and create hype and awareness of the Galaxy S4’s impending arrival. Research showed that consumers with an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s were ready to upgrade, but were unimpressed by the iPhone 5. They were holding out for a better alternative. It was our objective to convince them that the Galaxy S4 was the phone they had been waiting for. Our target market was smartphone users and existing Samsung customers.
For two weeks, 12,000 fans waited in The Smart Phone Line. During that time they shared 36 features of the phone, reaching the facebook pages of 2.9 million people. 52,000 facebook posts and 34,000 tweets pushed news of the Galaxy S4’s launch right across social media. Media coverage surpassed Samsung’s best previous smartphone launch by 165%. With a digital media budget of just $10,000, the Galaxy S4 got $1.3 million dollars worth of PR and we launched a smartphone to the entire nation. Thanks entirely to our fans.
In the lead up to the promotion we hinted to our facebook fans that something big was coming. Speculation about the Galaxy S4 instantly exploded online, setting the scene for The Smart Phone Line to begin. We launched The Smart Phone Line through the Samsung facebook page and via web banners. Fans signed in through their facebook or twitter accounts. Each day we gave them features of the phone to promote. Fans could jump the line by sharing these features with their friends via social media. The more their friends Shared, Liked and Retweeted these posts, the further up the line they moved. The Smart Phone Line was broadcast live to a 150ft electronic billboard downtown. After 12 days, the billboard began a five minute countdown to the phone’s release. Fans and media crowded the billboard to watch our winner receive the first Galaxy S4 in the country.
People have always waited in line to get their hands on the latest smartphone. The problem was that Samsung New Zealand didn’t have a flagship store, and therefore didn’t have anywhere for fans to line up to get the first Galaxy S4 in the country. The media attention and PR potential of a line snaking its way around a city block was lost. We needed to create a way for our passionate fans to wait in line that would grab the media’s attention, and also the attention of the country.
Our strategy was to turn the features of the Galaxy S4 into social currency. This enabled us to mobilize our fans and have them promote the phone for us. The more social influence a fan had, the further up The Smart Phone Line they would move. Rather than coming from a brand, people learned everything they needed to know about the Galaxy S4 from the most trusted source of all: their friends.