Prior to all large product launches the Internet and the media is flooded by rumours and expectations. So how could Samsung use PR to break through the noise and talk to media and customers prior to the launch without revealing the actual phone?
The campaign was based on the insight that our target audience is technologically savvy and always ahead of the curve, and that their interest in high-tech products peak before the launch, when information is scarce.
The solution was a leading up-activity based around what our target audience were focusing on - rumors about the upcoming phone. We joined the conversation.
We listened in on the community and handpicked rumors which we translated into humorous mock-up sketches. Each day we posted mock-ups, visualized in different concept sketch styles, on a campaign website, in social media, banners and in online films. Each post sparked even more rumors that we of course picked up on and created additional fantasy-phones. By making the campaign site into a living organism that responded to rumors we kept people’s anticipations alive, continuously sparking the conversation.
The campaign site saw over 293 000 unique visitors, and even more people took part of the campaign via social media and web based traditional media that our target audience frequents. There were over 146 000 tweets and close to 800 articles were published on a global level. In the Nordics alone we reached almost 4 million people through social media and 1.6 million through classic media.
The Brief
Goals:
1. Communicate with our target group pre launch and get them to talk about the phone
• This goal is measured in:
• People visiting the campaign site
• People reached through social media
• People reached through classic media (PR reach and PR value)
• Number of pre booked phones
To reach our target group we listened in on the community and handpicked rumors which we translated in to mock-up sketches that we published online.
We realized that if we could get more people to talk about the phone, expectations would increase and so would the pre-bookings.
Execution
Step 1: We launched the campaign site where we each day posted the mock-ups. Each post sparked more rumors that we picked up on and created additional fantasy-phones.
Step 2: To secure media coverage we conducted a survey asking the Nordic population of features of the upcoming smartphone. Based on the results we 3D-printed additional mock-ups and sent to 12 top influencers in the Nordics (tech magazine editors etc.).
Step 3: The campaign spread to a Nordic tech site and was then picked up in the United States. Once that happened, the news about Samsung’s mock-ups spread globally. Once media had picked up on the campaign we stopped pushing for the survey. At that point we focused on communicating the campaign,
Step 4: On the day of the release the site went from showing rumors to broadcasting live from the Mobile World Congress and the unpacking of the new smartphone.
Over the course of the campaign the campaign site saw over 293 000 unique visitors, and even more people took part of the campaign via social media and web based traditional media that our target audience frequents. There were over 146 000 tweets, and close to 800 articles were published on a global level.
In the Nordics alone we reached almost 4 million people through social media (Facebook and Twitter) and 1.6 million through classic media. And this was just during the leading up time period.
The general opinion during the campaign was that Samsung now added humor and confidence to their brand. By the time of the launch of the new Galaxy, the pre-orders had reached a record-breaking number. A strong indicator that we had managed to break through the clutter and reach our target group.
The Strategy
By looking at our target group we found that:
• The group is tech savvy and always ahead of the curve
• The interest for high tech products peaks before launch when information is scarse
• The target group synthesize information to form their own opinions
• Are not open to a brand which tells them how to fell or act
We created news worthy stories by:
• Basing our communication on the rumors that were already out there
• Using both traditional and social channels
• Conducting a survey that would combine and compare the rumors with actual statistics of what the Nordic population thought about the upcoming phone.
• Communicating directly with our target group through a digital hub
• Communicating the stories directly with media