How Samsung harnessed the AO to put the new Galaxy S21 at the heart of the action
Powered by Nine’s group creative solutions manager, Gareth Beale, demonstrates how the power of marketing in and around big sporting events enables brands to ride the wave of cultural relevancy across all media channels.
For Australians, sport is engaging because at its core it taps into the emotions of a nation, unites us, inspires us and keeps us coming back for more, time and time again. For marketers, it’s also a powerful content vehicle that can take a brand across every media channel. Which is exactly what Samsung, in partnership with CHE Proximity and Nine, did to launch its new mobile phone, harnessing the 2021 Australian Open.
After one of the biggest years in technology launches, which saw a plethora of new mobile devices infiltrate the Australian market, Samsung was looking for ways to launch its new product to market that would firmly embed it into Australian culture, while creatively showcasing how the Galaxy S21 sets the bar in smartphone photographic capability.
So good is the camera that it provided Nine’s marketing solutions division, Powered by Nine, with the creative territory that embodied the overarching thought, “you don’t have to be a pro to shoot like one”.
And there was no better platform to bring the new technology to life than summer’s biggest sporting event, the Australian Open, extending that association right across the Nine brand ecosystem.
Owning the coverage from every angle
Core to the campaign was Nine’s TV coverage, providing a canvas for Samsung to creatively showcase its new product features in-program. Features like 100x zoom and 8K slow-mo video were contextually emphasised, used on air pop-ups to mirror and frame what was taking place throughout the tennis broadcast.
Extra features on the phone, such as superior clarity and the ability to capture stills from video footage, were further emphasised with brand association on Nine’s Wide World of Sports Fly Cam, which captured footage of the AO precinct, city skyline and outer courts.
The high-value video capabilities of the S21 were demonstrated by Powered shooting two commercials using the new phone, sending it into the skies of Melbourne via a drone. The commercials captured city sights, Melbourne’s famous alleyways, and cultural scenes that gave Samsung a local feel to their commercial content outside of their global creative.
Leveraging an Aussie tennis champion
Authenticity was key to the campaign’s success. To reinforce the in-program exposure Samsung received, former tennis player and Nine sport commentator Sam Groth was entrusted as an S21 ambassador to capture on-ground content for his personal social channels. The association extended across Nine’s talk-radio network, with daily live updates with Sam on 2GB and 3AW Breakfast shows, presented by Samsung S21.
Image-led storytelling, crafted by experts, using new technology
The storytelling power of print was used for an unmissable media first, with high-impact, double-page spreads in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age featuring images shot by photographers using the S21 at the Australian Open.
The image-led approach to content extended across Nine’s publishing network into Good Food, with editorial hitting the streets of Melbourne armed with the S21 to create digital and social content centred on Melbourne’s food culture.
The print experience was wrapped up in an informative five-page, reverse-back booklet in Sunday Life magazine, educating readers on how to capture their own memories using their Samsung S21.
If the goal of cross-channel marketing strategy is to tell customers a similar brand story across multiple channels, but play to the nuances of each platform, the Samsung S21 campaign demonstrates the ability for sporting events like the Australian Open to deliver on this premise in spades.
It’s even better when you can do it with a single media partner who can help deliver a campaign at scale across multiple mediums, within brands that are woven into the fabric of Australian culture.