Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase

The Challenge
Samsung was about launch the Galaxy S7 Edge with cutting-edge feature. Having already captured most of the high-end Android market, they set their sights on a new group: iPhone users. The latter, however, are not easily persuaded and are famously anti-anything-to-do-with-Android.

Insight, Strategy and the Idea
So if they won’t listen to us, who will they listen to? We discovered some not-so-surprising facts about Apple fans: 1. They want to know the latest trends (Fear of Missing Out) 2. They love Korean dramas From here, we developed a simple strategy: Can a ‘lost’ phone help users find a new phone? We contacted popular Korea Running Man host Lee Kwang Soo. Through his manager, we persuaded KS to come to Malaysia and while here, to ‘lose’ his precious phone.

Media Execution
PRE-LAUNCH When fans heard about his planned visit, they were over the moon. When KS ‘lost’ his phone on an earlier secret visit, they searched everywhere under the sun. His manager contacted online news portal ‘Cari’ and told them about his lost phone. It was filled with thousands of photos (This gave us an opportunity to talk about storage). Meanwhile, KS posted the last pic he shot- a night scene at KLCC (NightShot capture highlighted). On YouTube, he asked Malaysians for assistance. We also recruited 100 influencers to help ‘find’ but more importantly, talk about the phone. They amplified the hunt with #FindingLKSPhone. This hashtag trended on Instagram and Twitter with 4,950 views 2 days before launch, a fan found KS’s phone in the KLCC fountain (Waterproof feature highlighted). Our KOLs spread the word online. An ecstatic KS announced on social media he would definitely be coming to Malaysia. LAUNCH And he did- all the way to Suria KLCC for the Galaxy S7 launch! The mall was packed with an estimated 10,000 fans. The event was supported by 360 media: DIGITAL – Key features of the phone were highlighted in large video spaces in high traffic areas. Concurrently, we also had Facebook carousel ads and a 1-day YouTube Masthead takeover. RADIO – live-reads were used to amplify the hunt for the lost phone. The announcers lend their voice to be influencers and promoted the #FindingLKSPhone. NEWSPAPERS- Jacket wraps announced the launch of the new Galaxy S7 Edge. TV- The launch covered by 8TV, TV3 and Astro AE news. As well, we made sure the event was sandwiched between the highest rating sections of the News program. SPONSORSHIP- Samsung sponsored TV3’s Drama Festival Kuala Lumpur, which took place a day after the official launch. This created high awareness and association with award-winning films that highlighted the phone’s exceptional picture quality. Brand presence extended from on-air to on-ground. Our hosts talked about key features of the Galaxy S7 Edge to a packed audience.

Results and Effectiveness
In 2 weeks, Samsung Galaxy S7 phone’s brand recall rate jumped 30%. Sales sharply increased, over-achieved targets by 20%. The limited edition promotion bundle with Gear VR sold out in 3 hours.