CHE Proximity

Client: Samsung
Product: Samsung Galaxy S20
Title: Microcodes
Media: OLV (both Samsung and influencer YT channels), Social, PR + Influencer, Print, Website, OOH, DOOH, ROOH, Retail in Store
Country: Australia
Date Of Campaign: March 2020

Background: With 100x Space Zoom, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 has the best smartphone camera in history. To launch it in Australia, Samsung had invested heavily in a national media buyout to run global ads. The brief was to support this media plan by generating PR hype. The solution was to make people not just look at Samsung ads, but obsess over them and actively seek them out.

Idea: Microcodes. It started by hiding tiny codes in every Samsung S20 ad across the country. No global approvals were needed as the codes were invisible to the naked eye. Each code was a variation of the word phone – ph0ne, PHoN3, P40ne etc. By finding one and entering it online, anyone could win a free phone. But without the S20’s key feature in hand, the 100x Space Zoom camera, people had to get creative. From billboards to newspapers to TV commercials, no pixel of our ads was left unexamined. Online communities shared tips and cheats. People tried to hack us. One guy even gave a demo on how to be retargeted by online banner ads. The campaign was the ultimate product demonstration...without the product. Proving why you need the product.

Results: The campaign gained $2.3 million in earned media.Reached over 15 million people. Achieved a 26% increase in engagement…from Apple users. Drove a 25% lift in eCommerce, with only 1% of total spend. Increased average billboard dwell time by…well that’s hard to measure. And in just 6 weeks, every code was found. Except for one. Which may or may not be in the case study. :-)