Samsung needed a campaign that would do its new touch control Soul handset justice and propel the brand to number 1 position in the Dutch market, eroding Nokia's lead in the process.
Research had shown that the young consumers are always on the look out for the latest handsets and that they like to show off to friends by connecting to them through social networks such as Hyves, the biggest online community with over 5 million subscribers in a country of 16 million.
Samsung’s solution was to create the “Share your Dutch Soul” campaign, which enabled people to capture and share their experiences through LiveCastr technology, which allows people to broadcast live from their phone whenever an internet connection is available.
Samsung partnered with social network Hyves and focused the activity around Queen’s Day, Holland’s biggest national party on 30 April, when everyone dresses up in Orange, drinks and parties. Starting in the week running up to the event, Samsung invited Hyves users through online display ads to register to allow them to share their Queen’s day experiences with their friends. Those at the party were able to broadcast their live video of the event from their mobile and directly onto one of the biggest screens in Europe, which was located in Amsterdam.
The screen had three massive mobile phones alongside each other. The screen of the first mobile showed people partying in the square, the second mobile showed people outside of Amsterdam partying and the final screen was taken over by the Samsung Soul promo team showcasing the phone’s possibilities. Each subscriber could also download a Samsung branded player on their Hyves page showcasing their videos.
As a result of the campaign, there was a sales lift of 58% in two weeks and the Samsung Soul went on to be the best-selling mobile phone in the first half of 2008, beating Nokia and becoming the new market leader.