The launch of Samsung’s 65-inch
curved UHD TV in March 2014 marked one of the biggest and most exciting
campaigns for the technology giant in recent years. The global marketing campaign
for what Samsung heralds as “the world’s first and largest curved UHD TV” began
with the release of its blockbuster UHD coliseum advertisement in May.
CHI&Partners, the advertising
agency selected by Samsung to deliver the project, came up with the concept of
a gladiatorial coliseum, in which a father and son (who are actually watching
the action from their sofa) find themselves surrounded by a baying crowd in the
centre of the arena. The production was a huge project lasting eight weeks,
during which CHI&Partners built a coliseum in a disused quarry in New
Zealand, inhabited by 350 crew, cast and extras.
However, arguably the greatest
challenge for CHI&Partners did not lie in the production process, but in
managing the global distribution of the advertisement and all supporting
collateral in a manner that is accessible to all of the partner agencies and
media houses around the world.
Until recently, many
organisations around the world, particularly in developing markets, lacked the
bandwidth to receive or support large digital files. As a result, Samsung
stored most digital assets on tapes that were distributed via couriers. However,
with the continued rise of the Internet and digital technologies CHI&Partners
required a new process to meet a change in demand.
The platform also needed to be
accessible by CHI&Partners and Samsung, as well as by agency partners
around the world, and provide the opportunity to track and report on all activity.
By partnering with Adstream, CHI&Partners
was able to draw on the capabilities of its Adbank utility, an integrated
platform for digital asset management and distribution. It enables Adstream to
deliver more than two million assets per year to over 30,000 media owners in
106 countries.
Clients and partner agencies can upload
all of their assets into a single, secure project environment on Adbank. Only authorised
personnel can perform specific actions, ensuring assets and brand values are
protected and a complete audit trail can be maintained. Adbank is accessible from
anywhere in the world, at any time, across multiple browsers and devices, so guarantees
clients, their customers and partnering agencies all have access to digital
assets at any given time.
The technology enabled CHI&Partners
to reach a total of 77 markets, including countries across Europe, North and
South America, Africa and Asia.
The Adbank facility used by
CHI&Partners generated a 33 per cent saving for Samsung, which previously used
couriers to deliver tapes of all assets to international markets. Using a
Digital Asset Management and distribution service, rather than relying on hand
delivery, also ensured CHI&Partners had far greater control and visibility
of assets, which in the past have been known to go missing or become delayed in
customs for long periods of time.
In addition to the massive cost
saving and security benefits, Adbank streamlined the delivery process for
CHI&Partners leading to huge time savings and, crucially, increasing speed
to market.
Furthermore, the rise of the
Internet and digital technology in developing countries means Samsung no longer
has to rely on vans and planes to share advertising content with partner
agencies, reducing fuel emissions and helping to improve the company’s global carbon
footprint.
Gary Simmons, Business Director at CHI&Partners, comments: “Adbank
not only offers peace of mind that assets will arrive with all parties securely
and on time, but the ability for multiple people to access the utility from
multiple markets, via multiple channels and devices.
A daily report gives us the
opportunity to track the performance of individual assets in different markets,
which means that throughout the Samsung campaign we could see precisely who is
downloading the various assets. This level of reporting and analysis simply
isn’t possible when delivering content by hand. It has revolutionised the
service we can offer customers and, consequently, further strengthened our
relationship with Samsung.”
Daniel Hearn, Business Development Director, Adstream comments: “It’s
been extremely rewarding to see the benefits that CHI&Partners and,
consequently, Samsung, has enjoyed as a result of using Adbank to manage the global
delivery of the UHD TV collateral. We have forged an incredibly successful
partnership with CHI&Partners and it’s great to know that Adstream has
played a pivotal role in the implementation of a fantastic advertising
campaign.”