Launching Samsung’s Galaxy S9 by hijacking Australia’s most iconic face.

The idea was to launch Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and its new AR emoji, by giving Australian’s the once in a lifetime opportunity to see their AR emoji face on Australia’s most famous face – Luna Park.

The immersive, interactive installation saw Australians create their AR emoji on the Galaxy S9, then see it projected in real time onto the face of Luna Park, in front of a packed Sydney Harbour during Vivid – Australia’s biggest festival of light.

The situation:

Samsung struggles to cut-through iPhone’s dominance. There’s a common perception that it’s merely a manufacturer of phones instead of a brand that means something. However, those who try the phone quickly discover the hardware and features are far superior.

The brief:

Launch Samsung Galaxy S9, with a meaningful brand and product experience, making it culturally relevant to Australians.

Objectives:

We had two key objectives.

1. Change brand perception of Samsung at scale. Shift from “product manufacturer delivering product features” to “lifestyle enhancer offering human benefits”.

2. Create trial of the new S9. Get phones into people’s hands.

The installation was a massive undertaking, with two bespoke builds implemented on two of Sydney’s most famous, and heavily regulated sites. The Opera House forecourt, for the emoji creation area. And the iconic Luna Park façade. While also partnering with Vivid, Australia’s largest festival – that attracts over 2.4 million people every year.

With just 10 weeks from briefing production, to going live, the timings where tight. It included two large physical builds, as well as multiple systems to project, capture and process emojis in real-time.

Samsung - Emoji Facelift

CREDITS

Daniel Fryer

Stuart Alexander

Adrian Jung

Grant McAloon

Karen Bryson

Luke Bouchier

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