Samsung expanded its wearables portfolio in mid-2017 and was looking to drive awareness of the new products and position Samsung Mobile as a leader in the category. By working with relevant influencers around the world, we wanted to show how people can use Samsung devices as part of their daily routine as they pursue a well-balanced, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.
Samsung believes their fitness products empower you mentally, allowing you to do more physically. Millennials and many like-minded consumers take fitness, and fun, seriously. While our target audience may not have a standing physical-trainer appointment, they desire devices that meet their lifestyle needs while being functional and stylish.
Together with Samsung Mobile, we enlisted seven trusted, diverse fitness influencers as our faces of wellness. The influencers were located in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, all priority markets for the products. The content was divided between Samsung-produced videos for each influencer along with content created by the influencers on their primary social channel. The program was implemented by an integrated team that included Samsung Mobile and their subsidiaries in the U.S., U.K. and Australia as well as Edelman support from PR, Creative, Planning, Digital, Influencers, Edelman Intelligence (Research) and Analytics.
The Edelman creative production team traveled around the globe to develop a six-part docu-series showcasing each influencer and how Samsung Gear naturally incorporates into their lives. The goal of each lifestyle vignette was to give an intimate peek into the influencer's routine rather than be perceived as a device/function-driven ad. While there are close-ups of the Samsung devices, our overall intent was to feature each influencer wearing these devices while doing things they would normally do, in the actual settings where they feel most comfortable. By telling these stories in such an authentic, non-marketing manner—and broaching unexpected topics like depression, body shaming and race—we engendered a sense of empathy with our audience, emboldening them with the courage to make changes in their own lives, too.
Meanwhile, the influencers produced their own social content touting their use of the Samsung devices and reinforcing the positive message of both physical and mental health. Our goal was to celebrate how everyone can achieve this overall wellness in their lives. Aussie influencer Kate Wasley sums it up well: "It's important you exercise because you love your body and not because you hate it or because you want to change it."
The videos are currently posted on the Samsung YouTube and social sites and supported through paid. The content garnered over 21 million impressions and more than 7.4 million video views. Only 18 percent of viewers heard of Samsung wearables prior to seeing the influencer content, but more than 8 in 10 were favorable after viewing the content. After being exposed to influencer content, purchase consideration rose by 36 percent.
