Samsung needed to earn community belief that the Galaxy S25 Ultra can hold up as a serious gaming device, not just a phone with a gaming mode. The brand direction challenged people to try something new, then judge it against what they already use. For gaming, we translated that into a simple promise: do not take our word for it. Watch the test.
The test? A full-on tournament with some of the biggest names in CoD mobile and PC. We challeged PC players to take their skills to the Galaxy S25 Ultra to see if it stood up to their demands. Coached by mobile pros, our PC players got to learn first hand how the power and performance of the S25 Ultra brings the game to life.
We built the Galaxy Gear Up Cup as a streaming-first event at LVL UP Expo, then used partners and a booth to pull fans into the story before the first match. PC-only creators competed for a $100,000 prize pool, so viewers could judge performance under real stakes. On the expo, hands-on stations plus trivia-for-prizes and a prize vending machine turned visitors into participants and advocates.
Objectives:
Hit Samsung’s established social KPI targets for impressions and views through creator and partner distribution.
Build participation through phased touchpoints that drove watching, reacting, and sharing across livestream, social clips, and on-site play.
Make Galaxy S25 Ultra performance visible through competition, hands-on demos, and broadcast moments that feel native to Call of Duty culture.
We planned the Gear Up Cup as a multi-platform partnership build, where each collaborator solved a different credibility problem. Creators earned attention and trust. LVL UP Expo supplied public stakes and a real-world arena. Moonrock helped deliver broadcast-grade production and talent negotiation so the stream felt like esports, not brand content.
We structured the campaign in phases so the same proof traveled across platforms without changing tone or intent. Each phase had a job: spark curiosity, build attachment, show the learning curve, then deliver a win moment worth sharing.
Decision 1: Put the community’s skepticism on stage
We leaned into the audience’s “prove it” mindset by choosing creators who would not rubber-stamp a device claim. We vetted 100+ Call of Duty creators and players, then selected PC-only creators whose audiences already debate competitive integrity. We drafted four teams of five and added one COD Mobile pro captain per team so gameplay stayed high-skill while PC creators adapted in public.
Decision 2: Design for digital-first viewing, even if it reduced in-room density
Decision 3: Turn the learning curve into the engagement engine
Decision 4: Use the expo footprint to convert foot traffic into participants, then into viewers
Samsung ran a main booth with trivia matches for prizes, a prize vending machine, and hands-on stations where attendees could play and feel performance directly. This booth acted as a funnel to the tournament because attendees formed an opinion on the device before watching creators compete.
Decision 5: Build the story arc in phases to keep momentum
Phase 1, Seed: creator unboxings with custom Galaxy S25 Ultra boxes made the device the hero in a format fans already reward.
Phase 2, Commit: the draft created team identities and gave fans a reason to pick sides.
Phase 3, Prove: livestream training made adaptation visible and social-ready.
Phase 4, Payoff: the live tournament broadcast delivered a clear winner moment, capped by a confetti cannon when champions were declared.
Phase 5, Extend: social highlights and creator POV clips carried the best moments to short-form audiences.
We did not ask fans to trust Samsung. We gave them repeated chances to test, watch, and argue about what they saw.
We evaluated success through the lenses that matter across event, community, and partnership categories: scale delivered through partners, sustained live viewing that signals real interest, and participation that shows fans did more than scroll. Baselines beyond Samsung KPI targets were not provided, so we used KPI targets and channel totals for context. The phased rollout kept the audience involved across the full arc, from unboxings to practice streams to finals, while the expo booth created hands-on proof that fed curiosity into the broadcast.
Outcomes tied to objectives:
Efficiency metrics like CPA, ROAS, or sales lift were not provided, so we measured impact through over-target KPI delivery plus the volume of live viewing and engagements.
This program succeeded because it converted a performance claim into a shared community verdict across the expo floor, the livestream, and creator ecosystems.
