Samsung revives Jack Whitehall union to win Olympics on emotion – but isn’t rattled by scandal
Samsung is banking on comedian Jack Whitehall to give its Olympics marketing more emotional weight as part of its wider sponsorship it believes won’t be rocked by the scandal currently engulfing athletics.
The smartphone maker is on a mission this year to inspire the same level of blind devotion from fans as its biggest rival and Whitehall is viewed as the ace up its sleeve in the UK.
Hot on the heels from his work on Samsung’s Rugby World campaign, the funnyman is back with a similar effort that sees humorously demonstrate the intricacies of several sports set to be contested in Rio. Schooled by Olympic and Paralympic legends including cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, rowing gold medalist Helen Glover and Paralympian champion swimmer Ellie Simmonds, Whitehall resumes his ‘fish out of water’ role on the track and field.
It seems Samsung has found a fruitful partnership, having described the comedian’s contribution as “landmark” on its journey to achieving greater brand equity. Whether this evolves into something more long-term, the company teased “watch this space”.
Samsung believes this more down to earth approach combined with the scale of its global push is enough to insulate the brand from the scandal that’s rocked athletics and Olympic chiefs. When asked by The Drum if the technology maker has concerns about affiliating itself to a tournament that could have athletes competing from a Russia that allegedly sanctioned doping, James Eadie, brand and communications director, said it would focus on the “positives”.
There’s also tensions between Olympic sponsors and those non-sponsors which can now use the same athletes in their ads, despite the former shelling out for exclusive rights to certain assets. Eadie explained the business is “focused on making the campaign the best we can”, adding how its long-running ties to both the Olympic and Paralympic games as reason meant there “is no reason why that wouldn’t continue”.
The first of five ads launched yesterday (24 July) and will be backed by M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment activations across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and virtual reality (VR). VR is being used to being used to allow people to view 36—degree live interviews with athletes from Team GB’s base in Rio de Janeiro in a bid to drum up interest for the company’s Gear VR headset.
That Samsung is weighting more of its sponsorship toward the digital realm is twofold; the Olympics coverage happening on a non-commercial broadcaster and the fact that the time difference between the UK and Rio could limit the reach of its content. “Some people will be staying up late [to watch] the big medal moments but a lot of people will be catching up over breakfast news and therefore the choice of media from our point of view means we have to have a broad campaign,” said Eadie.
“Social media will play a huge part in the way in which news travels and builds. You’ll get this constant carry over from those that have stayed up late to watch it and those that are waking to hear the hopefully good news.”
Whitehall; VR; social media; it all amounts to a concerted push from the business to create a slicker brand. While Samsung has always spent big on its campaigns, they have always pushed the product at the expense admittedly of the people using them. This has been changing since 2015 when the brand’s top marketer in the UK and Ireland Russell Taylor said it wanted to go from being a “big brand” to being a “loved brand”. Such a massive shift will take time to take effect and yet the business has been throwing everything at its marketing – a tie-up with Vice, the appointment of Procter & Gamble’s Marc Mathieu and VR to name a few – to make it sooner rather than later.
“We’ve always been about pushing the limits of technology and it’s clear that people understand what we stand for in that space but we’ve come to the logical conclusion that pushing the limits of technology is about really focusing on what it can for people and help them do things in their lives,” explained Eadie. “That ladders up into the way in which we talk about our overall campaign, where we’re enhancing the experience for the spectator through talking about progress.”
Samsung will be hoping that some of that starts to take hold off the back of strong early demand for the Galaxy S7. In its first month sales of the SS7 were up 25 per cent compared the similar period for the S6, according to market tracker Counterpoint Technology. That included a 50 per cent jump in the UK.
To view more marketing insights into Rio 2016 visit The Drum’s Olympics hub here.