TV Stations, news websites and broadcasters usually don’t talk about partnerships between athletes and brands in Brazil. The Next Big Thing Challenge and Samsung were mentioned multiple times over on channels such as Globo.com, ESPN, Exame, and many other national and international media outlets.

Samsung worked with Gabriel Medina and Bob Burnquist to promote a challenge: each athlete had to create a new move for the other to perform. The challenge was called “The Next Big Move.” The only rule was they had to use the New Galaxy Note 4 to record and share everything. The athletes ended up doing two never before seen tricks and delighted the audience with an awesome story. In an effort to further support Medina for his international championship appearance, Samsung tapped social media and created a one-of-a-kind surfboard, which used beautifully designed supportive tweets and comments for its graphics.

The Next Big Move was a success all over Brazil and Latin America. The campaign generated more than 57 million views, 882 thousand social interactions and over 1 million views in earned media.

Samsung also created a bond between the athletes and their audience, especially for Medina, who received over 1,500 messages of support. Finally, Samsung was effectively positioned as one of the biggest brands that helped support Medina in his pursuit of the world championship.