GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL: THE MOST ESTABLISHED, YET THE MOST UNATTAINABLE MUSIC EVENT

In 2019, Samsung was the technology partner of George Enescu Festival, the most prestigious classical music event in Romania, yet the most exclusive one: expensive tickets that sell out in a matter of hours always to the same old elite in Bucharest, making it impossible for most Romanians to enjoy it live.

PROOF OF INNOVATION IN STIFFLY MANNERED CONTEXT

Samsung took the challenge: live by its brand promise “Do what you can’t” and prove innovation can break the preconceived conventions of experiencing classical music: from who can enjoy it to how it can be enjoyed.

THREE SETS OF OBJECTIVES TO TRACK THE IMPACT

1. PARTICIPATION

- 10.000 app scans

- 100% increase in app downloads

2. AWARENESS AND CONVERSATION

- 5 million people reached5

- 30% share of stage

3. BRAND DISTINCTIVENESS

- 5% increase in brand distinctiveness

THE 5 LEI BANKNOTE = THE PLACE WHERE ROMANIANS MEET ENESCU EVERY DAY

The creative leap was to identify a solution, both accessible and omnipresent, to give all Romanians the change to experience an elite music festival with the help of technology. The solution was that one place where Romanians meet Enescu day by day, regardless of financial status or musical preferences: the Romanian 5 lei banknote.

CREATIVE IDEA:

THE BANKNOTE CONCERTS

Bringing its promise to life, Samsung gave all Romanians the chance to experience an elite music festival at their fingertips, by turning each 5 lei banknotes into an AR marker that allowed people to simply scan it and thus experience the festival in real time, from wherever they were, directly on their smartphones and without paying a dime.

OPPORTUNITY

In 2019, Samsung celebrated 3 years of being the innovation partner of the highly respectable Enescu Festival. As a tribute to the great composer, but also in order to illustrate how technology can create memorable musical experiences, Samsung facilitated the access to concerts, through augmented reality.

OBJECTIVES

1. Position Samsung a tech leader that brings innovation to the Romanian cultural landscape.

2. Create a direct link with the spirit of dARe by Samsung app: urban and cultural digital explorer.

3. Bring classical music all over Romania, through technology.

PLANNING

Technology and music have a common role, to bring us closer together. The challenge of technology is to create a collaborative context for artists and to enhance their creative possibilities. We knew we had to achieve a main goal - taking to the next level the partnership between Samsung and Enescu Festival by highlighting the brand promise #Dowhatyoucan’t.

DO WHAT YOU CAN’T. MINI-SCENES EVERYWHERE IN ROMANIA

Samsung truly helps people do what they can’t, by allowing them to see a sold-out, exclusive music festival on a banknote, using only their mobile phones.

All they had to do was download the free app “dARe by Samsung”, scan the 5 LEI banknote and live the magic of the festival through live streaming. To truly stick to the “free access for all” promise, scanning worked on all mobile phones (Android and iOS).

In addition, the campaign was taken further through layered targeting on different online channels:

- Media Display: people were reached on mobile through contextual targeting, demographically and based on their interests (adjacent to classical music);

- Social Media: for reaching as many communities as possible, we used both Samsung’s own channels and its brand ambassadors.

Samsung’s aimed to prove innovation can have a mindful purpose and a positive impact and the outcome was spectacular.

1.PARTICIPATION:

- + 20.000 scans1 on the dARe by Samsung app - vs. 10.000 objective

- 282% increase in app downloads2 - vs. 100% objective (from +3k to +11k2)

- 1st place in App Store/Google Play in the 1st week2

2.AWARENESS:

- 7.5M total reach3 - vs. 5M objective

- 53% Share of Stage4 - vs. 30% objective (the most mentioned brand compared to other partners: Rompetrol 15% or Raiffesen Bank 8%)

- Over 14 million media impressions3

- Over 230k euro earned media3

3.BRAND DISTINCTIVENESS

- 9% increase in brand distinctiveness - vs. the 5% objective (considering Samsung’s distinctiveness was facing a 3% decline, from H2 2018 to H1 2019)1

Sources:

Client data, September 2019

App Store/Google Play, September 2019

PR agency, September 2019

Zelist Monitor, September 2019