We could do a classic promo with a discount on a premium product following the brand guidelines but we decided to go for an idea with art as the protagonist to better connect Samsung high end TV with Spain´s sophisticated art and design enthusiasts. Seeing that televisions pay 21% VAT, but art has only 10 % VAT, we decided to "hack" the tax system and sell the Frame TV as art and not as a TV. The result: A historical record of 55% more sales compared to previous years.

Inflation in Spain has caused a big drop in sales of high quality devices.

So, we could say that it is not the best time to promote a high end TV when even the most privileged are more price conscious.

With this in mind and with a local sales pressure we need to create a local promo that increases the sales and at the same time generate awareness for the brand, but with a half of budget than previous years.

We realize that in Spain TVs pay 21% VAT, and art only pays 10%, so we hack the Spanish tax system by allowing customers to upload "their own artwork" to The Frame so they could buy it with the art tax and pay less for the same product. A clever trick in that we lowered its price, but not its value.

• Situation:

Samsung has the TV of art, the frame, which at first glance looks like a painting and not a TV thanks to its frame-shaped design and its store of more than 1,600 wallpapers of art from museums and galleries around the world.

A very high-end television that's difficult to sell at a time when inflation in Spain has hit middle class salaries. And In Samsung we need to promote with 50% less budget than previous years.

• Brief:

Create an online promo to increase the sales of one of Samsung's high-end TVs: The Frame, while highlighting the unique features, and its positioning as the TV of art.

• Objectives:

Increase sales of The Frame in a complicated moment for the country, through a promotion that reduces its price, but not its value, and, at the same time, generates the awareness of it without enough budget for PR.

The frame is TV of art from Samsung. The only television on the market shaped like a frame, and the only that when you buy it, you acquire more than 1,600 pieces of art in wallpaper format in standby mode. Taking advantage of this particularity, we created a promo that hacked the Spanish tax system since we were selling it as art, with a VAT of 10% and not that of TVs, which is 21%. Through theartofhack.es, users could upload or paint any drawing on the web and automatically obtain a discount for being classified as art. A legal loophole created to turn a promo into an opportunity to be more competitive in the market.

- Data

44.6% of Spaniards belong to the middle class, a group that sees high end TVs as an aspirational symbol. Our promotion was an opportunity to reach them and, thanks to Samsung's CRM database, we were able to send them a direct mailing and invite them to theartofhack.es.

- Target

Anyone in the Spanish middle class who aspires to own a high-end TV.

- Relevance to the platform

By creating thearteofhack.es we turned digital shopping into a creative experience where, for the first time, you could use your artistic skills to get a discount.

Approach

To reach an audience interested in art we created an art-based promotion that, more than looking like a promotion, was a smart hack to pay less. Starting with a digital action and ending with offline activations in our stores and art galleries.

• Implementation

The campaign started digitally with theartofhack.es. While we launched a promotional video, mailings and digital displays to reach more people. Finally we created spaces in art galleries and in our physical shops.

• Timeline

1- We launched theartofhack.es so that people could participate.

2- In parallel, we launched our campaign through banners and pre-roll videos to reach a wider audience and invite them. At the same time, we use Samsung's CRM database to send mailings to the interested target.

3- We expanded the idea by creating physical spaces in our stores and art galleries to get more people on board.

• Placement

We use different channels to make a complete campaign (a landing page, Youtube Pre-roll, Mailing and spaces in Art fairs and Samsung Stores).

• Scale

The idea has worked so well, that we want to take it to other countries where there is a VAT difference.

• Sales

55% increase in sales.

• Engagement

+3000 users creating theirs drawings in theartofhack.es to get their discount

• Reach

+400% increase in visits to Samsung's website, 2.8M views in all media. In addition, some important media to talk about our idea, such as Antena 3 or Spanish radio Cadena Ser, amount others.

• Achievement against business targets

33% of The Frame's annual sales are achieved in a single month.