Samsung concludes tour with Ear to the Ground

Over the last 70 days live communications agency Ear to the Ground, has reached 2.3 million Olympics fans inspiring them to take part in forever capturing the spirit of the UK’s first ever Olympic Torch Relay. That’s 29 times the amount of people who attended last week’s opening ceremony for the games.

Working with client, and Olympic sponsor, Samsung, the agency hit the Olympic Torch Relay road back in May with a living, breathing ‘Samsung Big Cheer’ advert. A concept that put live experience at the focal point of a communications campaign rooted in conveying the idea of ‘Taking Part through Shared Technology Moments’.

Over the course of the Olympic Torch Relay, Ear to the Ground reached a record one million people, live, and then a further 1.3 million, this weekend, as its ‘Samsung Big Cheer’ activation became the star of the brand’s Olympic opening weekend print advertising campaign.

At each of the 66 Olympic Torch Relay Evening Celebration events, the agency delivered a Samsung Big Cheer that formed the pinnacle moment of a high energy, high impact show that fused audience engagement and interaction with music, dance and smart enabled technology.  And, with each Big Cheer grounded in the idea of capturing an image of the entire crowd celebrating taking part in the event, fans were able to mark their place in Olympic history by tagging themselves in the shot when it later went online.

It’s these photographs that have now become the star of Samsung’s three full page ad campaign, with creative centring on Ear to the Ground’s ‘Samsung Big Cheer’ imagery. Meanwhile the ad copy thanks all those who took part in the Big Cheer and encourages them to now get behind Team GB.

Says Ear to the Ground managing director, Steve Smith: “Ultimately, with the Samsung Big Cheer, we have forever captured the shared moment of one million UK Olympics fans getting in the Olympic spirit but also taking part in the Torch Relay.

He adds: “Now that our live activation has become the star of a national print campaign for one of the leading Olympic sponsors, it clearly demonstrates how live communications is moving to the fore within marketing communications.

“Today’s consumers are increasingly seeking out authentic brand experiences and the Samsung Big Cheer embraced this by emotionally engaging real Olympics fans to harness the power of their very real reactions to tell the brand’s Olympic Torch Relay journey. This delivered content that would communicate the brand’s story to an audience beyond those present, via print creative, social media and PR coverage. Meanwhile, the photo-tagging mechanic has driven consumer engagement, with one million people encouraged to visit the brand’s dedicated online hub, where on-going Olympic content is being aggregated across the course of the games. “

Over the course of the Olympic Torch Relay, Ear to the Ground delivered 66 shows, 9,400 man hours, 8,000 miles, 2528 costume changes and 594 back flips.  It used state-of-the-art crowd-tagging and crowd-scanning technology to capture audiences of up to 50,000 people, in a 480 megapixel, 180 degree image with an average exposure time of under ten seconds.

The agency also managed all the staffing and logistics for an experiential Galaxy Festival Zone which took 528 hours to build and rebuild over 66 dates and travelled over 792 miles in order to capture all one million Olympics Fans.  The Galaxy crew distributed over 118,000 Samsung branded boom sticks, 2,000 caricatures drawn on the Galaxy Note, 7,500 pictures of the public with the Olympic Torch, and over 132,000 people interact with Samsung products.

Ear to the Ground has a proven track record in delivering global events, having previously produced massive indoor and outdoor showcases for the likes of the European Capital Culture, Umbro and Heineken. The agency, which has offices in London and Manchester, worked with Samsung offices in London, Germany and Korea, as well as LOCOG and other Evening Celebration presenting partners, including Coca Cola and Lloyds TSB to deliver each of Samsung’s 66 evening celebrations.