Samsung SlideLiner

Transporting rugby fans around the world from sofa to sidelines.

Sydney, Australia
34M
people reached
3
Cannes Lions

Leveraging Samsung’s Wallabies sponsorship, the Samsung SlideLiner experiential marketing activation gave passionate rugby fans a money-can’t-buy, world first experience between the pitch and the grandstand. Using a range of the latest Samsung televisions, cameras, tablets, and streaming infrastructure, we gave sports fans riding the SlideLiner up and down the sidelines unparalleled control in their ability to experience, capture and share a once in a lifetime sporting experience.

An experience worth sharing

Concept

Working with Samsung Australia and Traffik Marketing, we were challenged to showcase Samsung’s latest range of television and tablet technologies for Australian Rugby fans. Bringing passionate Wallabies fans closer than ever to the on-field action, Samsung SlideLiner was designed to give lucky visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience of the game like never before – and the power to share that experience with the world.

Sports fans sit on Samsung SlideLiner couch with interactive tablets to follow rugby game.

Get the best seat in the house

Activation

The experiential marketing activation saw lucky winners ride on a specially-designed four person ‘couch’ as it flew up and down stadium sidelines, following some of the Wallabies’ biggest games in real time. Outfitted with interactive creative technology, Samsung SlideLiner also featured strategically placed cameras and streaming-enabled tablets placed, allowing fans to capture and share their experience on social media as it happened.

Visual mockup shows interactive tablet screens from Samsung SlideLiner digital marketing.

Visual mockup of Samsung SlideLiner couch with interactive tablets for experiential marketing campaign.

Amplifying the experience

Social Integration

Interactive tablets and social integration were key to amplifying the Samsung SlideLiner experience beyond any single stadium roll out. In the stadium, fans on the couch had access to a range of interactive and creative technology to enhance their viewing experience. This included access to key game statistics in real time, along with strategically placed camera feeds capturing the unforgettable digital marketing experience for audiences at home.

All photos and videos were automatically uploaded to a central server. This allowed fans to share the captured content directly on Facebook or Twitter through a custom-built Android application. The same content was also made available to Samsung’s digital marketing team in real time, allowing them to further amplify the experiential marketing campaign’s reach through the brand’s own social channels.

Wallabies fans sit in the Samsung SlideLiner couch while engaging with interactive tablet screens from digital marketing agency.

All-weather technology

Tech + Hardware

As with any novel application of technology in an unusual environment, Samsung SlideLiner presented a number of unique challenges throughout development. To start, the digital marketing activation involved an outdoor enclosure moving at up to 20 km/h over an 80m track to follow gameplay in real time. We also had to contend with the sizable signal interference from the 80,000+ fans throughout the stadium.

Samsung SlideLiner experience from digital marketing agency in Sydney rugby stadium.

To capture the Samsung SlideLiner experience for fans at home, we installed an array of weatherproofed HD GoPro cameras along the couch. These cameras would output UHD videos feed to individual Teradeck streaming boxes, which were then captured and compiled through a Wowza media server on board the couch. From there, they were transferred to spectators through a custom android application on mounted Samsung tablets, and to Samsung’s marketing team in a stadium greenroom.

Samsung SlideLiner digital marketing experience debuts during rugby game in Sydney stadium.

All the equipment on the couch needed to be weatherproofed and battery operated – from the camera array, streaming devices, routers and servers as well as Samsung's own tablets. Due to the high processing load of the digital marketing outputs, this also meant that many components of the system needed to be swapped in and out during half-time to maximise the quality of the overall experience.

Rugby fans captured on GoPro camera as part of Samsung SlideLiner experiential marketing activation.

Leveraging sponsorship

Sponsorship

Integrated into the larger ‘It’s On’ campaign to drive awareness about Samsung products through sporting events, Samsung SlideLiner demonstrated how immersive digital marketing activations have the power to bring people together in a truly memorable experience. Existing at the forefront of unique customer experiences, the experiential marketing activation was the culmination of an innovative sponsorship campaign that drove excitement during the game and brand awareness beyond it.

Two rugby fans watch a game from the Samsung SlideLiner couch by digital marketing agency.

The initial roll out of Samsung SlideLiner launched during torrential rain at the Sydney Olympic Stadium for the Bledisloe Cup opening match. The experiential marketing activation then followed the Rugby Championships, travelling to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane and finally to Optus stadium in Perth. After its stadium roll out, we repurposed the digital marketing experience for use in public spaces across Australia, providing Samsung with a catalyst for generating brand awareness through both a unique experience and social sharing.

Growing sales through experiences

Results

In each of its iterations, Samsung SlideLiner provided a physical manifestation of the kinds of entertainment experiences made possible on Samsung televisions. All up, the experiential marketing activation garnered $101,806,202 in earned media, drove $8.6M in sales and grew the brand’s UHDTV market share by 7.5%. It also received significant media attention, and was awarded two Bronze Cannes Lions for Promo & Activation category along with a Silver Cannes Lion for Best Branded Live Experience.