Consumers are not as excited as they used to be for a new smartphone release, and their upgrade cycles are getting longer. Nevertheless, the smartphone market has been growing more competitive, when Samsung celebrated the 10th anniversary of its first smartphone. Given that people want to be naturally exposed to a product while doing something special, the Galaxy S10, the height of Samsung’s 10 years of technological progress, has to be delivered to consumers in a way that is completely different from before.

The initial idea was that people do not want to be introduced to a product one-way, but rather want to experience the product for themselves, in a meaningful location through a special way. Furthermore, we factored in that consumers consider the camera to be most important of a smartphone’s functions. Focusing on these two points, the new Galaxy experience placed most emphasis on where it should be presented to potential customers. We expanded from explaining information on product functions through the experience kit in-store, to turning the entire Ikseon-dong area, one of the oldest traditional Korean villages with many popular photo spots for millennials, into a pop-up area for experiencing the Galaxy S10’s functions. The first of its kind, this pop-up store turned the most well-preserved traditional village of Ikseon-dong into an entire pop-up area or the playground for the world’s most innovative smartphone, the Galaxy S10.

Given that the main target for Galaxy S10 is millennials, we focused on Ikseon-dong, which is one of the most popular places among them. Because the area is unique in that it has well-preserved spots, millennials not only just visit there but also make sure to take meaningful pictures and share. We used these local features to induce people to naturally experience the new smartphone in a pop-up studio designed with a traditional artist in the middle of Ikseon-dong. By renting out the S10 devices, we got people to capture images of the village to remember as their memories. People could experience the product in their own way, and this naturally led to them becoming ambassadors who promote our smartphone. Lastly, the film that introduces the pop-up store and the Ikseon-dong area was made for media execution to expand the way of experiencing the program.

Galaxy Studio Ikseon-dong opened on February 23, with a width of 18.2m and height of 3m allowing people to be fully immersed in the product experience. In the experience zone, people learned about Galaxy S10’s functions in detail. In a different space, there were artworks by the collaborating artist and pictures taken throughout village with the Galaxy S10 for exhibition. People who learned about the product could rent out the S10 device for free and take pictures while exploring the streets of Ikseon-dong. Inside the studio and outdoors photo spots, and even in the affiliated stores were promotors, experts on the product, who kindly guide the functions of the product. Because we collaborated with 74 stores, we could give out coupons that could be used in any of those stores. We installed a media façade on the outside of the studio, so passersby could enjoy the media art show.

Daily average traffic was 8308 people, with a total of 324,000 people over 39 days for Galaxy Ikseon-dong Studio. About 40,000 pictures of Ikseon-dong taken by the Galaxy camera were shared on social media, as people themselves became ambassadors. Through this phenomenon, the product was more widely known, leading to brand preference growth. 79.7% of visitors responded they were interested in purchasing the Galaxy S10 after experiencing the Studio, 89.4% responded positively on brand preference, and 91.3% responded they would recommend the product to a friend. Furthermore, traffic of about 1,000 people increased in the area after the opening of the Studio, and 85.6% responded they would re-visit, indicating a synergy effect of traffic growth in Ikseon-dong area as whole. As a result, Samsung Galaxy not only advertised Galaxy S10 in a special way but also contributed to the development of local community.