Background & Context

The Samsung Galaxy Flip4 was the most innovative smartphone in Australia, a fully foldable device with all the capabilities of a cutting-edge smartphone. Despite the impressive tech, foldables represented only (See Confidential Information 1) of Samsung’s base (Fig5), which meant the brand needed to challenge the dominance of the conventional “candybar” smartphone design everyone knew and loved.

To do this, we went after an audience made up of internet trend-setters and online influencers that had the power to drive a piece of tech from niche to mainstream: Gen MZ.

This audience is increasingly sceptical of advertising and often blind to its effects, given their ad-free media consumption, use of ad-blockers and their desire to avoid anything that feels ‘salesy’. So, to launch the new Galaxy Flip4, we needed a different approach. How could we find a way for people to discover the benefits of the device without just shouting about it in ads? 

Creative Challenge

We knew our audience hated ads. They’re savvy enough to spot sponsored posts. Furthermore, our research showed us that for product launches, young Australians are better influenced by real people creating their own content and reviews, so we wanted to drive our ad-wary audience to the content that was already out there without feeling like they were being served paid content. 

As the internet was flooded with positive reviews about the device, we needed a clever way to get users Googling the Galaxy Flip4, so they’d see all the organic content that everyday fans (who didn’t feel corporate) were making themselves. 

We were also aware of the growing conversations on platforms like Reddit about algorithms and how to avoid or subvert them – so delivering an invite to users to mess with their own metadata and receive a reward felt incredibly relevant for internet culture of the moment.

Solution

Instead of hunting Gen MZ, our mission was to challenge Gen MZ to become the hunter, flipping the ad model on its head and getting our audience searching the internet for the Samsung Galaxy Flip4.

Execution

Our idea was Flipvertising: A new internet sport. The ‘Flipvertising’ campaign challenged people to ‘trick’ their Google Search algorithm by viewing Samsung content we’d seeded and discovering a series of clues that would help them get closer to receiving a special pre-roll ad on YouTube. That ad contained our hidden prize – a Galaxy Flip4. To find the winning ad, clue-hunters needed to search three specific terms via Google that linked to our films. Each film appeared to be an amusing product demo but also contained a clue that drove to the next search term to enter the retargeting pool. Whoever watched all three films went into the final retargeting pool and was served the winning ad as a YouTube pre-roll (Fig6, Fig7).

The best part? As people searched to find the right keywords, they inadvertently explored tons of positive content and reviews – created by everyday fans - highlighting the device’s benefits in a non-advertising way.