Seen as “uncool” by millennial and Gen Z females, Samsung phones had a perception problem.

There’s nothing more uncool than a brand trying to convince people it’s cool. In fact, in hearing from our target audience they said they usually ignored any comms from Samsung.

We needed a way to talk to our audience on their level and seamlessly embed Samsung phones into their feeds, using trendsetters they respected as part of a cultural moment that would elevate the brand. We hacked Fashion Week using the people whose taste our audience already respected, Australian fashion influencers @harperandharley,@sarahellen, @_yanyanchan and @rozalia_russian.

Samsung devices have long been associated with ‘tech nerds’ by millennial and Gen Z females. Given, for most, the phone is an extension of identity, being seen as untrendy by owning one was akin to social self-sabotage.

The brief was clear, come up with an idea to change the way millennial and Gen Z females thought of Samsung; from uncool to ahead of the curve. We needed to make the Galaxy Z Flip not just another phone, but a coveted fashion accessory.

And where is the one place you’ll find all the latest trend-setting accessories and cool kids? Fashion Week.

We hacked Australian Fashion Week using four top tier fashion influencers: @harperandharley, @sarahellen, @_yanyanchan, @rozalia_russian - influencers already popular in the feeds of our target audience.

Each day of Fashion Week they caused a stir by wearing never-seen-before outfits, paired with Samsung phones, while sitting at the front row of shows. Their followers clamoured to know who they were wearing, but they kept quiet.

They were papped and snapped at every turn, always with a Samsung in hand. Their pictures were posted and reposted across the internet, putting Samsung phones on best dressed lists from Vogue to Elle. The designer remained a mystery.

Then, sitting in the front row of the closing Fashion Week show all was revealed. Every look our fashionistas wore that week hit the catwalk, along with our amazing Samsung devices - our influencer’s socials blew up and Samsung became the hottest accessory of Fashion Week.

Our core target audience were fashion conscious Gen Z/millennial female iPhone users. Owning an iPhone gave them ‘cool’ social standing. They told us Samsung was almost the complete opposite, they ignored our comms.

We needed a trojan horse to infiltrate their feeds and change their perception.

We briefed influencers our audience were following to create authentic content from Australian Fashion Week, which we then amplified.

We knew their followers would ask about their outfits, so we deliberately withheld the designer to create buzz. The less they said, the more comments they got.

To further our reach, and show up on pages our audience followed for style inspiration, we had a secondary audience to appeal to: event photographers/fashion editors.

We put the influencers in outfits we knew would have impact, and in looks that hadn’t yet launched.

The resulting content embedded Samsung phones seamlessly into the world of fashion.

Knowing that fashion enthusiasts, event goers and photographers loved unique outfits, we put our influencers in looks that hadn't yet been launched, accessorised with the new Galaxy Z Flip of course. Their images went everywhere.

They posted photos and stories daily, never once revealing the designer (despite constant pleas). Then at the final show, sitting in the front row, the influencers posted side-by-side images of the looks they’d been wearing all week, as the outfits were seen walking down the runway. Finally revealing the designer. We amplified all the content to ensure it wouldn’t be missed.

The Hidden Runway activity ran for the duration of Australian Fashion Week, Australian fashion's premier event, 31 May - 4 June, 2021.

Images of the influencers, with their Samsungs, achieved coverage on best dressed lists for Fashion Week including on Vogue, Elle and Russh. Searching ‘Australian Fashion Week’ on Getty images now brings up multiple images of Samsung phones, seamlessly embedded into the event.

The posts and story content on the influencers own channels from the event received thousands of comments and positive interactions for Samsung.

We saw a noticeable difference in consideration for Samsung during Fashion Week with a spike in site visits and dwell time.

Key results:

41m+ campaign impressions

+14k site visits during Fashion Week

+48% dwell time during Fashion Week

98% positive band engagement