Samsung was a relatively new entrant to the smart camera market worth £55 million. The challenge was to get the enthusiastic amateur (predominantly new customers) to consider the new NX camera range above well-established competitor brands. With the NX, any amateur can shoot like a pro and we needed people to believe it. The strategy was to build a hub of amateur photography that looks like it's been shot by a professional.

The core idea was about democratising photography. We used the famous photographer David Bailey to get our campaign underway. As a British institution, he gave the campaign credibility, cut-through and local-market relevance.

The first phase was to recruit as many brand ambassadors with the name David Bailey as we could find. The hunt was initially sparked through press and online advertising, directing anyone who was, or knew a David Bailey to a social hub in Facebook where they could register. It was quickly buzzing with activity. Social media then drove the recruitment phase forward.

Vloggers and bloggers took to their various social media outlets to talk about the campaign resulting in a huge uplift in applications and interest. Within three weeks, we had 143 David Baileys – from IT managers to train drivers to priests – signed up, validated and heading to London for a high profile training event where they collected their new NX1000 and where the original David Bailey spoke to his adoring army of namesakes.

We targeted those looking to upgrade from their 'point and shoot' or smartphones to a more 'serious' option. Samsung has always been known for the quality mobiles, and TVs, but as for cameras, they were relatively unknown. From research, we knew that online shoppers, often checked out the camera's sample images on Samsung.com and Amazon UK often displayed 'user sample images' alongside professional product photos. This insight was key. If the strategy was to show that even the amateur photographer can take pictures like a pro, we needed to show some exceptional images to sell the NX.

More than 800 photos were uploaded to Facebook by the Baileys.

7 million impressions on Twitter

11 million impressions on Facebook

Over 100 pieces of coverage secured, including picture coverage in The Sun, Metro and Evening Standard

888,153 YouTube views of Masterclasses and 'We are David Bailey' film

13,000 applications to become Honorary David Baileys

606% increase in consideration of Samsung cameras

NX sold out from all the major retailers in 11 weeks

143 brand advocates

Heart and Capital Radio covered the search for the David Baileys live on air

Regional research into camera usage was used to support the recruitment phase, whilst ‘missing persons’ milk cartons were dropped into breakfast radio shows, searching for David Baileys in the first 2 weeks. Key media were engaged after week 2 and their support of the campaign grew. By week 4, the David Baileys became celebrities in their own homes, with local media scrabbling to interview them. Extensive national, regional and online coverage was secured.

By Christmas, the David Baileys and their photography became the centre of a multi-channel advertising campaign, with their photographs turned into press ads, beamed on to Samsung’s Piccadilly Circus screen, featuring on escalator panels, in retailers, and in online advertising, with the Baileys themselves starring in a high profile TVC.

Throughout the campaign we used an analytics dashboard incorporating web, social, and sales data so that we could continually optimise and take action from our insight.

This was Samsung’s first foray into the 'grown up' camera category: NX was new to both retailers and consumers. Our challenge was to firmly establish the flagship NX1000 as a challenger brand through an innovative campaign that set us apart from our competitors in the category.

To break into the previously impenetrable high-end camera market we needed to demonstrate the quality of the photographs taken with the NX. Previous weekly sales were very low... it’s fair to say we needed significant growth and we needed something with a lot of cut-through and credibility to make that happen.

David Baileys all over the UK have been living in the shadow of the great man all their lives. We had to find them and liberate them. PR drove our search. Prompted by national press ads, the PR buzz soon gathered pace. Social media channels lit up. Stories appeared in local, regional and national press. It appeared everyone, everywhere was only a step or two away from knowing a David Bailey.

Once recruited, we were then going to demonstrate the capabilities of the NX camera range, and more specifically, the NX1000, through the photographs of these "ordinary" people. We would show that with the NX1000, anyone could shoot like a professional. The strategy was to build a hub of amateur photography that looks like it's been shot by a professional.