Samsung wanted to attract an audience of creators and show off the features of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S10+. It partnered with the host of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon. He filmed a special episode of his talk show exclusively on Samsung's smartphones. Instead of a traditional format where he interviewed guests in a studio, this episode took the audience to Fallon's favorite spots to go on a night out in New York City. Social media and TV, both broadcast and advanced, helped the campaign reach over 45 million people and boost sales for Samsung.
Objective and Context:
When new phones are launched, their enhanced technological features may not be obvious to all phone users. For this reason, customers are not always motivated to invest in an upgraded phone with each launch. For the launch of the Galaxy S10+, Samsung wanted to demonstrate the phone's innovative camera and incite purchases of its newest mobile device.
Target Audience:
Samsung's target audience are "creators," and by putting innovative technology in the hands of creators, Samsung gives them the tools to do what can't be done.
The brand partnered with Fallon for this campaign because he draws the largest late-night audience of Samsung's younger adult target and is most often the top-watched late night talk show among Samsung's broader target of adults under 50.
Creative Strategy:
The brand challenged Fallon to do something that seemed impossible: film an episode of The Tonight Show on the Galaxy S10+.
The episode was designed to capture a night out in New York City. Fallon took the camera and the viewing audience to locations near and dear to his heart. He wanted his fans to see the places that inspire him, and he wanted the audience to experience these sites through his eyes. With five different lenses, ultra-wide angle, super steady stabilization, and low-light features, the Galaxy S10+'s camera let the audience see what Fallon saw.
Overall Campaign Execution:
To incite purchase among phone users who might have been overlooking the Galaxy S10+'s innovative features, Samsung took an approach that would make them unmissable. With an entire episode of The Tonight Show filmed on the Galaxy S10+, Samsung's newest phone and its features would be in the spotlight.
Mobile Execution:
The episode aired March 25, 2019 on NBC TV and ran on NBC.com and Hulu for mobile and web viewing. Fallon announced to viewers that the show would be going to his favorite places in New York, and he'd interview celebrities and musicians along the way. In the episode, he sang doo-wop with The Roots under the Brooklyn Bridge. He shared whiskey with friends at his favorite Irish bar. He chatted with comedian Michael Che at The Comedy Cellar and treated the audience to Rachel Feinstein's standup as if they were there. Fallon took the phone, and thus the viewers, to the impossible-to-get-into restaurant Rao's for meatballs with co-owner Frank Pelligrino Jr. and delivered a batch of meatballs to firefighters in Hell's Kitchen before checking out jazz at The Django.
Fallon, NBC, and earned media coverage got viewers excited via social media before the episode aired, and Samsung shared behind-the-scenes video showing the crew filming on Samsung phones. By giving broadcast TV production the power of mobility, Fallon did what couldn't be done and orders for Samsung phones took off.
Samsung.com saw a 13 percent increase in Galaxy S10+ phone orders during the episode's broadcast week-over-week. The days following the broadcast also saw 31 percent higher order conversion rates than average.
The episode was viewed more than six million times across platforms and was the most-watched late-night talk show that day. It was the first late-night talk show filmed entirely by phone. NBC, Fallon, Samsung, and fans created buzz about the episode on social media. The social media activity surrounding the episode reached more than 45 million people, and earned 92 percent positive sentiment, which is 13 percent higher than Samsung's average sentiment rating. Variety, MSN, USA Today, CNET, and over 300 more publishers picked up the story, earning more than 12.5 million media impressions.
