Learn how the technology business used an emotional approach to target 78,000 local businesses in Manchester and show how tech could help them have better days at work

Summary

Between April 2016 and March 2017, Samsung set ambitious growth targets to drive B2B sales. It chose to take the brand from B2Boring to the much more fun and engaging B2Brilliant.

Samsung targeted five key cities across the UK with the highest density of SMEs who have a greater need for tech in the workplace. They then set about engaging and exciting with tailored regional activities in each city, including: digital, social and experiential events. Using an emotional approach that focused around real day-to-day human truths, they were able to communicate a strong message to their target audience.

‘More Good Days at Work’ was co-created by Rooster Punk, using tactics more commonly seen in B2C marketing, driving both high interest and intrigue.

After the success in the first city, Bristol, the social campaign continued to Manchester targeting 78,000 local SMEs. Yet again, More Good Days at Work proved incredibly popular and successful and took Manchester by storm. The results were off the scale, with regional sales uplift of more than a third, great return on investment and an improvement in first choice brand preference.

About Samsung

As part of the world’s largest consumer electronics brand, Samsung is dedicated to making a better world by defying barriers and innovating in ways that open up opportunities for businesses, big and small. Helping organisations get the most out of technology, improve their performance, and allow them to focus on the big picture.

Strategy

Rooster Punk was driven by Samsung to challenge the B2B assumption of selling on rationality over emotion: to lead with a real human story while anchoring the campaign in business realities. The campaign centred on a simple human truth: that we are ever more reliant on technology in our personal and working lives, and our days can all-too-often be ruined by technology letting us down. It was this truth Samsung sought to capitalise on to further shape and promote a B2B and emotive story about how its technology can help people have better days at work.

Social media sat at the heart of the localised strategy and enabled all other campaign activities, as well as maximising the campaign budget. Targeting small business decision makers and influencers through adopting a bold combination of above-the-line marketing, advertising in targeted environments, out-of-home (OOH) media, sponsorship, digital and social content, experiential and PR initiatives.

Objectives

For Samsung to be the first choice for SMEs more often.

Target audience

Owners and staff of small businesses with between 10-250 employees.

Media, channels or techniques used

To help Samsung meaningfully connect with its target audience, Rooster Punk was tasked to dramatise ‘More Good Days’ through events, blogs and social activity. The result of which was to reward Manchester-based SMEs with coffee, cupcakes, VIP events, free media space, and product offers.

The campaign had a strong sense of celebrating businesses and the people who own and run them – those who don’t get much sleep, who don’t take enough time off, who are run off their feet trying to keep everyone happy.

Here’s how Samsung brought More Good Days to Manchester.

1. Above-the-line

OOH free ad space prize

: Businesses that tweeted their ‘Good Day at Work’ using the hashtag ‘#MoreGoodDaysAtWork’, were entered into a prize draw to win free OOH ad space. Three businesses won free media space and Rooster Punk’s design expertise to create bespoke ads. The ads were displayed on the city’s largest full-motion digital screen, worth a total of £4,640 per business, helping promote their business to 146,000 adults each day.

Extending the campaign via PR through research: 

Technology issues a major contributor to the UK’s productivity gap


: A study commissioned by Samsung questioned 1,000 workers from small UK businesses about technology and how that impacts productivity, to help further understanding of this SME audience and their challenges. Samsung also provided top tips for workplace productivity from Graham Allcott, author of 

How to be a Productivity Ninja

, to help reduce this productivity gap.

2. Experiential

Barista visits:

 Manchester-based SMEs were asked to engage with Samsung socially, for the chance to win their own barista visit for employees to enjoy amazing coffee and cupcakes. Entries were encouraged by a train station chocolate drop and promotional handouts. Promoted tweets and LinkedIn posts also targeted local businesses in Manchester to stimulate 84 entries over four-week period. Samsung surprised 14 businesses with coffee and cupcakes between 17-31 March. Thank you messages on Twitter from the businesses involved enhanced social engagement on these activity days, further increasing the reach of the campaign.

3. Samsung-owned initiatives

Apprentice challenge:

 Samsung worked with local university, Manchester Met, to find the young, enthusiastic business owners of tomorrow so they could engage their entrepreneurial spirit. Groups of university students were provided with Samsung devices and tasked with building a business from scratch, in just 10 days with a £20 loan. The winning team placed tech at the heart of their idea by offering 360 content as a service to local small businesses, and by promoting their services on social media made over £700 revenue.

VIP event – Inspire: Manchester17: 

Samsung hosted a VIP event for small business leaders and innovators in Manchester. The event was designed to inspire and educate businesses about the powerful impact of combining future technology with marketing techniques. Samsung were able to call upon their brand ambassador, Sir Steve Redgrave, to bring a world-class athlete’s experience of what it means to have a good day at work.

Timescales of the campaign

Six week city takeover from 27 February 2017 – 24 April 2017

Results

• ROI of over 5:1 within campaign period.
• 34% regional sales uplift from February to April 2017.
• 20% improvement in first choice brand preference.