Ear to the Ground delivers Samsung Big Cheer campaign on Olympic torch relay

Ear to the Ground is working with Samsung to deliver its sponsorship activity on the Olympic torch relay. The electronics giant is encouraging one million sporting and Olympic fans to “Take Part” – Ear to the Ground has spent the last six months working with Samsung’s sponsorship team to develop a “Samsung Big Cheer” concept that puts live experience at the centre of a wider Samsung communications campaign.

The 40-strong Ear to the Ground team is taking the brand on a tour of the country over 70 days and delivering 66 Samsung shows at each Olympic Torch Relay Evening Celebration. The team has produced a Samsung “Live Ad” that not only gets performed live to thousands at each evening celebration event, but that also puts Olympic fans at the core of the brand’s torch relay communications.

Ear to the Ground has produced and directed a 20-minute live stage show featuring street dancers. The show puts the new Galaxy SIII product at the heart of the entertainment and urges fans to take part in the Samsung Hope Relay endorsed by sporting heroes such as David Beckham. The agency has also managed all staffing and logistics for an experiential showcase zone that comes complete with a Samsung Galaxy Torch Festival Zone.

The finale of each show takes the presenters and street dance duo Twist and Pulse high above the crowd using a hydraulic lift intensified by pyrotechnics. Consumers are urged to cheer for the Olympics as a giant high resolution image is captured using state of the art technology. Within 90 minutes consumers can go online and tag themselves, communicating the idea of “Taking Part through Shared Technology Moments”.

Steve Smith, managing director, Ear to the Ground, said: “Previous crowd tagging technology involves taking many shots over a period of time and stitching them together. We wanted to capture an actual shared moment in real time. This meant using innovative scanning technology that captures an audience of up to 50,000 people in four seconds.”

So far approximately 200,000 have enjoyed the Samsung show with 60,000 Hope Relay app downloads and 15,000 consumer tags in the “Samsung Big Cheer”. The Samsung Hope Relay encourages everyone to be a part of the Olympic Games. For every mile runners and riders complete, Samsung will donate £1 to charities including Kids Company.

Martin Howard, sponsorship director, Samsung, added: “We knew that Ear to the Ground had extensive experience in working with sports and music fans. They came up with a brilliant concept that really brought to life the idea of ‘Taking part through shared technology moments‘. The live experience harnesses the power of real people and their very real reactions and emotions to earn social media, PR coverage and drive consumers to our online hub where all Olympic content gets aggregated.”

Ear to the Ground has a proven track record in delivering global events, having previously produced massive indoor and outdoor showcases for the likes of the European Capital Culture, Umbro and Heineken. The appointment to date has seen the agency, which has offices in London and Manchester, working with Samsung, LOCOG and other Evening Celebration presenting partners, including Coca Cola and Lloyds TSB.

The activity ends on July 26 in front of 70,000 people in Hyde Park the day before the Olympics starts.