Early June saw Samsung Electronics launch #Selfie4England to engage and reward England football fans for their shows of support for the team.
The initiative from the Football Association’s official consumer electronics and smartphone supplier, simply asks fans to post their #Selfie4England to the Samsung Football Facebook page or Twitter feed and in turn the Korean giant rewards them with one of a range of prizes – including signed England shirts and state-of-the-art Samsung products.
To further drive engagement and enhance the England fan Brazil 2014 experience, Samsung provides the national team’s supporters with exclusive, brand-backed daily film content from Brazi via its Samsung Football Facebook page.
This campaign strand aims to provide a behind-the-scenes perspective e on the tournament and its host nation from members England fans who have travelled there.
In addition to its rights to England team logos and iconography, plus access to the fan base, pitch-side ad space and other activation opportunities, Samsung’s technology is also being put to use in Brazil by the England squad itself.
All squad members are given a Samsung Galaxy S5 – which comes preloaded with state-of the-art health features, including a heart rate monitor.
Comment
It has only been a few months since Samsung and The FA announced a partnership that sees the Korean conglomerate become the Official Consumer Electronics & Smartphone Supplier to the England Team and this is the first piece of activation from the team’s new sponsor.
Unsurprisingly, selfies are everywhere in and around this year’s World Cup – from fan photos at iconic Brazilian locations, to social media memes and Neymar’s self portrait in Nike’s animated short film ‘The Last Game’.
Is Samsung’s tactic overkill or does it merely leverage a contemporary cultural phenomenon?
The company certainly has its own clear opinion.
‘Selfies have become a cultural phenomenon and a fantastic way for people to express themselves, whilst many of our products include features to help take the perfect seflie,’ comments Samsung Sponsorship Director Ben Blanco.
‘We have already seen many national teams send selfies to their fans this summer so we want to reward England fans for sending their #Selfie4England in support of our boys out in Brazil.’
‘Through the Samsung #Selfie4England campaign and our daily video updates from Brazil on Samsung Football Facebook we want to provide fans with new ways of connecting with their favourite passions through our amazing technology.’
Links
Samsung Football Facebook
www.facebook.com/samsungfootball
Samsung Football Twitter
#Selfie4England
The FA Website
