Samsung is activating its recent partnership with the Sydney Opera House by offering Australians a chance to interact with the nation’s flagship architectural gem by having their own photo projected onto the sails of the country’s most iconic building.
The competition is designed to ‘hand the Opera House sails over to the public for the first time’ through an initiative that allows people to submit their images of Australian life to the campaign’s bespoke microsite.
The emphasis in on the country’s unique beauty – either geographically or culturally.
The selected winning entries will then be projected on the sails of the iconic landmark in an event which will coincide with the launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy S 4 mobile phone on April 23.
The campaign is also being developed by Edelman, digital agency Amnesia Razorfish, as well as by Samsung and the Sydney Opera House.
The competition leverages the South Korean multinational conglomerate’s new three-year deal which sees it become the principal commercial partner of the Sydney landmark.
This multi-million-dollar partnership, which is both the largest sponsorship ever signed by the Opera House and Samsung’s biggest arts sponsorship, will also see Samsung will provide technology support.
For the building’s 8.2 million annual visitors, this will range from interactive digital screens, mobile technologies and outdoor live sites.
Samsung Electronics’ Australia marketing director Arno Lenior says: ‘The potential audience for all the Opera House’s incredible work is every Australian in the country. We want to help make this a reality. At Samsung we passionately believe technology can better people’s lives, and bringing the Opera House’s best in class arts and education content to more Australians than ever is our ultimate goal with this sponsorship.’
‘I am thrilled that on the eve of our 40th anniversary in October, Samsung has partnered with us to enhance people’s experiences of the Opera House and to help us cater to new generations of visitors through new generations of technology,’ comments Opera House CEO Louise Herron.
‘The introduction of Samsung’s technological expertise to one of the world’s most recognised and celebrated buildings will greatly enhance the visitor experience to the Sydney Opera House with the innovation of live sites,’ , says minister for tourism, major events and the arts George Souris. ‘This will take functionality of the Sydney Opera House to another level.’
Comment:
Samsung has an existing global and Australian track record for sports sponsorship – with deals stretching from the Olympic Games and Chelsea FC to backing the Australian Rugby Union and sponsoring both the Sydney Roosters and the Essendon Bombers (plus support for swimmer James Magnussen and Paralympian Ahmed Kelly).
Perhaps the new opera house, arts-sector deal marks a move towards a less ‘shouty’ and more ‘cultured’ and ‘creative’ approach to sponsorship?
The brand’s activation aims to make the Opera House a richer, more interactive visitor experience.
It follows hot-on-the-heels of January’s Sydney Opera House three-year, multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways which sees the Abu Dhabi based carrier become the venue’s ‘preferred airline’.
Links
Campaign Microsite
http://operahouse.samsungsydney.com.au/
Sydney Opera House Website
http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com
