A month before the start of the PyeongChang 2018, Samsung Benelux has unveiled a high-tech ‘SmartSuit and App’ combination which has been used by the Dutch skating team ahead of the Winter Olympic Games.
The wearable tech suit, which has been developed in a three-way partnership between the Dutch Olympic team, Samsung and agency Cheil Amsterdam, has been worn by short trackers Sjinkie Knegt and Suzanne Schulting during training.
In preparation for the Winter Games, Knegt and Schulting used the suit and its innovations to improve their ideal skating position.
The Dutch pair are the only skaters on the planet currently using the technology: which measures the depth at which the skater bends, to the millimetre.
As a sponsor for Sjinkie and Suzanne, Samsung developed the SmartSuit and its linked app specifically for the short track skaters.
The suit includes a set of five sensors that map body posture and calculate the distance from the skater’s hip to the ice.
These connect to a smartphone app, with coach Jeroen Otter uses to analyse the data in real-time and, if the body position is not optimal, Otter sends a vibration (by pressing a button) and the skaters then feel this and adjust their body position in real-time.
The marketing side of the activation sees the suit promoted across Samsung’s digital and social platforms.
“As an agency it is incredible to create something in collaboration with your client that can truly improve the performance level of Olympic athletes,” comments Cheil Amsterdam executive creative Director Thijs de Boer.
“This concept allows us to achieve so much more than we would with a generic sponsor campaign.”
Gerben van Walt Meijer, marketing manager mobile, Samsung Netherlands adds: “At Samsung we strive to make daily life easier with our innovations. To us this means our technical expertise can also help improve athletes’ performances. With the introduction of the Samsung SmartSuit, we aim to lift Sjinkie and Suzanne’s performance to an even higher level and help them achieve their dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. We’re challenging them to go to the limit.”
While Diutch national skating coach Jeroen Otter commented: “By quantifying the posture we can train even more effectively. I notice that both Sjinkie and Suzanne already benefit from this unique innovation. At this level of athleticism it’s all about details. The training sessions with the Samsung SmartSuit and the direct feedback via the smartphone can make the difference between a gold or silver medal.”
Comment:
This trend for sponsors to deploy relevant skills in order to actively contribute to an athlete’s or a team’s performance is one that has been emerging during the last Olympic cycle.
Previous examples of this approach include Samsung’s ‘Blind Cap’ for blind para swimmers (see case study) and Puma’s ‘BeatBot’.
Samsung, as well has sponsoring the Dutch skaters, has also been an IOC Olympic sponsor for 29 years.
Among the brand’s previous, more notable Olympic campaigns are Rio 2016’s ‘One World, One Anthem’ (see case study)
and its Youth Winter Olympic Games ‘VR Ski Jump’ in 2016 (see case study).
Links:
Samsung Mobile NL
https://www.youtube.com/user/NLSamsungMobile
https://twitter.com/samsungmobileNL
https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobileNL
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/samsungmobilenl/
Cheil Amsterdam
Netherlands Olympic Committee
https://www.facebook.com/nocnsf
https://www.youtube.com/user/nocnsf1
