‘Samsung Smart Olympic Games Initiative’ Drives Millions of Interactions for Fans and Olympic Family at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

By the close of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Samsung Electronics will have facilitated more than 100 million fan, athlete and staff interactions as part of its ambitious “Samsung Smart Olympic Games Initiative.”

From 23,000 real-time Games information sent by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the Galaxy Note 3 smartphones that all athletes received, to more than 100 million posts and interactions on Samsung’s Sochi 2014 WOW (Wireless Olympic Works) mobile app, Samsung enhanced fans’ Olympic Games experience, while helping to make the Games more efficient and personalized through its people-inspired technology. 

“Samsung is changing how athletes, fans and the Olympic Family interact with and experience the Olympic Games, using mobile devices and wireless technologies that are an inseparable part of our daily lives,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Mobile Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “Never before have there been so many ways to create, share, and experience the excitement of this global event with such personal relevance.”

Samsung’s Sochi 2014 campaign was its most interactive Olympic Games activation in its 26 years as a sponsor and included the following highlights:

• Official Olympic Games Phone: For the first time in Samsung’s Olympic Games partnership history, the IOC has provided Samsung GALAXY Note 3, the official Olympic Games phone, to approximately 3,000 athletes to enjoy, capture, and share their Olympic Games experience in a smarter way through innovative technology. 99% of all athletes have come to the Galaxy Studios in the Athlete Village to learn more about the device and how to leverage it in their digital lifestyle.
• Public WOW for Sochi 2014: Samsung’s Public WOW app provided sports fans with real-time access to event schedules, latest reports on results, medal standings and Olympic Games records reliably and fast. The Public WOW app resulted in more than 500,000 downloads, 100 million interactions, and 85,000 cheering messages, showing how it has become a portfolio of must-have resources for fans around the world.
•  WOW for Olympic Family: Samsung’s custom WOW service for the Olympic Family has been specifically developed for seamless operational communications throughout the Games. Around 18,000 Samsung Galaxy devices have been used by the Olympic Family, including executives, staff, and officials from the IOC, National Olympic Committees and organizing committees in Sochi – all of whom were connected via Samsung’s WOW. More than 23,000 messages have been sent from the Olympic Family to the athletes about competition updates and need-to-know information, generating about 400,000 transactions across the Olympic Family during the Games.
•  Samsung Galaxy Studio: The Galaxy Studio Olympic Park enabled around 240,000 fans to interact with Samsung’s latest wireless technology and connect with the Olympic Games. The Galaxy Studio provided entertainment for everyone, with a variety of activities including winter sports themed interactive demos to enhance the excitement of Sochi 2014 during the Olympic Games. In addition to the flagship Galaxy Studio in the Olympic Park, Samsung had three other Studios located in the Coastal Village, Mountain Village, and Sochi Art Museum Square to expand the Olympic spirit to a wider audience of more than 300,000 visitors throughout the Games.
•  Samsung Galaxy Team: To further bring the Olympic spirit to life, Samsung has formed its largest ever Galaxy Team of athletes including 85 athletes from 20 countries. These inspiring athletes have been featured in a range of marketing programs allowing them to share their stories with fans around the world and at the Games through various consumer events. The Galaxy Team athletes have won a total of 28 medals at Sochi 2014, which means the team would have scored silver as a country. Additionally, visitors at the Galaxy Studio Olympic Park sent thousands of cheering messages through the ChatON app at the Galaxy Team cheering zone, and some athletes extended the interaction with fans through the app and actual visits to the Galaxy Studio.
• Samsung Mobilers: Samsung has awarded 38 college students from 18 countries to receive a free trip to Sochi to document their Olympic Games experience through Samsung devices and share their stories with fans around the world on Samsung communications channels and their own personal social media channels.
• Video/ Ad Campaign: Fan interactions with Samsung’s Sochi 2014 advertising online topped the charts during the Games. According to VidIQ, which ranks the Top 10 Branded Web Videos on YouTube, Samsung’s “And … Go!” ad was ranked #1 the week of Feb. 9-15. The same spot was ranked “Ad of the Week” by Adweek on Feb. 9. Also, in celebration of the Olympic spirit, Samsung supported the Jamaican bobsleigh team and featured them in a digital video campaign called “Keep on Pushing” that honored all athletes who participated in Sochi 2014. The “Keep on Pushing” video was aired daily at the Galaxy Studio Olympic Park and made its way into the hearts of the audience, as the theatre was packed with spectators all throughout the Games.

“Samsung’s technology not only enables wireless communications to help ensure the smooth operation of the Games, but also brings audiences around the world closer to the sporting action,” said Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television & Marketing Services. “As the global leader in smartphones and mobile internet access, Samsung is a driving force behind the shift to consuming Olympic content through mobile devices.”

Samsung collaborated with the IOC on the “Samsung Smart Olympic Games Initiative” to make Sochi 2014 the most wireless, seamless, paperless Olympic Games ever. Samsung and the IOC have brought that vision to life through its innovative mobile technology and wide range of exciting, interactive activities that engaged fans from around the world in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

About Samsung’s Involvement in the Olympic Games

Samsung began its Olympic Games involvement as a local sponsor of the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. Beginning with the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, the company extended its commitment to the Olympic Movement as the Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment category, providing its proprietary wireless communications platform, called Wireless Olympic Works (WOW), and mobile phones. These innovative mobile phone technologies provide the Olympic Family with real-time, user location-based information service and interactive communications. Samsung hosts various digital marketing campaigns to share the excitement of the Olympic Games with people around the world and enable everyone to participate in the Games through its smart mobile technology. Samsung’s commitment as a Worldwide Olympic Partner continues through to Rio 2016.