JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 16 July 2019 – Samsung, an official sponsor of the 18th FINA World Championships Gwangju 2019, has launched the “Make the Wave” campaign to encourage athletes and also inspire their fans by connecting them through inspiring music, based on its brand philosophy, “Do What You Can’t”.

Samsung appointed Simone Manuel as the ambassador for this year’s campaign, to encourage sports fans from all over the world to share music through social media. Simone Manuel won a gold medal and set an Olympic record in the women’s 100-meter freestyle at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. As Samsung’s ambassador for the event, she will share a message of encouragement and discuss pushing boundaries without losing hope amid difficult circumstances, as well as talk about the songs and the music that inspire her and help boost her performance.

As part of the campaign, special events are planned for aspiring swimmers in Gwangju city. Students will be provided with a chance to be escorts for the water polo finals. They will also meet Kim Se-jin, an accomplished swimmer better known as the “robotic leg swimmer,” who was a member of South Korea’s national disabled swimming team.

“This campaign is designed to spread the heat of the competition with a variety of marketing activities, to share the stories of swimmers who are challenging themselves in working toward their dreams and to cheer on one another through music, powered by our brand philosophy of ‘Do What You Can’t,’” said Cambridge Mokanyane, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung South Africa. “I hope that everyone will enjoy the events throughout our ‘Make the Wave’ campaign.”

“I am glad to be able to share my stories and songs by participating in the ‘Make the Wave’ campaign, which corresponds with my can-do spirit. I hope all swimmers will leave the competition without any regrets and that sports fans will cheer on the athletes loudly,” said Simone Manuel.

Samsung Electronics has set up a 255 square meter experience zone in the athlete village, where athletes will be able to interact with other swimmers through uniform exchange, birthday parties and a Korean name calligraphy event. Additionally, there will be opportunities to test out Samsung’s latest products such as the Galaxy S10 series, AKG N700 headphones, ‘The Frame’ 4K TV and Samsung Notebook 7.

Samsung, which has sponsored FINA since 2015, has been supporting the events with various products. For this year’s events in Gwangju, in addition to the official sponsorship, Samsung is providing and 1,996 refrigerators for the athlete village and the stadiums where the competitions will take place.

The 18th FINA World Championships Gwangju 2019, which kicked- off on July 12, is one of the world’s top-five mega sports events, with competitions in six events – swimming, diving, high diving, water polo, artistic swimming and open water swimming. About 7,266 aquatic sports athletes, officials, media and International Swimming Federation officials from 193 countries have registered an all-time high. More than 12,000 participants are expected to gather in Gwangju for the events, including the World Masters Swimming Competition starting on August 5.

Any sports fan can participate in the digital event on the official website of Samsung to share their songs and cheer for the athletes. Those interested in the event can visit the official page (www.samsung.com/fina2019), select the music they have been inspired by when facing new challenges and share it on their personal social media with their own album cover. This event will be held from July 9 to August 18 during which 20 AKG N700 headphones and 41 Galaxy Buds will be given away through a lucky draw.

Samsung Audio Acordes, using a voice system, helps visually impaired people learn to play the guitar

Using  a voice system, Samsung Audio Acordes acts as a facilitator for blind or visually impaired people to learn to play the guitar. The app offers beginners an audio dictionary that teaches them how to play chords and can also tell users when to play which chord as a song progresses. It is especially helpful because  the app eliminates some of the barriers such as the need to know how to read braille, which is only understood by 10% of visually impaired people in Brazil, or having to stop playing every now and then to read the music with the same hands they play the instrument.

“Samsung believes in the human potential and in the transformative power of music and technology which has resulted in Samsung Audio Chords,” said Andrea Mello, Director of Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics Brazil. “The application is part of the company’s effort to offer people with visual impairments the opportunity to pursue their dreams of learning to play the guitar. It was designed in such a way as to offer total support and accessibility, even for those who are only learning their first chords.”

Samsung Audio Acordes is currently only available in Brazil for now.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 27 February 2018 – To celebrate its eleventh Olympic Games and to honour its 20-year long commitment to The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme, Samsung – Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment and Computing Equipment category – proudly delivered unique mobile experiences through innovative technologies during the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Together with the Olympic Movement, Samsung focused on spreading its shared values of achieving the extraordinary and inspiring others to ‘Do What You Can’t’.

Various VR experience zones powered by the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition featured the exhilaration of winter sports including Winter Ride, Skeleton and Snowboarding, making the Samsung Olympic Showcases a must for all Olympic Games fans. The ‘Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ allowed visitors to experience lunar gravity for the first time through a space mission made possible with innovative 4D VR technology.

“As the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 come to an end, we’re proud to know that Samsung technology powered lifelong memories for Olympic athletes and fans worldwide,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics. “I’m thrilled that Samsung’s meaningful technological advancements enabled a more enjoyable, exciting and connected experience for all.”

The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 allowed Samsung’s newest advancements to empower people through state-of-art technology. By the numbers, Samsung’s milestones included the following highlights:

Spreading the Olympic Spirit

• 4,000+ PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition were presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to support athletes
• 1,500 torchbearers spread the passion and hope during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Torch Relay
• 149,353 specially-designed Samsung PyeongChang 2018 pins were distributed to Samsung Olympic Showcase visitors
• 10 lucky pin-collectors won the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition and two grand prize winners won two tickets to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Creating Meaningful Connections Through Innovative Technology

• 435,878 athletes and fans visited nine Samsung Olympic Showcases for interactive activities powered by 2,157 Samsung products.
• 163,121 fans escaped the real-world to experience the exhilaration of eleven VR attractions such as going down the fresh mountain slopes while snowboarding and careening down the skeleton – all VR was powered by the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition
• 150 calls were made by Olympians at the two Samsung Olympic Showcases @ the Olympic Villages – adding up to 700 minutes
• 1,282,904 downloads of PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Official Mobile Application which was developed together with POCOG (The PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) featuring real-time updates, athlete information, medal standings and Olympic Winter Games records.

Samsung Electronics, Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications and Computing Equipment category, is bringing technological innovations to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 through interactive experiences at the new Samsung Olympic Showcases. Samsung will encourage fans and athletes to “Do What You Can’t” through fun, immersive experiences across multiple Samsung Olympic Showcases.

Throughout the Olympic Winter Games, a total of nine Samsung Olympic Showcases – featuring a mix of cultural, technological and immersive fan experiences – will be in PyeongChang and Gangneung, including Olympic Parks and the Olympic Villages, the Main Press Centre and four at the Incheon International Airport. Samsung Olympic Showcases @ PyeongChang Olympic Plaza and @ Gangneung Olympic Park will provide visitors with engaging experiences incorporating Samsung’s legacy of breakthrough innovation and interactive activities powered by Samsung technology.

Athletes and fans will first experience the Samsung brand history and heritage in engineering, design and craftsmanship and then the partnership history with the Olympic Games. Through interactive experiences, visitors will be able to feel the exhilaration and escape into real-world thrills in winter sports through VR, including snowboarding, as well as participate in alpine and cross-country skiing contests that will challenge fans’ fitness capacity. For the first time, visitors will be able to experience the ‘Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ created by Samsung. Visitors will experience a full space mission including mission briefing, trying on the training suits and helmets and the truly immersive experience in the Moon rig where they will feel lunar gravity with every step.

“For two decades as a Worldwide Olympic Partner, Samsung has connected fans, visitors and athletes from around the world with our latest technological innovations, which have now evolved to also include immersive experiences,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics. “We’re delighted to share Samsung’s latest mobile technologies and products, so fans and athletes can enjoy new, unique experiences while at the Olympic Winter Games.”

“Over the course of our longstanding partnership, Samsung has brought new experiences and technology advancements to each Olympic Games,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Samsung helps to make each and every one an exciting and meaningful experience for all.”

Visitors will experience and engage with Samsung’s products and Galaxy brand through a variety of activities through a comfortable, interactive environment, including:

• Immersive VR Experiences: Unique VR experiences powered by the Galaxy Note8 will allow fans to escape into exhilarating moments on the fresh mountain slopes in snowboarding and skeleton as well as escape to space in Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ – available to consumers to experience for the first time. Other experiences include simulated skiing adventures.
• Playful Experiences: Promoting the playful side of technology, Portrait Pool allows visitors to turn their “selfies” into painted characters for social sharing, S Pen Gallery to create own portraits with Galaxy Note8 and S pen as a paint brush, Infinity Moment to create user generated content with the Galaxy Note8.
• Kids Lounge: A dedicated kids lounge in a hands-on zone, where kids can play, learn and explore Samsung products and expand their creativity through hands-on experience.
• Smart Home (IoT): Multi Device and futuristic demos powered by mobile technology that showcase the IoT, helping visitors to imagine the future lifestyle.
• Unbox Samsung: The journey of ‘Unbox Samsung’ where visitors can experience the Living History of Samsung since 1988 when the first mobile phone was launched.
• Purchase and Customer Service: Visitors will also be able receive customer service and make purchases of the mobile products and its accessories.
• Interact and Relax: Within lounges and in the Cultural Community where various lifestyle programs will take place as well as in the Café where food and beverages will be available for purchase using Buddy Points acquired during the interactive experiences.
• Special Events: A series of events will take place at the Samsung Olympic Showcase to enhance the Olympic Winter Games experience including athlete visits and celebrating holiday moments.