Samsung: To Dance, or Not to Dance?

The Galaxy A series is Samsung's celebrity phone, aimed at lower and middle income families who respond best to catchy jingles and dances. That sonic branding had worked better than anything else before, and it was exactly the kind of communication that could look tone deaf in the worst period of political sensitivity after the coup.

In strategic planning the question was blunt: to dance, or not to dance? Staying silent would cede the market; dancing carelessly could damage the brand and its celebrities.

The answer was to dance, but on the strength of an insight. Ruder Finn Era's planning showed that the target audience were strong supporters of an inclusive federal democracy that represented the country's many ethnic groups, and that celebrating that diversity was something they wanted to see.

The campaign was therefore built around Myanmar's ethnic diversity, with the music and dance of the Galaxy A series reframed as a celebration of everyone the country is made of. The team handled strategy, creative development and production, and delivered the campaign across social and digital channels where the audience had gathered.