Samsung
Using AR to explore cultures
Capabilities:
AR that teaches you Nigerian Shaku moves. Lets you mix techno beats in an underground German club. Helps you pick flowers for your Midsommar festival crown.
This is the story of how we used tech to let young people explore different cultures for Samsung and the Olympic Games.
5.51M
app downloads
1.5m
average daily unique users
52m
impressions across social media, forums, blogs and in the press
Think of the Olympic Games and you probably don’t think of a young crowd. In fact, the average Olympic TV watcher is typically in their low to mid 50s.
The International Olympic Committee and their Tech Partner, Samsung, wanted to change that.
Instead of talking about sport, we went with culture.
We knew from research that young folks see themselves as ‘global citizens’ rather than as belonging to a specific country. We wanted to help them feel it. So we brought together Samsung’s sponsorship of the Olympics and their technology (which was already in more people’s hands across the globe than any other brand) to speak to them in their own language: with AR that would let them travel and learn about the world.
First, we did some serious research. Working with consultancy firm, Northstar, we ran focus groups across 22 countries to find creatively juicy cultural insights.
The end result? The Samsung World Lens, a series of AR experiences that immerse users in multicultural moments. Combining the latest AR tech with how younger audiences naturally use their phones, we created something that had never been done before.
You could discover German techno by pleasing the crowd with the toughest beats, experience Midsommar by picking flowers for your AR crown, get your pro deck skateboard doing tricks, dance through popular Nigerian dance moves, paint some Brazilian graffiti and even release your own dove at the Opening Ceremony.
Each experience was split into three parts. First, a short lesson which provided context about the cultural moment. Then, came a challenge, in which the user stepped into the cultural moment and got to practice what they had learnt in the lesson. Finally, a selfie, designed to be shared far and wide.
The augmented experience was part of the International Olympic Committee’s official Tokyo 2020 app and ran for the entirety of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Even a handful of Olympic athletes, including Gold Winner Carissa Moore (surfing), Geraint Thomas and Niko Kappel, had their fun with the AR experiences.