Mid-2018 saw Korean consumer tech giant Samsung bracing itself to unveil the newest evolution of a pivotal product: the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus smartphones. In Taiwan, the brand engaged Pico to craft a unique experience fusing technology and gourmet food that would create a glamourous brand-product-audience connection.
The brief
For Pico, the ultimate task was to create a powerful and unique Samsung Galaxy experience for an audience of 350 key influencers, including celebrities, media and VIPs.
Creative and execution
Guests were ushered into a glittering gold sanctum at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, giving an immersive sense of the event’s exclusive and bespoke character; it was very much a custom-built experience, using Michelin-starred dining as a vehicle to the new phones’ novel capabilities.
Seated at a dining table with place-settings featuring a Samsung S9 or S9 Plus, guests were treated to a succession of six Chinese cuisines specially prepared for ‘Foodography’ - experiencing via tasting and photography. To capture the deliciousness of each morsel, Pico used the phones to record the entire cooking process in superb HD resolution, using the phone’s ‘Super Slow-mo’ function. The clips were subsequently used to edit into a Feast of Food and Technology promotional video.
As each course was served, the phone cameras’ innovative ‘Food’ mode fascinated guests with its ability to add flavour to food imaging. Guests also explored the phones’ image identification, emoji chef and enhanced night imaging capabilities. They could even create augmented reality versions of themselves simply by taking a selfie and adding emoji stickers and videos.
Additional interactive aspects of the experience using augmented and virtual reality tech were created by Pico to intensify engagement and curiosity. To ensure the memories were lasting, the guests’ own photographs and webcam video clips could be custom-edited and returned to them via Line software for sharing.
Results
Feedback from the participants showed that event resonated in all the right ways:
• 80% were highly impressed with the new phones’ features
• 70% were amazed by the VR experience
• 72% enjoyed the event’s interactive elements
Virtual reality (VR) goggles enabled guests to complement one meal course with a fantastic Pico-created undersea experience including 3D marine life
Pico developed augmented reality (AR) solutions to engage guests with the new phones and the meal. Using the phone, guests scanned a bowl’s QR code and were presented with an AR view of mushrooms, abalone and other ingredients dancing in their soup. Scanning a steamer meanwhile conjured up an animated AR chef who thanked them for enjoying the meal
