You've Been Challenged: Staring Contest!

Samsung challenged any passerby to a 1 hour staring contest to encourage the promotion of the new Samsung Galaxy S4's "smart pause" technology in 2013. This "smart pause" technology can detect when you are looking at the screen. If you look away, it will automatically pause the video you are watching. To demonstrate its ability to do so, Samsung challenged anyone who passed by the machine to a 1 hour staring contest. If they continued to stare at the eye-tracking screen for 1 hour, they would win a free Samsung Galaxy S4. However, there is a catch. It's a set up! There are actors hired to argue beside you, "police" dogs wanting to sniff you, motorcyclists driving around, a growing audience and much more to bring your attention away from the screen.

This experiential event brought plenty of attention to the brand as well as the event itself. It was successful in that people did not realize they were participating in a promotional event until it was over. The hype and excitement over what was happening was the sole focus. Everyone wanted one person to pass the test and win the Samsung Galaxy S4. The campaign's very first "staring contest" took place at the Zurich Main Station in Switzerland and branched out to various locations to spread the word. Samsung succeeded in getting their audience interested, involved, and invested in their brand through participating in the staring contest, watching from the sidelines or even online. I first discovered this event back in 2013 and it has stuck with me ever since. I still admire it. It has an up-lifting attitude while promising a happy outcome. It is entertaining and allows the audience to forget the brand for a moment in order to fully participate in what is happening before them. The audience remembers who the brand is at the end and associates those recently felt emotions with the brand itself.

Experiential events can highly benefit a brand. They do not push the brand in consumers' faces but merely remind them that the brand is there and can be associated with the emotions felt during the experience. They are enjoyable. When I come across them, I find myself attracted to the event, wanting to participate in some way through recording what is happening, becoming a participant, or looking them up online. Even though Samsung's staring contest is a few years old, I believe it is worth discussing because of the innovative idea behind it. How do we promote this new technology? Let's make it a game! The main critique I have relates to the impact growth of this event had it been implemented in more cities nation-wide or pushed more virally online.

Check out the event below!