By Patrick Avenell
Samsung Electronics has a strong global heritage in sports marketing, having originally sponsored the Sydney Roosters and the Essendon Bombers, are currently backing the Australian Rugby Union, swimmer James Magnussen, paralympian Ahmed Kelly and, globally, the Olympic movement.
In a change of pace from this fast-paced world, and a change of voice from the shouting and cheering, the local subsidiary of the Korean powerhouse has signed a 3-year deal with the Sydney Opera House.
Australia’s most iconic building and the most outstanding piece of the architecture of the 20th Century, the Opera House is also closely associated with ‘major partners’ Etihad Airways and Google. Samsung is presumably more involved, at least financially, than these companies, having been given the sobriquet ‘principal partner’.
The Opera House has been actively looking to modernise over the past decade, shedding any vestige of stuffiness associated with high culture for more broad and youth-centred events. The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, held at the Benelong Point venue since 2009, has been a huge success; while plays starring Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin have also been produced.
“It is our mission to welcome, engage and inspire people through the quality, breadth and ambition of what we offer,” said Opera House CEO Louise Herron in a statement. “I am thrilled that on the eve of our 40th anniversary in October, Samsung, a leading international brand which shares our focus on creativity, excellence and innovation, has partnered with us to enhance people’s experiences of the Opera House and to help us cater to new generations of visitors through new generations of technology.”
Click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter
Follow Current.com.au on Twitter
While the partnership helps to modernise the Opera House, it serves the inverse purpose for Samsung. Having already captured the youth and young adult market with its range of Galaxy smartphones and feature-packed home appliances, the company can now market directly to the extremely wealthy culture niche that frequents the Opera House.
In a statement, Samsung marketing director Arno Lenior said the sponsorship was about reaching all Australians, regardless of whether they attend the Opera House, or even reside in Sydney.
“As a global leader in technology and innovation, Samsung’s vision is to facilitate discovery for all Australians through our products and content,” Lenior said. “Our partnership with the Sydney Opera House literally brings this vision to life and forms the heart of our relationship. The potential audience for all the Opera House’s incredible work is every Australian in the country.”
To generate immediate publicity for this partnership, Samsung is holding its marquee launch of 2013, for the Galaxy S4 smartphone, at the Opera House on 23 April 2013. The public is being invited to suggest images depicting Australia in its unique beauty, either geographically or culturally, with the best to be displayed on the Opera House Sails the night of the launch.
—
UnderCurrent would like to see Samsung kick off this partnership with a performance of this musical masterpiece: