Samsung redefines the foldable experience

Samsung continues to lead global innovation in the foldable smartphone category, redefining productivity, creativity, and mobile experiences through breakthrough engineering and Galaxy AI integration.

With the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7, Samsung continues to redefine the mobile experience, combining pro-grade AI capabilities with ground-breaking foldable hardware designed for both productivity and self-expression.

To bring this innovation story to life across the GCC, Starcom Middle East, part of Publicis Media and one of the region's leading media communications agencies, together with Eskimi partnered with Samsung Gulf Electronics to execute a launch strategy aligned with the ambition and premium positioning of the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7.

Driving foldable storytelling across the Gulf

The campaign focused on two distinct powerhouses: the Galaxy Z Fold7, Samsung's slimmest and most powerful foldable featuring a 200MP camera and an 8-inch Infinity Flex display, and the Galaxy Z Flip7, the ultimate pocket-sized companion with a new 4.1-inch cover screen and voice-powered Galaxy AI.

The campaign objective was clear: maximize awareness and attention while reinforcing Samsung's leadership in foldable innovation.

A targeting strategy was applied across both the UAE and Qatar, enabling consistent awareness delivery and comparable performance benchmarks across markets.

Galaxy Z Fold7 

The Galaxy Z Fold7 campaign focused on a more mature, affluent audience with strong interests in business, finance, investing, luxury travel, and premium lifestyle content. To further refine reach, the campaign targeted users of high-end devices priced at $500+ to ensure the message resonated with consumers already engaged in the premium smartphone segment and more likely to consider an upgrade.

Galaxy Z Flip7 

The Galaxy Z Flip7 campaign targeted a younger, trend-driven audience with interests in lifestyle, gaming, entertainment, and digital culture. Tailored toward Gen Z consumers, the strategy focused on engaging socially active, style-conscious users who value creativity, self-expression, and innovative design.

First-to-Market Eskimi 3D innovation

The immersive 3D perspective ad format brought Samsung's foldable form factor to life, enabling users to experience the sleek form factor and premium engineering through interactive motion and dynamic storytelling.

"As our first campaign with Eskimi, the focus was on delivering high-impact exposure that highlighted the unique design and premium appeal of both devices," shares Robert Khairallah, Manager Media Planning at Publicis Media. "By leveraging Eskimi's 3D Perspective format, we created a highly immersive experience that showcased the innovative foldable form factor in motion. This activation positioned Samsung as the first technology brand in the GCC to launch Eskimi's 3D format."

The campaign's success was also driven by a close, highly collaborative execution process. "Throughout the process, the collaboration was both agile and solutions-driven," shares Robert Khairallah. "Eskimi's hands-on support during development and optimization ensured that the final execution not only delivered impactful innovation but also maintained strong brand consistency across markets."

Measuring what matters: Attention

The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 campaigns were designed to drive awareness, maximize attention, and spotlight Samsung's leadership in foldable innovation.

"Demonstrating the full value of upper- and mid-funnel activity is especially important when launching premium, innovation-led products like foldables, where impact is reflected in attention quality, engagement, and brand influence," shares Robert Khairallah. "In this context, the first campaign with Eskimi was especially valuable, strengthening immersive storytelling while introducing measurement layers that extended beyond standard attribution."

To strengthen the awareness-led approach, the campaign integrated the Lumen Attention Measurement tool to move beyond standard delivery metrics. "Attention measurement with Lumen gave us a deeper understanding of ad exposure quality beyond impressions and reach," shares Robert Khairallah. "It helped demonstrate how effectively the creative captured and held user attention, critical for validating the impact of innovative formats within an awareness objective."

• Attention Per Mille: The campaign delivered a combined Attention Per Mille (APM) of 2,885, representing a 243% increase over the benchmark. 
• Average view time: The average time a viewer actively looked at the ad per measurable impression reached 5.6 seconds, 128% above the benchmark.
• View rate: The percentage of impressions where the ad was seen reached 51.47%, exceeding the benchmark by 51%.

Across both countries, the campaign significantly outperformed market benchmarks, delivering exceptional attention performance:

• Attention Per Mille: In the UAE, the campaign achieved an Attention Per Mille (APM) of 2,664, 217% above the benchmark. In Qatar, the results were exceptional, reaching an APM of 4,120, an impressive 390% uplift over the benchmark, highlighting remarkably strong attention efficiency in the market.
• Average view time: The average duration of active attention per measurable impression reached 5.28 seconds in the UAE, exceeding the benchmark by 115%. Qatar significantly outperformed expectations, with viewers engaging for 7.24 seconds on average, a 194% increase over the benchmark and nearly three times higher than the baseline, demonstrating outstanding depth of engagement.
• View rate: The share of impressions where the ad was noticed reached 50.5% in the UAE, outperforming the benchmark by 48%. In Qatar, viewability climbed to 56.9%, surpassing the benchmark by 67%, reinforcing the market's exceptional overall performance across all key attention metrics.
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"The campaign KPIs were not only met but overachieved across key awareness metrics, with strong delivery on both impressions and reach," shares Robert Khairallah. "Overall, the results exceeded both our expectations and the client's objectives, strengthening confidence in this approach for future awareness-led initiatives."

The campaign overachieved across all key awareness metrics, demonstrating that innovative formats drive significantly higher engagement than standard banners. It generated over 2.7 million impressions and reached more than 1.1 million users across the UAE and Qatar. A consistent 74.67% viewability rate ensured that the premium assets were seen by the intended audience.