By now it is an all too familiar sight; A new product launches, and die hard fans queue up for hours, sometimes days, outside their closest outlet to be the first the get their hands on it. Whether it be a new shoe, or smartphone, or the latest Grand Theft Auto, sneaker freaks, technology enthusiasts, and game fanatics everywhere love to buy into the excitement surrounding a product launch.

Embracing this as one of those inexplicable peculiarities of our time, Samsung have given this phenomenon their own unique spin. To publicise the launch of the new Galaxy S4 in New Zealand, they teamed up with digital creative agency ColensoBBDO to encourage fans of the brand to queue up, not outside a store, but online. All they had to do to join the Smart Phone Line was share content via their social media channels. The more they shared, the further up in the queue they moved, and the closer they got to being the first to buy the product.

A fine example of a brand activation via social media, Samsung prompted roughly 12,000 people to ‘join the line’, rightfully pre-empting the anticipation surrounding the launch of their Galaxy S4. Coupling this with a huge public projection of the virtual queue, they successfully harnessed the promotional momentum of a product launch.