#BeFearless
Samsung Electronics
Issue 42 | March 2017
Agency
Cheil Germany, Cheil Worldwide, Cheil MEA, Cheil Russia
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officers Roland Rudolf Wain Choi Creative Director Guido Boehm Executive Creative Directors Joern Welle Thomas Schroeder Creative Director Stuart Mills Associate Creative Director Jax Jung Senior Copywriter Annika D’Ambrogio Copywriter Hayden Yu-Hyun Lee Art Directors Jinwoo Ryu Joohee Lee Rafael Maggess Wesley Yoon
Other Credits
Senior Business Director Jongbin Lee Account Director Samater Liban
Date
April 2016
Background
One in five people has a fear of public speaking and even one in four people has a fear of heights. However, studies showed that with constant practice, people could overcome their fears permanently.
Idea
The VR-program #BeFearless was created. In collaboration with doctors, apps were built to help people overcome two of the most common fears: fear of height and fear of public speaking. The world's first scientifically proven VR app holistically utilised heart rate, eye contact and voice recognition to be able to give personal evaluation and feedback.
http://www.projectfoyer.com/befearless/mobile/
case microsite
http://www.samsung.com/ae/launchingpeople/
official Samsung website
Results
A clinical study at Yonsei University Gangnam Severance Hospital proved the success: 87.8% of 82 participants saw benefits. People with fear of public speaking reduced their anxiety score by 18.7%, while people with a fear of heights reduced their stress levels by 23.6%. The program was subsequently rolled out in the hospital's VR Clinic. Translated into four languages, the VR apps were a treatment option for people all over the world.
Our Thoughts
VR is being used to help stroke victims recover and in Australia a pilot scheme is using VR to help the elderly cope with loneliness. Meanwhile, AR is being used to help amputees overcome phantom limb pain. Here’s Cheil showing how huge the opportunities are for this new technology beyond 3D movies and enhanced gaming experiences.
At the same time, every story like this – of helpful technology – is contributing to a brand image of Samsung as a forward-looking company that genuinely cares about making people’s lives better.