Samsung’s ‘The Silent Whistle’ Links App To Galaxy Smartwatch To Boost Deaf Participation In Team Sport

Territory: Australia / Global

Agency: Leo Burnett, Sydney

Objective:

Samsung Australia learned that children with hearing loss have difficulty playing some team sports because they can’t hear the referee’s whistle and that this can lead to a feeling of exclusion.

With 40% of Australians suffering from some form of hearing-impairment this results in hundreds of thousands of athletes, regardless of their ability, being excluded from regular team sport because they can’t hear the referee’s whistle when it’s blown.

So Samsung and agency Leo Burnett Sydney set out to find a tech-led solution which would work on its products that enabled kids with hearing loss to play team sports

Activation:

Working with support from Deaf Children Australia, the team created an app which linked to the Samsung Galaxy Sport Watch that uses the in-built microphone to detect the whistle sound and then sends vibrations to mimic the referee whistle.

The app launched in June 2019 with a promotional campaign led by a hero spot featuring a hearing impaired young Deaf Netball Victoria player to showcase the success of the initiative.

Outcome:

This project boosts the ability to for deaf people to inclusively participate in regular team sports.

Comment:

Samsung has a strong track record for using its cutting edge technology to boost inclusivity in sport such as its swimming ‘Blind Cap’ (see case study) and also to improve performance like its skating ‘Smartsuit’ (see case study) and this initiative adds to that impressive heritage.

Links:

Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch

https://www.samsung.com/uk/wearables/smart-watch/

Leo Burnett, Sydney

https://www.leoburnett.com.au/sydney