The archive · Marketing & Growth · Product decision · 2024–2026
Samsonite and Dentsu turn used suitcases into classroom sound panels — 40 dB quieter
Dentsu and Samsonite recycle 2,000+ used suitcases into acoustic panels for classrooms near Jakarta's airport — noise cut up to 40 dB.
Samsonite · Dentsu Indonesia
What it had to solve
Students at schools near Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport study under aircraft noise every few minutes, with classroom levels of 70–90 dB well above WHO safety standards and risking hearing damage. Samsonite had an annual trade-in program producing used suitcases, and Dentsu Indonesia's task became solving the noise problem instead of selling more luggage.
How it works
Scholar Panel is an acoustic product built by Dentsu Indonesia for Samsonite: used suitcases collected through Samsonite's annual trade-in program were recycled into noise-deflecting panels installed in classrooms at SD Kamal 09, a school directly under the flight path of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
The problem was real and measured: children at schools near Indonesia's busiest airport study under 70–90 dB of aircraft noise every few minutes, above WHO safety levels and a known risk to hearing and concentration. Dentsu's idea was to treat the noise as a design brief rather than a social-media topic.
Each panel combines 2 cm-thick recycled luggage panels, glass-fiber reinforced concrete and a steel frame, mounted at a 30° angle so it deflects the sound of planes flying at 6–7.5° upward. The design was developed with architects and acoustic consultants; classroom noise fell by up to 40 dB.
The result went beyond one school: more than 2,500 students got a quieter learning environment, the Indonesian government pledged to expand the program, the campaign earned over IDR 975 million of press value and 101 million impressions, and it won three Bronzes at Citra Pariwara 2024 before a 2025 sequel aimed at schools near railway tracks.
Why it lands
- It solved a community problem with the brand's own waste stream instead of making a claim.
- Engineering and acoustic research gave the idea proof no slogan could match.
- The trade-in program, previously a retail mechanic, became the campaign's raw material.
- Government adoption and press coverage turned a CSR gesture into a scalable model.
What it did
Classroom noise dropped up to 40 dB for more than 2,500 students. The project generated over IDR 975 million of PR value and 101 million impressions, drew a government pledge to expand it, won three Bronzes at Citra Pariwara 2024, and its 2025 railway-line sequel helped Dentsu take Creative Agency of the Year at Citra Pariwara 38.
What you can take
Outgrow the product: make the brand's own waste the raw material for a real community fix. When the 'ad' is an engineered solution, press value, adoption and awards follow.
Since then
Following Scholar Panel's success, the Indonesian government pledged to expand the program to more schools in Jakarta and nationwide. In 2025 Dentsu ran a second edition, 'Silent School,' applying the same suitcase-panel idea to classrooms near railway tracks, and the campaign was a pillar of dentsu Creative's Creative Agency of the Year win at Citra Pariwara 38 in December 2025.
Sources
- How to Reduce Classroom Noise: Scholar Panel by Dentsu & Samsonite
- Samsonite — Our Work
- Dentsu dan Samsonite menggaungkan perubahan dengan meredam kebisingan
- Dentsu Dominates Citra Pariwara 38; Netflix Wins Advertiser of the Year
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