2010 Winners & Shortlists

MEET DUBAI

Bronze
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BrandEMIRATES AIRLINES
Product/ServiceDUBAI
EntrantSTARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryConsumer Services
Entrant Company:STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement:STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Credits

Results and Effectiveness

• 127% lift in very favourable opinion of Dubai • 225% lift in likelihood to visit • Despite only 3 seconds logo attribution out of a 2 minute clip, 86% recalled Emirates • Ultimately, we managed to do what other major destinations failed to do in 2009 – increase visitor levels. Traffic thru Dubai Airport was up 9.2% vs. 2008 while Heathrow (-2.8%) and JFK (-9.2%) declined. • Seeded content delivered free broadcast exposure worth $23.5mil USD – 8x our original investment (Sources: CNN/Continental Research Study; Airports Council International; CAA; US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Double Click, Dynamic Logic)

Creative Execution

We created unscripted mini travel documentaries about the real people of Dubai and their exciting experiences of what Dubai has to offer. These mini documentaries were broadcasted to a global audience using key international TV stations and online portals. Post documentary production, we were left with over 80 hrs of unused compelling footage. Here we saw an opportunity to seed this content over to our International TV partners to see if they could integrate it into their programming. In addition, the stations shot and produced their own content to complement our footage at no additional cost to Emirates. Online we offered longer formats of each documentary to the user and gave them a chance to comment, interact and share their own experience through platforms such as a dedicated YouTube channel, Hulu & Twitter. We also partnered with NY Times to create a travel journal nanosite which allowed users to interact with exclusive content.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Towards the last quarter of 2009 the world press turned on Dubai with unprecedented venom. Journalists were falling over each other to publically humiliate the Emirate. Every media channel proudly announced that the Dubai bubble had burst. Thousands of cars had been abandoned at the airport. Once proud skyscrapers, were now empty and deserted. Our Challenge was to change this negative perception and humanize this city. We had to influence the global news, over which we had zero control, while minimizing negative spillover from Dubai’s financial woes onto Emirates Airlines. To do so we needed to create & disseminate our own content about Dubai. Our plan was to become the news. What better way to change people’s perception than using the local Dubai residents who are invested in the survival of the city. Our idea was to Meet Dubai through its people.

Credits

Name Company Role
Rayan Karaky Starcom Mediavest Group General Manager
Jacqui Hewett Starcom Mediavest Group Associate Director
Robert Salomone Starcom Mediavest Group Business Director
Raya Ounsi Starcom Mediavest Group Media Manager
Tinder Kaur Starcom Mediavest Group Media Manager
Wassim Jammal Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Media Executive
Abbas Chagla Starcom Mediavest Group Senior Planner
Mark Hamilton Starcom Mediavest Group Planning Director MENA
Tony O'Connor Leo Burnett Copywriter Director