2011 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

This campaign was developed to counter an anticipated decline in Arab visitors to Egypt. Arab arrivals to Egypt are heavily concentrated in the summer months of July and August. With Ramadan moving into August in 2010, it was likely that Arabs would either return home or choose not to visit Egypt at all. To pre-empt this possibility, the agency developed a campaign to position Ramadan in Egypt as 'special and different'. Unlike other parts of the world, Egypt combines the spiritual (obedience to Muslim requirements) with the festive (Ramadan tents at night). The campaign captures this duality giving the message, 'When you visit Egypt in Ramadan, the whole country welcomes you to join their celebrations'. The symbol of these celebrations became the symbol of the campaign - a colourful lantern seen hanging throughout the country, the fawaness.

Success of the Campaign

Arab arrivals during Ramadan were +9% over the same period year ago. Although 9% may not sound significant, it must be remembered that this is during a period when a decline was expected. Quantitative research (using Nielsen’s EPIC methodology) showed that the Fawanees TV and Print work each scored above regional norms, and also above global norms, on the standard dimensions tested.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

The campaign kicked off with distribution of street flags adapted to campaign theme 'decoration element known to Egyptians and each year they use it as a start of Ramadan' - followed by a concert on a specially-constructed floating stage on the Nile in Cairo. Further concerts followed each week throughout the season, culminating in a fireworks and music extravaganza in Alexandria. In paid media, television spots ran across the region. Print ads appeared in Pan-Arab and key national publications. In OOH, bus sides and branded bus shelters in Dubai. In the digital space, the existing Arab website was 're-skinned' to maintain the festive Ramadan campaign feel, and banner ads ran directing targets towards this site. With the help of sponsoring partners, Fawanees-branded items were provided in-flight on Egypt Air flights in and out of the Gulf. Special Ramadan tents were produced with branded entertainment in Kuwait, Tunisia, Turkey and Cairo Airport.