2012 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

Consumers clearly wanted to experience the magic in person. Even in a time of fiscal recession, footfall increased by 14% versus previous month. Store traffic was not the only uplift, but the overall City Center saw an increase in sales by 19%. The magazine itself sold 14% more copies as compare to the previous year’s Christmas edition, and it was the first time that they had directly referred their readers to an advert.

Creative Execution

How do you make a piece of paper ‘magical’? We took the typical holiday issue of Time Out Dubai and transformed it into a magical experience by creating a branded 3D visual on the front & back cover as well as 16 inside pages. The festive holiday issue featured the magic that was waiting for families at Mirdiff City Centre. Mirdif City Centre branded 3D glasses were bagged with the magazine so readers could get the full experience. Seen through the glasses, the visuals ‘magically’ came to life and images jumped out of the pages.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Mirdif City Centre used a little bit of ‘magic’ to celebrate the holiday season. The centre planned activities for the entire family built around a magical theme, including acrobats and illusionists. This concept was unique for a shopping mall and we wanted the communication to be in the same breath. In keeping with the theme, our challenge was to create magical illusions in the media activation that would instantly catch viewer attention and leave a lasting impression. But how do you bring magic to life in traditional media? So we decided to take a 2D piece of paper…and bring it to life.