2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

National Bonds is a UAE-based financial institution providing retail bond sales and regular investments to its customers. Up to 2010 the company was suffering from a perceived lack of credibility, transparency and expertise, due to its policy of not discussing its investments and its focus on its AED 1 million prize. The agency was appointed in 2010 and developed a campaign using consumer research focused on people’s attitudes towards savings to launch the “National Bonds Savings Index.” Although the initial launch was done in late 2010, the second wave of research was announced from Feb 2011 onwards and was used to push a regional communications drive positioning National Bonds as THE though leader on savings in the GCC. The campaign transformed the perception of National Bonds and helped acquire 43,000 new customers, increase the amounts of money being invested by existing customers, and made the CEO the face of savings in the Middle East, appearing multiple times on MBC, CNBC Arabiya and culminating in him appearing on the front cover of Fortune Arabia. National Bonds is now the most trusted source of information on savings in the Middle East, and has had regular positive coverage across almost every major news outlet and broadcast channel in the Middle East over the past year.

The Brief

In order to get media to talk positively and regularly about National Bonds, the agency conceptualized and delivered a sustainable, long-term campaign using unprecedented research for this region as the backbone to revolutionize National Bonds’ PR strategy and take its communications to a new level, linking much-needed consumer finance reform in the wake of the financial crisis to the National Bonds strategy of creating a savings culture in the region. Objectives: • Positioning National Bonds as a credible savings scheme and thought-leader in the field of savings • To develop content that raises their awareness without exposing National Bonds to questions about investments • To counter prevailing attitudes among financial media through meaningful engagement, newsworthy and credible content

Results

The Savings Index stimulated discussion across the media and reversed negative media perception of the brand. Some of the proof points include: • 43,000 new customers joined National Bonds during the campaign period • There was an 11% increase in the number of repeat savers and a 30% increase in the amounts being saved by them • Over 200 media stories across key dailies and online • 23 interviews with CEO across broadcast and print media, including long segments (5-15 mins) on MBC, CNBC Arabiya, Dubai TV, Noor Dubai, Dubai Eye • 7 Full-broadsheet features on the Savings Index • CEO on the FRONT COVER of Fortune Arabia • Media stories critical of National Bonds/media requests for interviews regarding negative topics decrease from frequent (1-2 per month) to nonexistent following the launch of the Savings Index • Previously hostile media became ambassadors (The National, 7Days, Gulf News, Al Ittihad)

Execution

• To make the information easier to digest, a summary presentation was prepared with key findings sheets, and press releases summarizing the results • Specific stats were held back and given as exclusives to relevant publications in the form of features, example: ‘Emiratis prioritize saving for weddings’ • The same formula was applied every three months for the following year to launch the different phases • Each time results were analyzed against the previous Wave to get comparative insights • GCC index results were sent out in the form of localized press releases with targeted information relating to individual markets across the GCC. Regional content was leveraged for broadcast interviews with CEO • Four Media roundtables were held in specialize sessions with groups of 6 media each time to announce findings to them in before the results were made public - a tactic that resulted in full broadsheet features

The Situation

As the region’s first and only Sharia-compliant savings/investment scheme based on bonds and offering weekly prizes, National Bonds had suffered from differing perceptions about its positioning since its launch in 2006: Lack of visibility: it was caught in a vicious circle with some of its primary stakeholders, (media, investors, financial advisors) who misinterpreted the company’s reticence to answer questions about investments as lack of transparency. Pigeon-holing: National Bonds was a victim of its own success, as the popularity of its million-dirham prize fostered a perception that National Bonds was a lottery-style prize scheme Lack of credibility: The combination of the above perceptions gave the overall impression that National Bonds was not a serious savings vehicle, despite savings being the company’s core message.

The Strategy

A phased plan was developed to ensure that the Savings Index content was used to position National Bonds as THE thought leader on savings in the region, and the CEO, Mr. Mohammed Qasim Al-Ali, as the face of that savings message. The plan was executed to ensure a continuous pipeline of information to avoid overwhelming the media while keeping National Bonds front of mind when it came to the topic of savings. While the initial launch and press conference took place in September 2010, the campaign’s strongest messaging, activity and results took place following the second wave of findings, from February 2011 onwards. Research questions were developed with an international research agency for a research covering 2,000 people across the Gulf and asking them about their attitudes towards savings. The results were reworked into a white paper for easy media consumption. Example of attention-grabbing facts that were leveraged: 74% of people in the UAE do not to save on a regular basis.