2013 Winners & Shortlists

THE SATIRE REVOLUTION

Short List
BrandBLACKBERRY
Product/ServiceBLACKBERRY
EntrantSTARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryBEST BRAND OR PRODUCT INTEGRATION INTO A FEATURE FILM, EXISTING TV SHOW AND/OR SERIES
Contributing Company LIQUID THREAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Entrant Company STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

Branded entertainment in the MENA region is still in its infancy. While there are clients and networks that have embraced this form of communication, there are still several networks which area wary of how the communication is perceived. With the prevalence of state run networks across the region, the ability to create content is limited. It is more accepted with private and paid channels. The ability for networks & talent to craft carefully created programs to appear as though they are not a paid endorsement of the product is the key to balanced success. This narrow window of accepted branded content is navigated by only a few agencies with specialized divisions.

Results

BlackBerry was successful among youth in Saudi Arabia with its popular BBM feature. Recently, it started losing edge to Apple and Samsung that built a cooler image, more appealing apps, and new messaging solutions that threaten BBM e.g. Whatsapp and iMessage. We needed to find a voice that spoke directly to our target, someone who could strengthen BlackBerry consideration and bring back its exciting and fun image. That person was Omar Hussein. We faced the challenge of walking the fine line between content integration and direct endorsement that’s less convincing to young users. For the first two seasons of the show, Saudi youth could only watch "AlTayer" passively; BlackBerry came in to change that and give the fans their opportunity to become part of the show. We built a premium entertainment experience that allows them to participate in creating the content. We developed a dedicated BlackBerry app that allowed fans to send Omar topics, messages, content, questions and ideas for the show. For the first time ever, Omar seamlessly wove fans' content into an entire 1.5 minute segment called “Harobnaro” (“Hot out the Oven” in Arabic), within his 7-minute show . Using the fans’ input as a starting point, he brought his coveted sense of humor and satire to create one of his most memorable content to date. The interactivity between Omar and his BlackBerry fans was designed around his own unique and culturally-relevant style. The BlackBerry app allowed users also to watch the show's episodes and enhanced their viewing experience by giving them access to exclusive content like fan video replies, behind the scenes shots, and bloopers. The app was promoted on "AlTayer" and BlackBerry’s social media and featured in the carousel on BlackBerry App World.

Saudi Arabia’s mainstream media is widely censored by the government. Saudi youth struggle to find content that appeals to them or allows to participate in building their own entertainment experience. As it stands, only 1% of global online content is Arabic which allows no choice or diversity that the Saudi youth crave. Meet Omar Hussein, the John Stewart them of Saudi Arabia and creator of the satire YouTube-based show “AlTayer” (“On The Fly” in English). Omar challenged the mainstream media establishment. His show attracted 45 million views and 507,000 subscribers due to his witty and outspoken commentary on social-political topics in Saudi.

BlackBerry segment’s “HaroBnaro” was an immediate hit and received a staggering 5.3 million views. Fans’ participation increased to record levels, posting 31,000 comments and 161,000 likes on YouTube (Source: YouTube analytics http://www.youtube.com/3al6ayer). The campaign drew the mainstream media attention who interviewed Omar and his team (Source: AlJazeera, Dubai One TV, MBC). BlackBerry managed to reverse its downhill brand preference trend by creating an exclusive entertainment experience for its users. It became the catalyst that allowed them to become part of the show rather than disrupting it. BlackBerry’s brand preference increased by 5% and its consideration increased by 4% (Source: GFK Brand Tracker Dec 2012). The app rose to become the no 1 local app on AppWorld in Saudi Arabia with 90,000 downloads so far (Ref: BlackBerry Appworld stats).

Credits

Name Company Role
Michelle Tam Starcom Mediavest Digital Account Manager
Yajnesh Rao Starcom Mediavest Media Director
Tarek Daouk Liquidthread Chief Content/Innovation Officer
Manikandan Hari Starcom Mediavest Client Managing Director
Rayan Karaky Starcom Mediavest Chief Digital Officer
Wesam Ayyash Starcom Mediavest Media Executive
Raed Bou Hamdan Starcom Mediavest Media Manager
Hani Naim Liquidthread Account Executive - Branded Content