2013 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In the summer of 2012 Goodyear Middle East rolled out their ‘Beat the Heat’ marketing campaign to generate awareness on ambient road temperatures, how hot it actually gets and what this means for your tires. Numerous levels of above the line advertising, a real time temperature billboard and PR were employed to get the message across. To keep in line with their vision to give back to society, Goodyear made sure that the campaign was rounded off by an initiative called ‘Miles for Smiles’ that saw the company staff put together and deliver ‘care packages’ to help construction workers around the UAE ‘beat the heat’. Various items including a cool water bottle, t-shirt, towels, cap and more were ordered for the activity and consolidated in-house. Construction companies in the UAE that employ numerous labour workers throughout the UAE were identified and partnered with. The staff was incentivised to be part of the campaign in line with the company’s corporate culture. To further generate awareness on the ‘Beat the Heat’ campaign and share the philanthropic nature of the activity to hopefully inspire others to think about the people who built the city, a story was shared with the media. The spirit of the campaign and using ongoing CSR initiatives to tie-in to an existing campaign and generating top of mind awareness through a philanthropic endeavour, is why we believe the campaign holds weight over a stand alone CSR initiative.

The Brief

The simple goal was to be a responsible and dedicated part of the community in the UAE. Being seen to be responsible isn’t always as important, but as it tied the ‘Beat the Heat’ campaign together, news on the initiative was disseminated to Pan Arab media in order to generate further awareness on the campaign. The goal involved reaching as many workers in as many varied areas of UAE as possible – so connecting with different labour camps was as important as the right kit.

Results

Over 1000 labourers received care packages creating over 1000 smiles. Over USD 165,000 in PR value with a total investment of USD 50,000

Execution

The activity was tied into the month of Ramadan to foster the spirit of giving and took place at various venues over a two week period. Steps included identifying the right partner to get involved with; putting together a kit for the construction workers; and involving the Goodyear staff to visit the labour camps. Implemented at labour housing facilities across Dubai. Media was invited to attend the event and images and news was disseminated as soon as the first camp was visited to deliver maximum effect.

The Situation

Goodyear is a company that prides itself on safety and innovation as well as being socially aware and part of the community it belongs to. Goodyear had rolled out its ‘Beat the Heat’ summer campaign that made drivers aware of road temperatures as opposed to ambient temperatures they are used to and how they affect tires. So to further their mission of helping the community ‘beat the heat’ it was a logical evolution to turn their attention to the city’s builders (construction workers) by delivering care packages and helping them keep cool during the hot summer months.

The Strategy

The PR strategy is a mix of ongoing PR communication to print, broadcast and digital media coupled with an audience engagement level wherever possible. A message of innovation and safety and ‘made to feel good’ underlie all communications that strive to enhance consumer awareness and engagement. The idea was to tie the ‘Beat the Heat’ campaign into every facet of Goodyear communications and corporate culture – of which CSR is a major part.