2013 Winners & Shortlists

A DAY OFFLINE

Silver

Case Film

Presentation Board

BrandMcDONALD'S
Product/ServiceMcDONALD'S
EntrantLEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryBEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Entrant Company LEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency LEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR Agency ASDA'A BURSON-MARSTELLER Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

As a family restaurant, McDonald's is always looking to create moments and opportunities for families to connect. And something was bothering us... We all know technology can bring families and loved-ones together, but if misused can actually become a barrier to quality time with family. We knew the importance of uninterrupted family time, but wanted to make sure families did too. But in order to really affect positive change in family behavior when it came to technology, we would need an act that would get families to look up from their screens and take notice. Instead of an awareness campaign we created a cause, a single day around which families could rally and show their support for family time. We created a day in were families were asked to put aside their phones, emails and gadgets and focus on spending time with family, September 28th: A Day Offline. In effect this was the people's cause, not ours. McDonald's was simply acting as an enabler, so reaching out to them was key in order to see the day become a success. To garner support, we raised awareness through a month of blog posts citing sources from across the region and world about the benefits and pitfalls to uninterrupted family time. We also reached out to bloggers and key influencers on social media to further extend the debate on their own terms.

The Brief

We didn't just want to create a lot of noise about the importance of spending quality family time, but rather really connect with families on the issue, inspire participation and affect change. A lot of this would come down to the number of people who would be participating on the day, either by cutting away from technology altogether or simply keeping their phones on silent and locked away while at the dinner table. At the same time we wanted our efforts to educate families on the importance of uninterrupted family time to affect change in the long term as well.

Results

Research showed 660,000 participated on the day. Of those who participated: • 20% were more likely to think that McDonald’s cares about families. • 17% were more likely to trust McDonald’s. • 95% claimed it helped them understand that family time should be uninterrupted. • 85% claimed it helped them understand that technology can interrupt quality family time. • 80% claimed they were more willing to separate from technology when with family. • 87% claimed they were more willing to ignore their phone at the dinner table. Additionally, PR coverage in 50+ blogs and 85 published articles extended awareness beyond the 1.79 million reached through Facebook.

Execution

A month prior to the day, we started a conversation on our Facebook blog, highlighting the issue daily with content posted by leading authorities, including psychologists, teachers, and sociologists. People could share the content, suggest things to do on the day using our word cloud, and wear a Twibbon to show their support. As our print presence grew, bloggers fueled the growing debate online. On the day itself, we went into digital silence and handed out 250,000 phone vaults to lock away mobile phones for the day. Suggestions from the word cloud were converted into regional in-mall and in-store activities.

The Situation

Family is highly important to people in the region, particularly those raising their own. Over the years however, individual time is consumed by work and technology, making quality family time a rare event. Last year, McDonald's launched its Family Time Forever initiative, to create awareness about the issue. This year, we wanted people to do something about it. McDonald's introduced 'A Day Offline', an annual initiative which encourages families across the GCC to participate by turning off their mobile phones, computers and television sets for one entire day on Friday September 28th, and spend time together as a family instead.

The Strategy

When it comes to families, McDonald's role is to create moments and opportunities for families to connect. We are enables of family time and by asking families to participate in A Day Offline, we were trying to encourage and support uninterrupted family time for families across the GCC. Asking people to spend a day away the technology they've become so accustomed to though is no small task, so we tried to make it more doable by providing a little help. (e.g. Phone Vaults let parents seal their phones away for the day, removing all temptation to check that last message.)

Credits

Name Company Role
Bechara Mouzannar Leo Burnett Chief Creative Officer
Peter Bidenko Leo Burnett Regional Executive Creative Director
Marwan Chahine Leo Burnett Creative Director
Jad Mouhawej Leo Burnett Regional Account Director
Rasha Alazem Leo Burnett Account Director
Mohammad Halabi Leo Burnett Head Of Arabic
Tariq Ayass Leo Burnett Senior Art Director
Maha Khawaja Leo Burnett Copywriter
Rania Badawi Leo Burnett Arabic Copywriter
Ali Marashi Leo Burnett Planner
Nicolas Chidiac Leo Burnett Head of Strategy