2013 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

To launch new NIVEA ‘Sensual Musk Body Lotion’ we had to positively connect with Arabic Women. Our core audience were existing Jergens users, NIVEA’s main competitor so the challenge was to influence them to switch brands. With ‘Arabian Musk’ the most popular scent in the region, we needed to communicate that NIVEA’s new offering provided women the smell they love with the superior moisturization they require. Through research and a thorough understanding of the audience, our strategy was to invite women to share their romantic stories with us. The idea was to then turn the best stories into short-films!

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We tasked the regions most-talented film director, Emirati Nayla Al Khaja to bring to life the ‘Captivating Tales’ of women in 5min short-films. Nayla, along Sayidati magazine and NIVEA read through the entries and selected the three most compelling stories. ‘The Wait’, ‘Impressions’ and ‘New Beginning’ were then filmed, produced and given their broadcast debut through a branded integration on the region’s biggest TV channel MBC1, online and aired in cinemas. By partnering with Nayla, not only could we bring women’s stories to life visually, giving them a huge platform but also capture the cultural nuances of the region.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In just four weeks, we received more than 1,400 stories – totaling over 2m words! We provided women with entertainment that was both compelling and relevant, boosting purchase intent by 26% and product recommendation by 100%. In fact, nearly 1m NIVEA Musk products have been sold- 11% more than targeted. Finally, NIVEA Musk has not only captured 12% market share from the market leader, but also contributed a 67% growth to the category.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Captivating Tales was driven by bespoke research that yielded key insights that shapes our unique strategy. In KSA, a woman’s scent (and particularly Musk) is very much an expression of their personality/sensuality. Added to this, we found that Saudi women were also beginning to express themselves and their sensitive sides through writing. In addition, NIVEA’s ATL campaign centered around the theme of ‘Captivate the Senses’ - a mantra of sensual empowerment. Therefore, by combining both the audience insights and brand DNA of sensuality, we could bring out the inner sentiments of Arab women and positively connect them with new Musk.