2014 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

To target an audience successfully with branded entertainment and content, a brand must strategically pinpoint shows that will inherently draw their ideal consumer in. Brands can then elevate and extend their story-telling through other contextual and familiar targeting models, rather than creating something that is overly and obviously produced to sell a new product. In the Middle East, branded content is becoming ever more popular in the region due to the feasibility of integrating the brand across live shows and the increasing popularity of OLV. It is fast becoming an essential touch-point for brands that don’t have strict media guidelines or want to engage with a young, fast-paced user. Restrictions apply, for example, when trying to share a brand’s content on non-official social channels. As long as generated content appears through their owned social platforms, it is then easier to maintain the image and quality of the brand and by not over-exposing it and losing brand positioning and identity.

Results

Level Shoe District, a new, luxury retail brand in Dubai, opened its doors with the promise to fulfil every shoe lover’s desire within one unique, concept store. In such a heavily competitive luxury market, Level had to truly identify itself as a brand through strong positioning to compete within its category. But with no creative or content assets to begin with, only our insights, we had to tread carefully to maintain all of Level’s luxury benchmarks and touch-points, yet also create relevant content and an online presence. We decided to target our on-the-go niche audience, through an interactive mobile-led social content, and created an ‘always-on’ paid media strategy that focused on all things SHOE! Our challenge was to build in real-time online brand equity; create relevant user-generated content, within Level’s luxury parameters; drive footfall to the store and digitally launch Level in a unique way, to really reflect its bespoke store concept. This content and social driven strategy centred on an Instagram competition that was launched with the hashtag #ShoeLoveisTrueLove. Level was the curator and invited its desired audience to take, share, tweet, tag and snap pictures of their passion for shoes. Images of users’ favourite shoes, desired shoes and shoes to make all their dreams come true flooded in to create relevant original content, connectivity, engage users and generate a strong brand affiliation for the future.

Level had yet to begin online communication. With no website, creative assets or content, we needed to generate this via our users, and what better way than around a shared love of shoes. We knew from extensive social-listening, Level’s target audience were Generation-Y, trendy, tech-savvy and early trend adopters. They not only loved shoes and wanted to shop, but wanted to shop socially with their wider networks, via their mobiles. A densely knit ecosystem, leveraged through interactive social presences, media, applications, email, in-store activities and sales, all worked together to drive user created content which centred on the Level brand.

With only one store and no original assets, content or audience, Level Shoe District made a big footprint in a small time. In just three months Level had a user following made up of its desired and niche audience. Through the idea of a shared shoe obsession, interactive digital media, and in particular #ShoeLoveIsTrueLove, engagement rose 9% on Facebook, 21% on Instagram and the brand had over 25,000 unique engagements on Twitter. Simultaneously, Level built a reputation as a luxury brand and through interactive, social communication and sharing gained a loyal following and meaningful connection with its consumers. The Level digital ecosystem that was created surpassed all client benchmarks and KPIs. Overall we achieved 96% organic growth (month-on-month) on the brand’s social channels, which firmly positioned Level as the shoe connoisseur, and unforgettably, the shoe district.