2014 Winners & Shortlists

THE X FACTOR ARABIA

Short List
BrandTHE X FACTOR
Product/ServiceTHE X FACTOR SHOW
EntrantOMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryBroadcast: TV, Cinema, Radio
Media Agency OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency 3 RESOLUTION MENA Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Entrant Company OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency 2 OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Results and Effectiveness

Our unique approach became an engaging fan-driven experience that exceeded all KPI’s. The show’s ratings broke all-time audience records for its broadcasters CBC and Rotana. Beyond TV, the show more than found its audience online with 8.5 million youths generating over 300 Million impressions across digital platforms. Finally, we’ve proved that by putting fans at the heart of everything we do, is critical to the success of reality TV, both on the screen and beyond.

Creative Execution

In a regional first, we listened to fans’ sentiment in online conversations and reacted in real time. Entire show segments were adapted or in some cases removed entirely. We even influenced what contestants and hosts wore during the show! Another regional first was ‘Tap-to-Clap’, a mobile-to-TV application allowing viewers to give direct feedback on performances via either a ‘boo’ or a ‘clap’ with results immediately fed into live broadcasts and social media. With lead sponsor Pepsi, we launched ‘Sing-off’ on Facebook – a social app giving fans the chance to compete against other, with fellow fans acting as the judges. Finally, fans even directed behind-the-scenes content, revealing elements of the show rarely seen on television but that fans were hungry for.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

We were tasked with making ‘The X Factor Arabia’ the most successful TV launch of the year at the very same time established show ‘Arab Idol’, was running on the region’s biggest channel, in an identical broadcast slot! Considering its youth target audience, we needed to dominate the digital space and create a completely integrated multi-screen solution never seen before. Therefore, instead of merely letting youth’s watch, share and comment on the show, our idea was to invite fans to shape the direction of programming. We wanted to ‘give the X Factor controls to the fans’ and digital platforms proved the ideal playground.

Credits

Name Company Role
Dimitri Metaxas Resolution Managing Director Resolution
Meredith Tuqan Resolution Director Social Media
Amer Aidi Resolution Digital Director
Khaled Sharrouf Resolution Senior Executive Social Media
Nadim Khouri Resolution Director Mobile Resolution
Fadi Maktabi OMD MENA Senior Director Planning
Yves Massaad OMD MENA Director Planning
Waseem Afzal OMD MENA Head Of Digital Omd
Mohammad Zaher OMD MENA Director Social Media
Layal Takieddine OMD MENA Director Fuse