2014 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

One of the major global talks of the moment is the war in Syria and all the refugees who have sought asylum in other countries. And since Christmas is all about the spirit of giving and bringing joy to the world, Santa Cause initiative was created by Memac Ogilvy in December 2013 aiming to spread the spirit of joy to the most in need. Santa took on the mission to raise funds acting as a miniature piggy-bank gnome, allowing each Ogilvy member to insert the amount of money of his/her choice. Once the tour came to an end, the holding office matched all the collected money to make the donations even more substantial. Santa took on the mission to raise funds for the ones who need it most, in hopes of offering them a happier new year. During his mission, Santa flew out on a tour across EMEA to collect donations. Each office welcomed Santa for 2 days, allowed him to experience the positive vibes of the agency and the city. It was in fact, a SMALL Santa with a BIG Cause!

The Brief

Raise awareness about the Syrian refugee issues who have sought asylum in shelter countries. This is part of Memac Ogilvy CSR program aiming to give back to the community and to engage the networks’ employees from all over the world to be part of this initiative. The main goal behind this initiative is to bring smiles to Syrian refugee children, in hopes of giving back a small piece of their stolen childhood.

Results

The initiative created a big buzz! Memac Ogilvy succeeded in bringing joy through its Santa Cause initiative to more than 150 Syrian refugee children during a fun event at their own school in Beirut. This was a kick start phase prior to the educational program that will be executed by Jusoor during 2014 in other schools. Memac Ogilvy donations will include school equipments such as desks, stationary, books and clothes. In a matter of just days, social media exploded with offices from EMEA sharing their special Santa Cause moments! Not only did Santa collect a lot of money in each city he visited, but he also collected the warmth and heartfelt memories. PR coverage to date (dispatch date on Feb 3rd): 24 clippings Twitter Impressions: 16,493 Instagram Impressions: 13,000

Execution

Being part of the communication industry, we set off Santa Cause on a one month mission, from one Ogilvy office to another, making friends on the way, collecting smiles and positive vibes, and most importantly reflecting Memac Ogilvy's true spirit in giving back! Ogilvy team shared all the fun moments with Santa on social networks using the #santacause hashtag so that the entire Ogilvy network and the world could follow Santa’s heartfelt tour. At the end of the campaign, Memac Ogilvy succeeded in bringing joy to more than 150 Syrian refugee children during a fun event, on January 31st, 2014, at their school in Beirut. Excitement, joy and happiness rang out as hundreds of toys found their way into the hands of the children who are part of the Syrian Refugee Education Program managed by Jusoor. A press release was dispatched to the regional media (print, online, broadcast) with photos from the event.

The Situation

With over 2.5 million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, more than 50% of them children in need of humanitarian assistance, Memac Ogilvy decided to make a difference in their lives. To achieve this, we joined hands with Jusoor, a Syrian NGO in efforts that help Syria and its people realize their full potential. Their programs focus on education and career development Jusoor is represented by a former Ogilvy employee, who had left his job a year ago to join the organization and dedicate his time to helping the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The Strategy

Spread news across the world in a fun & interactive way by getting Memac Ogilvy’s entire network to join in the cause.