2014 Winners & Shortlists

LOVE TRANSLATOR

BrandMUKHI SISTERS
Product/ServiceVALENTINE'S PROMOTION
EntrantRÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
CategoryBest Use of Digital PR
Entrant Company RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON
Advertising Agency RÉPUBLIQUE Beirut, LEBANON

The Campaign

Valentine's Day is a time when the media is over-saturated with promotional messages and we needed a way to break through the clutter and make Mukhi Sisters the most talked about brand versus their competitors. The challenge was to be able to create an impactful campaign on a budget that was far smaller than the competition's, while also spreading the name Mukhi Sisters as far as it could possibly go. That's why we created Love Translator, a mobile application that would double as an essential Valentine's Day tool, while also being the perfect vehicle to further expose the brand. By developing a translator that would interpret Female to English, we designed a tool that had a universal purpose - helping men understand the difference between what a woman says and what she means. This isn't an exclusively local problem - it is something faced by couples everywhere, making the app globally appealing. Our strategy was to make the app reach all four corners of the world, extending the brand's reach with it. Whether through international coverage or downloads, our aim was to get Mukhi Sisters known in and outside the borders of Lebanon.

The Brief

The goal of the campaign was to spread the name of Mukhi Sisters as far and wide as possible, without making the promotional side of the campaign obvious. Our target audience are a discerning and astute crowd, and any sign of over-promotion would be rejected as pushy and intrusive. Upon studying our target, one underlying attribute was that they are an online community - so if we were to speak to them directly, it became clear we needed to use the medium that they were engaging with most - their mobile phones.

Results

Upon launching Love Translator, it was downloaded over 6000 times from the App Store, making it Lebanon's no.1 Utilities app, and ranking it in the top 100 apps in over 12 countries. It has been featured on TV, on the radio and in a variety of press outlets as well as being shared by local, regional and international websites and blogs. Consumers engaged with the app at lengths, sharing their results through Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #lovetranslator. Engagement was also seen through the thousands of submissions given through the "submit a translation" function on the app, which revealed how much time users were spending with the app, and thus the brand. Mostly, feedback online was positive, with users praising the app's accuracy and humour. Even after Valentine's Day, the app continues to be popular seeing hundreds of downloads in the following weekend.

Execution

Our plan was to launch the app on the App Store one week before Valentine's Day to gain the right amount of momentum before the big day. Any earlier and the campaign might have lost steam, any later and it risked not being exposed enough before the 14th. To support the launch, we created a promo film that could be viewed online, explaining the functions and benefits of the app. Also, as part of our strategy, we knew that strategic promotion of the app would result in users sharing the app themselves, and therefore widening the reach of its exposure. The plan went accordingly and has not been adapted or adjusted at any stage.

The Situation

Mukhi Sisters is a local brand, with a dedicated and loyal following. While their name is well-known within the circles of fashionistas and jewellery enthusiasts, it was time they took their brand outside of their circles and more into the mainstream. However, budgets were tight and wide-spread traditional media was out of the question - so a strategic PR campaign needed to be enacted to give the brand the reach it needed.

The Strategy

Rather than use online advertising or films, we decided that our strategy would be to get our users to want to engage with our campaign, rather than us try to engage them with it. By using a problem that we felt was universal (the communication issues between men and women), we instigated interest and curiosity in the app, before our audience were even aware it was a branded application. This way, when they realised that somehow they were being advertised to, the campaign wouldn't feel intrusive, but rather apt and intelligent - and therefore absorbed and appreciated.

Credits

Name Company Role
Fadi Mroue République Creative Director
Yasmin Murad République Creative Director
Fadi République Art Director
Yasmin Murad République Copywriter
Ronny Shibley République Lead Developer
Ramin Arnaout République Ios Developer