2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In a region where branded content is a newly emerging industry, up against traditional advertising, it is often deemed unnecessary, and unreliable. The idea of selling via story telling, which branded content delivers on best, remains a force on the rise in our region. This is mainly due to two reasons; first, the challenge presented when shifting the paradigm of what effective communication is for funders/clients. Trying to convince a client that a captivating narrative has more long-term value for a brand, versus plastering a logo on the screen, remains a struggle. Reasons varying from budgets, and traditional media & KPI’s set. And second, the evolution of our Middle-Eastern audience, who can no longer be defined as passive receptors of information, particularly in the form of traditional advertising. Rather, they are assuming the role of participants in control. They decide what to consume. They decide what entertains, inspires and moves them! Today’s Arabic skeptic will embrace relevant and honest brands, ones that appear to understand them, and add value to their lives. The objective therefore became clear; to create and deliver content that has value and regional relevance at the heart of its entertainment. Marrying both creates a natural environment in which our brand can unobtrusively flourish within.

Results

The challenge was to transform Jergens from a brand that has been dormant for 30-years with its communication, to the beauty brand of choice for a younger, more modern female audience (20-44 years old). Our idea was to move away from short-term activations and start thinking “sustainable year-long strategy”, which will cement Jergens creams as the first step in the beauty regimes of the stars, alongside actively-investing competitors which threatened the market share. And so, we set out to identify and associate Jergens with the right set of celebrity profiles in the region, whom in return will breathe new life into the brand and rekindle its relationship with the younger Arabic woman. Our strategy unfolded in two classy phases. Phase one: enter the Britney Spears of the Arab world, the icon of Arabian beauty, Nancy Ajram. We collaborated with Nancy on her romantic new video clip release, and strategically placed Jergens in steamy post shower scenes, and even in her purse (for the portable variant). As our star reached out to use the brand at the right moments, and in the right settings, our audience was granted a sneak peak into Nancy’s glamorous life as they indirectly noted her beauty habits. For our next move, Phase 2, and to continue our clean-cut association tactic, we reached out for the regions “makeup artist to the stars”, Bassam Fattouh, as he set off to launch his first ever, tell-all, online makeup school; Be Fabulous! Throughout the season, Jergens was strategically present to further solidify that true beauty starts with beautiful skin. Bassam paired each of his makeup themes, with different Jergens variants in every episode. Additionally, and as was done with Nancy, fans were granted real-time personal interactions with Bassam through Q&A, exclusive giveaways and customized content based on their feedback on the Jergens owned social channels (i.e. quotes, tips, behind-the-scenes photos and videos).

We conducted a proprietary research process (Content Audit) to understand the content landscape; what do our target search for, what exists, and what can the brand leverage. Our strategic insights revealed that the young Arab woman is highly influenced by iconic stars in how she approaches fashion and lifestyle. In fact, 1 out 3 said it directly influences their purchase decision. This becomes most evident when it comes to beauty regimes, as we see them aspire to achieve celebrity-like beauty. The essential channel mix was naturally, social, where 53% of our audience used for product advice, and YouTube, where over 34% and 42% engaged daily in UAE and KSA, respectively.

By pairing up to strategically interweave Jergens as the foundation of beauty for the stars, Jergens won the hearts (and clicks) of young women in the region. In addition to the 1.25 million+ impressions on TV, this multi-tiered approach reignited Jergens’ presence online and ultimately in the bodycare category. Through unique video content integration, personal Q&A and exclusive behind-the-scenes access/giveaways, the campaign proved success in achieving relevancy in the beauty category through the millions of young women who actively chose to engage ⎯ resulting in over 9,500,000 million views across Jergens-owned and sponsored channels, engaging over 120,000 unique users on social, and growing Jergens’ Facebook following from 0 to over 100,000 loyal fans and counting! These results lead to new channel opportunities and further collaboration in 2015. Most impressively, Jergens was able to fend off fierce competition in their key markets, defending their title as the #1 bodycare brand in KSA and moving up to #2 in UAE, in 2014!