2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Saudi Arabia has many restrictions when it comes to content within the media and communication sector. It is not common for people to freely express themselves and their feelings in public, which explains why social media has been very popular, and today’s youth have found the opportunity to express themselves freely through various online and social media platforms. Add to that the fact that traditional TV stations are not very receptive to such ideas and prefer an easy sell of spot buys and sponsorships, except for high ticket reality show programs where brands try to exploit their hefty investments by securing additional exposure. The most trending topics online and on social platforms are Comedy, Gaming, Sports, Religion, and News, which is why Saudi Arabia has become a leader in content consumption, mainly through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter mediums. It has been established that KSA has the highest YouTube penetration in the world at 85% of the total internet Users. It is ranked 2nd highest Twitter penetration and highest growth rate in in the number of Facebook users in the Middle East.

Results

Saudi youth don’t dislike tea. It’s something they’ve grown to consume routinely if it is offered or served to them. But with such busy and active lifestyles, taking the time for a traditional tea break isn’t typically a priority. They’d rather use any spare time for something more exciting – such as online gaming (one of their favorite pastimes). In fact, anything related to online gaming is popular in Saudi Arabia, including live stream gaming content. On weekends, live stream gaming viewership reaches up to 300,000 Saudis with an average view time of 15 minutes. We wanted to engage with the Saudi youth, keeping in mind that their 2 main past time activities were watching football and playing games, which led us to the insight ‘brain and muscles’ whereby both require stamina to pursue. Knowing that tea consumption helps people focus and stimulates physical energy, our strategy was to make Rabea Tea a part of Saudi youths’ online gaming experience and get them to associate specific Rabea Tea blends with particular mental and physical functions. We partnered with Zpad, a leading online gaming platforms, to host a 12-hour Rabea Tea gaming marathon. Groups of gamers participated from their homes and could see and interact with one another via messenger on their video screens during game play. The marathon was a test of skill, focus, and endurance. Throughout the 12-hour live-stream event, we scheduled frequent tea breaks where players recharged with different blends of Rabea Tea. Spectators logged in during the event to encourage game leaders with messages on the platform’s messenger. Meanwhile, Rabea Tea’s branding, product placement, and hashtag #rabeateamarathon appeared on-screen throughout the entire event. We cross-promoted the marathon on Zpad’s YouTube channels to drive viewership, while influential gamers sparked conversations about Rabea Tea.

During the marathon, the gamers were being served Rabea Tea to maintain the concentration levels and we were tweeting and engaging with them on social media with motivational content to keep them going. Throughout the 12-hour live-stream event, we scheduled frequent tea breaks where players recharged with different blends of Rabea Tea. Spectators logged in during the event to encourage game leaders with messages on the platform’s messenger. Meanwhile, Rabea Tea’s branding, product placement, and hashtag #rabeateamarathon appeared on-screen throughout the entire event. We cross-promoted the marathon on Zpad’s YouTube channels to drive viewership, while influential gamers sparked conversations about Rabea Tea.

Rabea Tea’s unique campaign made tea relevant again among Saudi youth: - Rabea Express (Brains) market share grew +21% in the 6 months following the campaign - Rabea Extra Strong (Muscles) which had just launched grew from practically zero to 12% market share in its segment - The gaming marathon attracted over 100,000 participants during the live stream - The recorded post-game video on YouTube also generated over 100,000 views and nearly 20,000 likes - During the live stream gaming marathon, Rabea Tea gained over 5,000 organic Twitter followers and generated nearly 46,000 #rabeateamarathon tweets. This resulted in over 31.5 million impressions during the live stream period and 99 million impressions during the campaign. As a tea brand that had lost touch with its younger audience, we were able to bring back the cool factor by connecting with Saudi youths’ lifestyle. Instead of trying to change their ways, we found an effective way to blend into theirs.