2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Content in Saudi Arabia on traditional mass media is conservative and subject to censorship. It has to be strictly in line with the traditional nature of the society that Saudis still try to preserve. These restrictions have led to a massive online video revolution where Saudis immerse themselves in venues like blogs, YouTube, Twitter and sites and are able to express freely. For Saudi youth, the online space has become the most relevant platform. Local stories told by new Saudi celebrities are followed by massive audiences. Brands have however failed to effectively capitalize on this trend. In the few instances where brands have enlisted YouTube talent to push their products, the executions and results have been poor. Mom-targeted household brands have used comedians who are better known to males. Most created videos that are more ad than content, leading to lonely videos that remain on dormant sites unless distributed through paid media. After a widely praised launch campaign of content integrations that drove engagement and sales, we believed NESCAFÉ Arabiana could create original content that would be more relevant, more organic and more successful than attempts by other brands.

Results

Arabic coffee consumption increases dramatically during Ramadan. However, NESCAFÉ instant coffee sales in Saudi Arabia dip during this month and Arabiana had only been in the market for 8 months. With Arabiana, we were asking consumers to change their tradition of homemade coffee during the most traditional time of the year. With beverage category competition like Pepsi and Coca Cola, outshouting for the youth’s attention would be a futile plan. We needed to tap into the audience in a way other brands weren’t. We learned that during Ramadan, friends and families spend so much time together that conversations tend to run dry. Consequently, the Saudi youth turn to their phones instead of TV for entertaining content. We introduced NESCAFÉ Arabiana into the everyday conversations of the Saudi youth through mobile-first episodic content, perfect to watch and discuss during Ramadan, when online video consumption sky rockets. Specially designed and animated characters covered issues close to the hearts of Saudis, in a light-hearted and humorous approach. We touched upon life, marriage, traditions and family in a modern context and also introduced women cups and new characters in the videos. Knowing that online is a space where we could push more “risqué” topics, these videos allowed us to tap into Saudi realities and provided a platform for youth to discuss real issues. An extensive digital strategy supported the series through YouTube mastheads, targeted display and social amplification, ensuring NESCAFÉ Arabiana was consistently present across consumers’ mobile devices and newsfeeds. To heighten engagement, we had on-ground activities with sampling and a live illustrator providing personalized (caricature) Arabic coffee cups that people were tweeting and sharing pictures of across social media platforms.

Young Saudis have a different way of finding out about what's new than previous generations. Mobile and newsfeeds fuel their discovery. They look up to online talent that has quickly risen to fame. By developing bite sized, easily sharable content with a top YouTube production house, NESCAF’E Arabiana ensured Saudi Youth were notified of our coffee conversations organically on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. In the real world, we met youth in their favorite malls to interact with branded content characters. All efforts, online and offline, drove social conversations to fill up their newsfeeds, the leading places they go for discovery.

NESCAFÉ Arabiana captured the audience’s attention during Ramadan beyond our expectations. We successfully managed to increase Ramadan sales of NESCAFÉ instant coffee by 25% and achieved 90% incremental sales for Arabiana vs. average sales since launch. Social media was abuzz with high video viewership, discussions, engagement and sharing of their personalized cups. To date we have achieved more than 3 million paid views and 4 million organic views while increasing our YouTube subscribers by 190% (vs 90% target). A post analysis test showed results of high likeability of both the promo and YouTube shows, with 56% having purchased NESCAFÉ Arabiana coffee after coming across the promo. With coffee conversations, NESCAFÉ Arabiana set a new standard for online branded content, proving that good content will drive consumer desire and business results. The campaign’s roaring success also led to the animated cups being made brand ambassadors for all NESCAFÉ Arabiana communication moving forward.