2015 Winners & Shortlists

BALIKBAYAN THE NOKIAHOMECOMING

BrandMICROSOFT MOBILE
Product/ServiceMICROSOFT LUMIA
EntrantJ. WALTER THOMPSON DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryCorporate Image & Information
Entrant Company J. WALTER THOMPSON DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency J. WALTER THOMPSON DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency CARAT Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Brief

This is the new era of smartphones. But for some, the choice of mobiles is not a matter of technology, but rather, familiarity. To the 700,000 Filipinos in the UAE, Nokia is an old friend. So Nokia decided to reward them for their loyalty, with a chance to fly home to be reunited with their loved ones. But communicating this promotion through traditional mainstream means wasn’t enough. To really connect with this audience, Nokia needed an especially culturally relevant creative idea.

Creative Execution

Filipinos in the UAE, much like the rest of the expatriate population, are used to seeing ethnically-neutral communication, especially when it comes from multinational brands that use globally approved imagery. They don't see mainstream advertising as especially relevant to them. With this campaign, Nokia established a deep connection with its audience by using a very culturally and emotionally relevant insight.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Teks Cards are a popular story-telling medium in the Philippines. Created as an affordable alternative to the cinema, the cards featured storyboard clips of local films. We created our own, inviting our audience to submit their story to us - about why they left the Philippines and why they yearn to come home. In a live activation, people even had their stories drawn up as personalized teks cards. Using social media, people voted for the best three stories, which earned their narrators a flight back home to be reunited with their families.

Results

In just one week, 600 participants took the time to write their story to Nokia. Three winners had their stories serialized as teks cards and given away across the UAE. On Valentine's Day, these winners were flown home to the Philippines. Their homecoming was televised as episodes on The Filipino Channel, witnessed by over 8 million viewers worldwide. Overall Brand TOM Awareness: + 32% Increased Brand Consideration: + 33% Increased Brand Preference: + 44% Sales increased by 20% during activation period

Credits

Name Company Role
Omar Elgammal JWT Dubai Co/Head Of Strategic Planning
Seyoan Vela JWT Dubai Executive Creative Director
Michael Fillon JWT Dubai Creative Director
Sameh George JWT Dubai Associate Creative Director
Youssef Gadallah JWT Dubai Associate Creative Director
Trisatan Fitzgerald JWT Dubai Creative Director
Roxane Negrillo Carat Dubai Account Manager
Vikram Bhakta Carat Dubai Media Manager
Nelson Christy Carat Dubai Senior Media Planner