2015 Winners & Shortlists

Creative Execution

We created “Coffee conversations”, mobile-first episodic content, perfect to watch and discuss during Ramadan, when online video consumption sky-rockets. Pre- Ramadan, NESCAFÉ Arabiana created an on-pack promo offering a collectible set of illustrated Arabic coffee cups. We linked our YouTube video content to our in-store promo activity, where the end of the video announced the free cup promo. Through our partnership with Masameer, a popular animated Arab online channel with over 1 million subscribers, we created engaging content around the cups. We further pushed “coffee conversations” on social media making us a constant feature in the newsfeeds of our consumers.

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.

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 fun and entertaining content. We introduced NESCAFÉ Arabiana into Ramadan conversations of Saudi youth through stories about Saudi issues, shown in a light hearted approach through animated male and female coffee cups.