2015 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

The Medium KPIs were Awareness and Reach. Using only cinemas frequented by Emiratis, approximately 120,000 people were exposed to the ad for the top 3 screens that were booked for 2 weeks. The overall campaign had 2,352 spots and Emirates Recruitment received a 35% increase in applications from UAE Nationals, compared to the previous month. What’s more, the ad received the Best Use of Cinema award by Motivate Val Morgan in 2014. Source: Emirates Recruitment Data Centre Statistics 2014.

Creative Execution

The media agency suggested cinema advertising was most effective to reach Emirati youth. A 45-second ad might say it all, but a 15-second ad at the right time might say a lot more. The execution: To talk to future pilots, talk like a pilot. After 3 weeks, the media agency managed to secure a special execution and we got permission to interrupt another ad with a Captain’s Announcement, just like it happens in flight. The Emirati Captain invited young Emiratis to join Emirates as a pilot-in-training and enjoy the perks of a global career. After the announcement, the ad resumed as normal. This caught everyone by surprise, but since the ad was only in Arabic, the message reached the right target audience. This was the first time ever that any brand in the UAE had used a cinema ad in such a manner to communicate its message.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Emirates is one the fastest growing airlines in the world. Its Recruitment team attracts people from 140 nationalities. But for pilots, they have a problem attracting one particular nationality - Emiratis. Trying to meet the government’s nationalization targets and yet maintain their high standards of pilots, they realized that the only way to achieve this was to train bright, young Emiratis. They started the National Cadet Pilots Programme, which laid out the red carpet for the right candidates. But press ads and web banners were not getting enough results. Insight: Ambitious young Emiratis want a break from home and go study abroad. We needed to show them that Emirates offers more - like a career that opens doors to the world. Idea: To get word of mouth among Emiratis, use an unconventional media. Or take a traditional media and use it unconventionally. That will get people talking.