2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

The Downtown Dubai New Year’s Eve Gala is an annual feature in the events calendar of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Emaar Properties, the developer of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. Bringing in the New Year with Emaar has become an annual event in Dubai’s social calendar, and helps promote Dubai as a must-visit tourist destination benefiting both Dubai and Emaar. The annual celebration is more than just celebrating the new year, it marks the power of public private partnerships in strengthening a city’s brand reputation. In 2014, Dubai broke the Guinness World Record for the largest firework display across its most iconic landmarks including Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, The Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis the Palm. To celebrate the end of 2014, Emaar wanted to bring the focus back to Downtown Dubai and so set out to break a new World Record for the largest LED-illuminated façade. Spanning a total area of 32,467 square metres, the LED display enveloped the Burj Khalifa in the UAE national flag colours of red, white and green, among other dazzling effects. In addition to Arabic motifs and 'mashrabiya' (oriel window) patterns, the LED display also features flags of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, representing a sign of unity between the Gulf Cooperation Countries. The spectacular projections continued until January 9, continuing to attract visitors long after the New Year’s Eve celebrations had finished.

The Brief

In addition to breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest LED-illuminated façade, the communications strategy was designed to maximise visibility for the campaign to drive visitor traffic to Downtown Dubai, reach out to global tourists and further position the New Year’s Eve Gala as a global event on par with celebrations in London, Sydney and New York.

Results

• Broadcast live to over 655 channels globally including BBC, CNN, Sky News, CCTV, MBC, Al Arabiya and MBC, reaching over 2.5 billion people, with millions of visitors on-site at Downtown Dubai • YouTube video views of 7.42m to date • The feed reached over 63 countries, ranging from the US, Canada, UK, Italy, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Turkey, among others. The total duration of live feed across all channels was 13 hours and 51 minutes • Print media coverage reached an audience of over 74 million • Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest LED Illuminated Façade’ on Burj Khalifa • On ground media attendance increased by 134% with outlets such as Sky News, CCTV, MBC, GEO TV, NHK, Asianet, AP TV, Reuters in attendance • Prominent coverage as part of the global New Year’s Eve Gala celebration elevating Dubai to the league of Times Square and Sydney Harbour Celebrations, as reported by international media.

Execution

The Agency worked with the client on a concerted campaign that highlighted the preparations for the event, the collaboration of multiple governmental entities for its seamless conduct, and distributed strategic press releases highlighting the 2015 event as the grandest ever. The Agency liaised with local/regional television agencies and wires for real-time coverage, and established a dedicated press pavilion that offered uninterrupted views of the celebration. The PR campaign complemented the 360-degree community outreach through social media and advertising. To drive the international outreach of the event, an 18-camera setup with provision for real time TV feed to be provided for free to global satellites was organised. The Agency also liaised with key global partners to promote the international coverage and streamed the event live on the www.mydowntowndubai.com website.

The Situation

The Downtown Dubai New Year’s Eve Gala is an annual feature in the events calendar of Dubai organised by Emaar Properties, the developer of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Dubai frequently enters the global records books as having the biggest and best of everything – including setting a new World Record for the New Year’s Eve 2014 display over the Palm and The World islands. Given the enormity of the previous year’s events, Emaar wanted to ensure welcoming in 2015 would be even more impressive and that the world would see their celebrations alongside Sydney Harbour Bridge and Times Square.

The Strategy

The communications strategy underlined the differentials of the Downtown Dubai New Year’s Gala, while promoting Burj Khalifa and the city globally. The approach was to highlight the success of previous years, put a focus on the Burj Khalifa, build anticipation and highlight the elaborate preparations to present an unprecedented spectacle.