2016 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

Dubai El Oula was launching its first interactive music show ‘Fanan Al Arab’ hosted by Saudi singer Mohammad Abdo. But competing against top TV shows like The Voice is no easy task, especially for a regional show in its first season. Our objective was to drive high viewership. We decided to use the show's regional edge to our advantage while engaging with the audience. Mohammad Abdo has rarely ever made a public appearance and has never hosted a show – making his massive regional fan of all ages following desperate to meet him. It was this insight that triggered our idea. We took this opportunity to go beyond TV and reach out to the fans. And so we created WITHMOHDABDO.COM - a microsite that gave every fan in the region a one and only chance to express and fulfill their wish of sharing the stage with the elusive legend.

The Campaign

Driving viewership for Dubai El Oula’s regional television music show ‘Fanan AlArab’ in its first season against top-rated international shows wasn’t easy. The host – Saudi singer Mohammad Abdo, rarely made a public appearance and has never hosted a show – making his fans desperate to meet him. We created WithMohdAbdo.com – to give every fan a chance to share the stage with him. Abdo’s song ‘Hala BilTayeb Al Ghali’ translates to “Welcome to the most precious and kind person. I never thought I’d get the chance to see you here. ” Fans got to record their renditions over a pre-recorded 30-second soundtrack. Targeted posts on social media and outdoor pop-up sound studios directed fans to the microsite. With MohdAbdo.com became the world’s first user-generated music show. 5 finalists created the first user-generated song. +40.5 million impressions +18 million Instagram impressions +700,000 Twitter mentions during finale 37% and 23% viewership across Saudi and UAE

Creative Execution

We picked Abdo’s famous song ‘Hala BilTayeb Al Ghali’ with lyrics that loosely translate to “Welcome to the most precious and kind person. I never thought I’d get the chance to see you here” and invited fans to record their renditions over a pre-recorded 30-second soundtrack on withMohdAbdo.com We then promoted the microsite using the through Facebook posts and other social networks. The digital banners caught the eye not just of Arab speaking youth but also the older generations. Every click led to the microsite where they could submit their vocal entries. The idea stretched its legs further as we installed pop-up professional mini sound-recording studios in the busiest public spaces across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah. Emarati’s and Saudites flooded the pop-up studios with their ‘Abdo’ renditions. Every beautiful voice, in turn, became yet another tool to engage, encourage and strike a chord with others.

• WithMohdAbdo.com became the world's first user-generated music content show. • The campaign achieved social media success with over 40.5 million impressions on Facebook and over 18 million impressions on Instagram. • Twitter contributed with over 700,000 mentions during the show. • Voices of all ages poured in from across the region and beyond. 400 voices were selected and 10 made it to the final cut. • 5 voices created the first ever user-generated song and one winner got a chance to meet Abdo in a highly-watched episode. • We shattered the client’s viewership targets with an impressive 23% viewership in UAE and 37% in Saudi Arabia.