2016 Winners & Shortlists

I SAY ARABI

Gold
BrandDISH NETWORK
Product/ServiceCABLE PROVIDER
EntrantLEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
CategoryUse or Integration of Music
Entrant Company LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Contributing Company LEO BURNETT BEIRUT, LEBANON
Media Agency KEPLER New York, USA
Production Company BLACK RHINO Beirut, LEBANON

The Campaign

DISH is an American based company in the U.S.A that provides satellite TV and carries over 50 of the most demanded Arabic channels. The brief was to rebuild affinity with its Arabic client base and consequently increase subscriptions. Our main audiences are first generation Arab-Americans who most of them are parents. They are integrated in the US yet still strongly hold on to their Arab identities, however they struggle to connect with their offspring over their heritage. When we looked at content consumed online by the Arab-American community, we noticed it was often amateur content created by young Arab-Americans such as ‘fouseyTUBE’ that touched on different aspects of Arab culture. So instead of creating a regular ad, we collaborated with a local Lebanese talent, Nasser Shorbaji aka ‘Chyno’, who was able to understand the style and the emotional connection needed to address the generational and cultural gap. And so, we created a rap battle with the important usage of the Arabic language and popular western hip-hop musical genre that parodies a conversation between the two generations. The music was treated using oriental instruments such as the buzuk, reminiscent of the great Arabic classics. While the tempo and song structure stays true to modern western rap. The song would become our platform for ‘I SAY ARABI’ music video that reflects the dual-identities of our audience making it a shareable piece of content for the different age-groups. In addition to radio broadcasts, the song was uploaded to different music streaming platforms such as ‘Soundcloud’ and ‘Anghami’.

We were thrilled to witness our campaign going viral, reaching 4.3 M views, which is uncommon for an Arabic piece of content. Engagement on social media blew up; the ‘I SAY ARABI’ video gathered 56k likes, 14k comments and 64k shares. Initial social media KPIs were surpassed with a 72% and 461% fan increase on Facebook and YouTube respectively. Everyone was rushing to DISH’s website resulting in a 75% and 44% increase in Arabic landing page visitors and daily landing page visits respectively. Path to purchase results were as impressive with a 200% increase in average daily calls from Dish’s Arabic website and a 74% increase in daily searches for branded items. Most importantly, we exceeded client expectations with a 16% lift from projections on launch day for Arabic calls.

Credits

Name Company Role
Wissam Smayra Black Rhino Director
Nasser Chorbaji Artist Musician/Vocal
Bechara Mouzannar Leo Burnett Beirut Chief Creative Officer
Malek Ghorayeb Leo Burnett Beirut Regional Executive Creative Director
Areej Mahmoud Leo Burnett Beirut Executive Creative Director
Nada Abi Saleh Leo Burnett Beirut Managing Director
Peter Mouraccade Leo Burnett Beirut Head of Communication
Youmna El Asmar Leo Burnett Beirut Senior Strategic Planner
Rana Najjar Leo Burnett Beirut Creative Director
Marc Maftoum Leo Burnett Beirut Senior Art Director
Samer Makarem Leo Burnett Beirut Communication Supervisor
Farah Dagher Leo Burnett Beirut Jr. Communication Executive