2016 Winners & Shortlists

Creative Execution

On Arabic Literacy Day, 8th of January 2016, KalimaLock was launched in Google Play Store and Galaxy Apps for free across the GCC. Our key target audiences were schools and parents as they are the main figureheads who decide which apps, games and content will ultimately end up in a child’s mobile device. We also kept the user experience for parents/teachers simple – all they had to do was activate the KalimaLock app, create a password pin and set the difficulty level to change the native lock screen pattern into an Arabic word.

Within the first week of its launch, KalimaLock received widespread publicity from over 27 major press and online publications in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar– generating a total of 12,132,528 impressions. KalimaLock has also been well received by GEMS Education, the largest education provider in the region, who is looking to implement the app in all 44 schools to over 104,000 students. At the same time, Samsung is planning to launch an integrated digital and social campaign to reach out to the public/parents – to educate and promote the use of KalimaLock not just in schools, but also at home.

With over 200 nationalities in the GCC, English is often the language of choice in schools and at home. This has directly affected the ability of almost 70% of Arab children to read and write in their native language. Knowing how children today are so attached to their mobile devices, Samsung, a global leader in Smartphones/Tablets, saw an opportunity to increase their exposure to the Arabic language and improve their literacy skills. KalimaLock (Kalima means ‘Word’ in Arabic) is a mobile app that turns the native lock screen pattern on Samsung devices into an Arabic word. Seamlessly integrated into a child’s daily experience of using a device, this app encourages children to learn how to read and write a new Arabic word (randomly selected from a library of words), by simply following a predefined pattern of dots to unlock their device and gain access to their much-loved games/apps.