Arab Youth are often misunderstood. But, 63% want to live a meaningful life and defy the stereotypes seen in media; being the change they want to see in their world.
Thanks to social media, youth have found their own voice and have sought to channel their self-expression in a way that can contribute to their community's betterment.
They don’t want to be preached to. They want to participate; beyond a few coins dropped in a donation box.
Coca-Cola Foundation gave them that platform, where they identified problems in their community and worked together to solve them.
Results and Effectiveness
(1) The platform became the most successful youth engagement platform in the Middle East – to date: 7 countries - Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE and Qatar, 52 cities, 85 universities, 1465 teams, 120,000 students
(2) Projects improved millions of lives across the region.
(3) Impacted the way youth saw themselves and their region: 70% students volunteered more than ever before and 100% believed that they could make a positive change
(4) The film engaged 3 million youth and counting.
(5) Generated an unprecedented $3 million in earned media.
(6) Brand respect and positive sentiment for Coke: 100%.
Creative Execution
An integrated campaign comprising university activations, social media and mobile inspired students across the Middle East to participate.
Students across universities created ideas and the Coca-Cola Foundation brought the most impactful ideas to life.
An online film told in spoken word poetry shared the difference the youth were making and attracted more registrations. The film features two leading youth influencers – Alaa Wardi (the creator of the "No Woman No Drive" YouTube hit) and Yazeed Zaidan - and is set against a specially-composed contemporary soundtrack, that is trendy and appealing to Arab youth.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
Alternative mediums, especially platforms that involve participation and active engagement, are becoming popular in the Middle East. Brands are looking to alternative mediums in order to reach various target audience segments and markets with tailor-made content and solutions.
Having said that, the lack of sustainable community improvement platforms in the Middle East is surprising; given how much this region is in need of positive change.
'A World of We' is a branded engagement platform from Coca-Cola empowering youth to positively impact their community, one act at a time. They identify problems in their community and work together to solve them.