2016 Winners & Shortlists

DRIVE FOR CHARITY

BrandEMIRATES MOTOR COMPANY/MERCEDES-BENZ
Product/ServiceMERCEDE
EntrantMEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryEvents & Experiential (incl. stunts and celebrity endorsement)
Entrant Company MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Advertising Agency MEMAC OGILVY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production Company BOOMTOWN PRODUCTIONS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

Mercedes-Benz and the Emirates Motor Company are working closely with a local charity, the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre, in their ‘donate a brick’ campaign to build a new school. We saw an opportunity to continue our support for the Centre, in a place where the world would be watching, the 2016 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Throughout the four-day event, we ran an initiative to raise money using two of our most famous brand ambassadors, golf pros Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem. Each time they hit one of their huge drives from the tee, we matched their distance with a donation. With both players making ‘the cut’ each day, they played the course four times during the Championship, totaling 33488 drive yards in the process. Whilst the players negotiated the course, we encouraged fans at the tournament to join in, signing up to guess the total number of yards and showing their support via social media. As excitement began to grow, other media channels picked up on our initiative and our story began to grow. Even his Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan turned up and showed his support. At the end of the tournament, we had negotiated a place on the 18th green, where we presented the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre with a cheque in front of a packed grandstand and cameras beaming to TV sets all over the world.

The Brief

Mercedes-Benz has been associated with sport for nearly 40 years and recently has established itself as one of golf’s key sponsors worldwide. With our own brand ambassadors, Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem attending the tournament, it presented us with the perfect opportunity to build on Mercedes’ story and get people talking about us, whilst doing something authentic for a charity close to our hearts.

Execution

Every time Martin or Marcel hit one of their huge drives from the tee, we matched their distance with a donation. Around the course we gave consumers the opportunity to sign up and support the ‘drive for charity’. They guessed the player’s total number of yards, supported them around the course and talked about them on social media. At the end of the tournament, we had negotiated a place on the 18th green, where we presented the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre with a cheque, before a packed grandstand and cameras beaming to TV sets around the world.

By the end of the fourth day, we had created a story worth talking about and worth sharing. Our players continually hit their drives straight and true, amounting to a total yardage of 33488 yards (source: European Tour) resulting in a final donation of AED66976. The conversation had spread so far that the Abu Dhabi Sports Council wanted to match our donation. Not only that, but His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan also turned up and showed his support. All of this was witnessed in front of 18000 supportive fans (source: IMG) and via media coverage reaching over 400million sports fans around the world (source: CISION). However more importantly, we put a smile on the faces of the children from the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre.

The Strategy

We wanted to create a story worth talking about, whilst our initiative generated funds for the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre. That’s why we decided to base our initiative around one of the places where we knew everyone would be watching: The tee-off. Golf enthusiasts, photographers and TV cameras always gather to witness the huge drives these pros can make, so for us it was the perfect place to be. The drives that our pros were hitting, would not only be seen and talked about by spectators at the tournament, but by golf enthusiasts the world over

Credits

Name Company Role
Ben Knight Geometry Global Dubai Executive Creative Director
Logan Allanson Geometry Global Dubai Creative Director
Chris Hart Geometry Global Dubai Senior Creative
Samer Aslan Geometry Global Dubai Business Director
Amelia Smith Geometry Global Dubai Regional Senior Account Manager
Rory McLoughlan Boomtown Productions Director
Shane Martin Boomtown Productions Producer
Shelton Philipose Boomtown Productions Editor
Rocelo Lamboloto Geometry Global Dubai Designer