2016 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

The holy month of Ramadan calls for gatherings & sharing meals with friends and family. ‘Meaningful bonds are built by dining together’ - this formed the idea behind Share a Table – an initiative that brought a cross section of communities to share a meal during Iftar celebrations, highlighting the importance of cherishing togetherness on such special occasions. An Iftar was hosted in our stores in UAE, KSA and Oman to emotionally connect with our customers. We invited them along with orphans & specially challenged children from charitable organisations. This initiative reiterated how a simple act of sharing a meal with others can bring incredible joy to people from different sections of the society.

Creative Execution

We partnered with charitable organisations (Manzil, Charitable Association for Orphan Care and Association for Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities) across the region to host orphans & specially challenged children for Iftar at stores in UAE, KSA & Oman on 21st, 22nd and 23rd June 2015 respectively. We sent out physical invites, SMS and e-mailers to Shukran members in order to invite customers to the event. The venues were transformed to reflect a grand Iftar setting with our Ramadan collection. A specially designed three-course meal was catered. The festival ambience was heightened with activities such as face painting & balloon bending that kept the children entertained throughout the gala dinner. A special gift was given out to every child as a surprise element at the event. A video was shared on social media to capture the essence of the initiative, encouraging people to make Iftars more meaningful during season of giving.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Share a Table saw a great response across the region and also received significant engagement on social media. • Around 200 people attended the in-store event • Video went viral, receiving over 1 million views • Received over 1000 shares on Facebook • More than 8,500 likes on Facebook • Stirred over 350 conversations across our social media channels • Initiative was covered by leading publications, receiving coverage worth AED 300,000 (PR Value)

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Share a Table was a special Ramadan activation conducted during the holy month to promote the spirit of giving. Being a home-grown brand, the primary intent was to engage with our regional customers by proving a platform for different communities to get together and share a meal. We also used this activation to showcase our new Ramadan collection. Through the seeding of our simple yet poignant video of the activation, we encouraged the power of social sharing on Twitter and Facebook. Numerous families were inspired to host their own ‘Share a Table’s and invite people outside their peer group. The activation also succeeded in being a promotion for the charities that participated.