2016 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Being Egypt’s only global potato chip brand, Chipsy, lost major market share as local competitors started offering more chips for a lot less. But we couldn’t resort to usual promotions because research indicated that consumers wanted prizes that were INSTANT AND GUARENTEED. With Chipsy selling 5m packs daily, instant guaranteed prizes meant impossible budgets. So what could we offer consumers that had value but cost nothing? Undeniably, Egypt was depressed, ranking 5th in the UN misery index - people needed hope and, most of all, a smile. And they got that through 90 unique Egyptian smiles printed on our packs! The packs had emotional value; consumers got an instant win.

Creative Execution

The creative execution was relevant to the product because, well, it actually was the product. This was a perfect way of linking everything together. The fact that Chipsy distribute and sell over 5 million packs a day meant that the Smiles were present in literally every corner in the whole of Egypt – making the promotional plan one of the most visible in the history of the country. The campaign was to last 2 months after the process of printing the smiles on the packs was completed. Once the packs were on the shelves, and an incredible outpour of positivity surrounded the campaign ensued, the run was extended to 6 months, proving that the promotion was second to none.

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

Our promotional campaign truly marks the most successful campaign by Chipsy yet, as we not only met our objectives but also exceeded many of them. From a market standpoint, we increased sales by 22%, a shift from -6% declining sales, to +16% sales during the campaign. As for the brand equity, several of our KPIs grew tremendously such as “offer something different” by +11, “worth what you pay for them” by +7 and “setting trends” by +8. Most importantly, our campaign became one of the most successful in the history of digital media in Egypt with over 91m impressions, 26m interactions and over 5 million video hits. Our app had over 60,000 people create their very own personalized smiles on Chipsy packs. In fact, during our first week of launch, over 15,000 Instagram photos were shared using the hashtag, and for a platform not popular in Egypt, it was remarkable.

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

Following extensive research, it was evident that the Egyptian public had enough of the usual promotions of super brands, instead shifting their interests to prizes that are instant, guaranteed and more emotional – specifically in the case of the global potato chip brand Chipsy (Egypt’s Lays). This helped us create a first of its kind promotion for the brand – where we simply changed the packaging on the packs to 90 unique Egyptian Smiles – a promotion that actually meant something to the people. Without digging deep in the pockets, we helped the entire nation experience an instant prize that they can share and pass on to the rest of the country.