2016 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Arab Youth across the Middle East are often misunderstood. But, 63% want to live a meaningful life and defy the stereotypes seen in media; i.e. being rich, lazy, spoilt, irresponsible, repressed or selfish. They want to be the change they want to see in their world. So to win share of heart of people in the Middle East and actively engage the youth, Coca-Cola Foundation gave them that community platform - A World of We - where they identified problems in their community and worked together to solve them. Coca-Cola foundation then brought the most impactful ideas to life

Creative Execution

Thanks to social media and mobile, 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. And they are found in universities across the Middle East. 'A World of We' reached youth where they were most active and receptive - Universities, Social Media, Mobile. They wanted to make an active difference; beyond a few coins dropped in a donation box. So, an activation campaign comprising university activations, social media engagement and mobile, inspired students to participate. We encouraged them to identify relevant problems in their community and address the most pressing ones via team projects. They created ideas and the Coca-Cola Foundation brought the most impactful ideas to life. An online film told in spoken word poetry, by leading Arab youth influencers Alaa Wardi and Yazeed Zaidan, shared the difference the youth were making, attracting more registrations.

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

The platform has become the most successful youth engagement platform in the Middle East – to date, reaching: (1) 7 countries in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE and Qatar (2) 52 cities (3) 85 universities (4) 1465 teams (5) 120,000 students The projects have impacted and improved millions of lives across the Middle East. The platform has impacted the way youth saw themselves and their region: (1) 70% students volunteered more than ever before (2) 100% believed that they could make a positive change The film has been seen by over 3 million youth and counting. The platform has generated an unprecedented $3 million in earned media and counting. And ultimately, brand respect and positive sentiment for Coca-Cola: 100%.

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

'A World of We' is a platform from Coca-Cola empowering Middle Eastern youth to positively impact their community, one act at a time. It is an platform designed to create immediate activation of participation from university students in creation and execution of projects to positively impact their communities. This has been effected using on-ground university activations, competitions, mobile and social media, where students were active, positively provoked and were inspired, to join in and make a difference. 'A World of We' actively engaged Coca-Cola's primary target audience - youth across the Middle East - with the brand Coca-Cola and their communities, achieving measurable results. The platform has actively engaged: (1) 7 countries in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE and Qatar (2) 52 cities (3) 85 universities (4) 1465 teams (5) 120,000 students The projects have improved millions of lives across the Middle East.