2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

In any country, the government is the most powerful entity. It is composed of members that citizens trust, and count on, to protect their rights and better their lives. When a government loses its power, it loses its trust, and the future votes of the citizens. That is the biggest nightmare of any government. And that is the only fear that would sensitize a corrupt government. What if we showed the people that we, a media channel, are more powerful and more useful to them than the government they voted for? More than that, what if we get the people to ask us for help, and praise us, instead of their government, on something their government should do? Our creative idea was to stop talking and take action. This is why we got a specialized truck equipped with the latest technology to fix any pothole in less than a minute.

Creative Execution

We used our news program and prime-time programs to communicate the plan, and the advancements we made, in order to earn people’s trust. Once that established, we created a mobile app that allowed people to share with us their geo-location every time they encounter a pothole, for us to fix it. We needed more. We needed to create a nation-wide buzz and reach, to provoke the government. We created a campaign that used three most influential media in Lebanon: TV, radio, and social media. We created a TVC and social media film, and a radio spot that start with a slice of the initial controversial TV spot to catch the attention of the audience. Then, after communicating the plan, the advancement, and the app, the spots end with a slang and reassuring ‘Ensa Joura’ or ‘forget about potholes’. #EnsaJoura was pushed to become part and parcel of social media discussions.

Results

We delivered. We were the first media outlet in the region, that took action beyond communicating, a holy grail for media that are usually accused for seeding problems. People trusted us. In as little as three months, our mobile app was downloaded by more than 20% of the population. They helped us find and fix 2000 potholes in Lebanon, that is an average of 22 potholes per day, without taking any day off. We mobilized the government. We realized a fantasy, an it-wont-happen wish, we finally mobilized the corrupt government to act. Today, the mission is endorsed and supported by the Lebanese government’ ministry of transportation, both financially and politically. ‘Ensa Joura’ is today part of everyday’s and everyone’s lingo, and a usual hashtag part of any social conversation. A coined expression used left and right, whether the conversation has to do with potholes or not.

MTV is a leading TV station in Lebanon, and as an influencing media it conducted a nationwide campaign “Ensa Joura” (forget potholes) to instigate immediate change and put pressure on a corrupted government who wouldn’t react to the growing problem of potholes. Not only that, this media station decided to turn its words to action, and fix the problem on-ground engaging directly with the entire Lebanese population. Direct was at the core of this campaign, based on which Lebanese were interacting, monitoring and engaging with the “Ensa Joura” special truck. The real change happened and thousands of potholes were fixed.

As a media outlet, we consider it a duty to play a positive role in the country. A role traditionally fulfilled by communication, yet when our voice is not heard, we take action. The truck we obtained was only the beginning. Since the plan was to sensitize the government to act, we wanted to threaten to steal the power from it. As such, the strategy was to not just find a solution, but also design one that is inclusive of the people, one that allows them to come to us asking for help.