2017 Winners & Shortlists

AL JAY AFDAL “THE BEST IS YET TO COME”

BrandMOBILY
Product/ServiceMOBILY
EntrantINITIATIVE MENA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
CategoryUse of Audio Platforms
Idea Creation INITIATIVE MENA Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Idea Creation 2 MULLENLOWE MENA Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement INITIATIVE MENA Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Campaign

Between 2015 & 2016, the global economic recession had made a severe impact on Saudi Arabia; plunging oil prices hit the proud nation where it would hurt them the most, sinking positive sentiment even further. Saudis were desperate to ride on the wave of any form of positive news they could find to help them foresee better times ahead and the nation’s vision of 2030 couldn’t have been delivered at a better time. It was the government’s first step to outline a ray of hope for the future of every Saudi. There was a feeling of this being a defining moment in Saudi Arabia’s history; and Mobily sensed an opportunity to build on this inspiration: a promise for a better tomorrow. A campaign that associated the brand with Saudi Arabia’s forward thinking outlook would set Mobily up to be one of the key Saudi brands driving this new national vision.

Creative Execution

Just before Ramadan, we partnered with three Saudi celebrities - Hamza, winner of Middle East X Factor, Majed Al Eissa, the renowned music composer and YouTube sensation Youssef El Dakheil. The three popular Saudi cultural icons recorded a song and produced a music video showing the search for Bandar and a presentation of their song to him. Finally, on Eid, Bandar sang his heart out and recorded the track, delivering the perfect performance at the perfect time, symbolizing the voice of hope and positivity. Sophisticated retargeting and timed releases of different content pieces linked digital platforms together and Bandar’s recording was launched on multiple music and video platforms, again promoted to Saudi’s who had followed the story from the start, maximizing our chances of the campaign catching fire, just as his original story had done earlier in the year.

•‘El Jay Afdal’ peaked charts with 14m+ video views and 600k+ song plays. •It topped the Anghami charts in KSA surpassing famous singers with 508K+ streams – 70% more than any song during the same period. •Mobily’s market share saw an increase by 3.5% during Ramadan. •Post-campaign, brand likeability increased by 6% along with an increase of 2.5% in brand consideration post-Ramadan, and another 4.5% in the following month. •The sequel Eid song shattered records, once again, and so did Mobily’s message which spread organically after the video received more than 4.5m views on YouTube only. 75% of these views were achieved organically •A high video likeability of 88% greater than industry average of 70%. •Many users thanked Mobily on social media for the great initiative and also praised the video, stating that they were deeply touched by the story and that it was the best publicity ever.

In a triumph of production of content tied to intelligent targeting, we were able to take a single piece of branded content in the form of a music video and send it viral through Saudi Arabia, targeting the most relevant audiences and through intelligent retargeting and creating a number 1 hit music track that topped the charts for weeks.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

A little Saudi boy, named Bandar, participated in regional Voice Kids talent discovery competition in early 2016 yet his performance wasn't appreciated by the judges. He was eliminated from the competition early on, sparking an uprising on social media. Saudis across the nation supported him, criticizing the jury for his dismissal and fuelling a feeling of victimization amongst some commentators. Mobily also felt Bandar had been unfairly treated and saw an opportunity to turn the event on its head. One of the threads of Vision 2030 focused on developing Saudi talents to help drive the nation forward. What if we could take this clearly talented young Saudi boy and spread the message of ‘Al Jay Afdal ‘or ‘The Best is Yet to Come’. Bandar’s story became the central narrative of our campaign and encapsulated a direction that could align Mobily with a core element of Vision 2030.

Credits

Name Company Role
Fahad Al Maghrabi Initiative MENA Digital Director
Jad Ibrahim Initiative MENA General Manager - Riyadh
Tarek Sharafeddine Initiative MENA Media Director
Saad Sraj Initiative MENA Associate Digital Director
Mohamad Tabch Initiative MENA Senior Digital Planner
Ghassan Mikati Initiative MENA Media Executive
Khaled Farid MullenLowe MENA Regional Marketing and Business Director
Ali Alzbdany MullenLowe MENA Executive Creative Director
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