2018 Winners & Shortlists

#SHEDRIVES

Silver

Case Film

Presentation Image

BrandNISSAN SAUDI ARABIA
Product/ServiceINSTITUTIONAL
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryCorporate Social Responsibility
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production MADE IN SAUDI FILMS Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA
Additional Company TBWA\FULLSTOP Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA

The Campaign

Having been first to react to the announcement of the decree on with a creative post on Twitter, here we wanted to follow up with a real-world event where real women would get the chance to drive a car, get some confidence. So we set up a driving school for a day in a private car park, where first and foremost, women could legally get behind the wheel to experience driving for themselves, for the first time. Secondly, and this is where it got even more interesting, unbeknown to our brave female protagonists it would be the men in their lives who would actually be giving them their first lesson: brothers, uncles, husbands and fathers whom we recruited and brought to the event as a surprise. Despite the logistical challenges, the outcome was a genuinely memorable day for the participants, and highly shareable, emotional content for everyone else.

Creative Execution

Branded content often fails to engage. The Royal Decree encouraged most brands to jump on the bandwagon. However, we wanted to do more than get involved. Nissan wanted to be a genuine enabler and make a meaningful difference. So we set-up a real world stunt, that would generate a genuinely emotional content film - a film with the power to change minds and hearts. We were the first and only brand that gave women a real chance to drive - sure, they drove Nissan Altima cars, and it was in a Nissan-branded car lot, but the focus of the content we generated is what driving means to Saudi women, and significantly, how important it is for men to support their decision. By surprising our female learners with an unexpected instructor for their first driving lesson, we achieved this and established #shedrives as the unofficial hashtag of the movement.

We expected the campaign to be referenced and celebrated internationally, as was the decree. However, we wanted to effect attitude and behavior change in Saudi Arabia, especially amongst more conservative men in households. The initial tweet, featuring the "GRL 2018" car number plate visual, generated 562,000 impressions and 8.8% engagement rate (benchmark for excellence is 2.5%). In its first week, with a very small paid media budget, the content film generated 7.6m impressions and 2,064,300 views (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube), with 9.4% engagement rate (> 5% is seen as excellent). The viewer retention rate is 59% - YouTube benchmark excellence as 50%. Overall, people have spent 976,487 minutes watching the content, equivalent to 1.86 years of viewership, with 64% of the views coming from men in Saudi Arabia. Earned media coverage on TV and online, including Reuters, CNN, Al Arabiya and BBC Worldwide, has been valued at over $2.1m.

After King Salman issued a royal decree in late September allowing women to drive in June 2018, carmakers have been fighting for the attention of Saudi women. We didn't want to outspend or outshout the competitors. We wanted to make a meaningful contribution to the cause. The subsequent stunt and content has generated a massive response and earned significant media coverage.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The Royal Decree was met with delight from both within Saudi and across the world. It set the tone for how King Salman sees the future. Since then, we analyzed syndicated research data, conducted focus groups and monitored social media to discover there was still much resistance from conservative Saudi men. This was affecting women's confidence and making them feel reluctant. Therefore, our plan was to give real women the chance to get a real taste of driving a car, but we also wanted to highlight the men who were supporting their decision, all who had different feelings about the decree initially. By promoting the content, we hoped to normalize the decision for the other millions of men to support their wives, sisters and daughters in exercising their right to drive. This would make for meaningful content from a brave brand that isn't just riding the wave.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Fouad Abdel Malak TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Manuel Borde TBWA\RAAD Creative Director
Alberto Triana TBWA\RAAD Senior Copywriter
Federico Mariani TBWA\RAAD Senior Art Director
Ghassan Kassabji TBWA\RAAD Managing Director
Fadi Awada TBWA\RAAD Account Manager
Benjamin Schwartz TBWA\RAAD Digital Account Director
Elizabeth Arroyan TBWA\RAAD Account Manager
Vishal Badiani TBWA\RAAD Senior Strategic Planner
Rouba Asmar TBWA\RAAD Head of Production
Abboud Ayyach Made in Saudi Films Executive Producer
Yara Bdeir Made in Saudi Films Producer
Jack Eliott Made in Saudi Films Director
Anthony Chamoun Made in Saudi Films Senior Editor
Mohammad Hamdan Made in Saudi Films Sound Mixing
Hazem Atieh / Ezzat Habra TBWA\RAAD Creative Services Managers
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