2018 Winners & Shortlists

THE GOLDEN AGE CIRCUS

BrandTEC
Product/ServiceTHE GOLDEN AGE CIRCUS
EntrantWEBER SHANDWICK MENA Kuwait City, KUWAIT
CategoryIntegrated Campaign led by PR
Idea Creation WEBER SHANDWICK MENA Kuwait City, KUWAIT
Media Placement WEBER SHANDWICK MENA Kuwait City, KUWAIT
PR WEBER SHANDWICK MENA Kuwait City, KUWAIT

The Campaign

We began our campaign with a little bit of a teasing approach. The word circus on its own conjures up images of traditional circuses, with animals, red-nosed goofy clowns and ring masters. So we focused on creating mysterious imagery that only hinted at the contemporary circus spectacle that is The Golden Age. Our videos and artwork only gave tantalizing glimpses of the circus, but gave nothing away - maintaining an air of mystery. Once the circus went live - we showcased all of the incredible, innovative acts in a video that truly demonstrated the world-class show we had on our hands. We also made use of the circus acts themselves, organizing flash-mob style activations at a local farmer's market, universities, shopping malls, trendy boutique coffee shops, and even TEC's biggest facility - a seaside resort over the New Year's weekend.

Execution

Our target was everyone (every age/ income bracket, expats and nationals), therefore we used every available media outlet/ platform – using paid and earned tactics. We hit every online/offline channel – from outdoor, to digital/social media, to print, TV & radio and of course activations/live stunts. We went live 3 weeks prior to the circus launch, with a campaign that gave nothing away about the circus itself. Our artwork and video were bordering on being teasers: we were saying there was a circus but keeping the mystery alive to get people intrigued. Right before the circus began, we sent one of the most broadly-popular Snapchat influencers to get a sneak peak of the circus, and to tease his followers with some exciting tidbits. Once the circus was live, we used a mix of media channels to keep bombarding people with The Golden Age Circus. Anywhere people went, they saw circus

- To date, the media campaign has generated almost $450,000 in earned media across offline & online media channels (social media, digital and online, print, TV, radio); topping the media spend of $390,000. - On TEC’s main social media platform, Instagram, followers increased by 42%, and we saw a significant dip in negative engagements/comments (comments went from attacking/criticizing TEC to simply asking questions and relaying their experiences with the circus post-launch. - The digital campaign garnered around 4,000,000 impressions with a reach of over 8,000,000. - Circus ticket sales averaged 35-40% capacity during the first month, far exceeding initial estimates.

The Situation

At its core this was not an advertising or marketing exercise - it was a PR exercise to rebuild the completely eviscerated reputation of TEC. Through focus groups, media audits and perception audits, we found that the public perception of TEC was overwhelmingly, even aggressively, negative. People had no faith or trust - saw the Company as corrupt, out of touch and stuck in a time warp. The Circus was the first major new project the company had launched in years. This was a chance for us to begin the very complicated and long-term process of rebuilding TEC's reputation.

The Strategy

We needed a mass campaign in every sense of the word. TEC's core business strategy is to be a brand for everyone: family oriented with offerings for people of all ages, both locals and expats. Therefore we had to spread our messages across as many media platforms as possible. We couldn't rely on a single channel, and we had to use a mix of traditional PR activities (live stunts, activations, press releases and editorials, TV and print interviews, features and reports) and paid media (outdoor, print, radio and TV advertising, influencer engagements, sponsored ads on digital and social media channels). To begin with, our creative was more mysterious - only hinting at the circus and what it was about. Then, once live and people's reactions started making the rounds, we came out with an exciting video showcasing all the different acts and shows at the circus.

Credits

Name Company Role
Faisal Khazal Weber Shandwick Senior Account Manager & Social Media Team Lead
Rosie Muhanna Weber Shandwick General Manager
Laila Al-Daghestani Weber Shandwick Account Manager
Humam Shabani Weber Shandwick Art Director
Aaqib Shah Weber Shandwick Art Director
Links
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