2018 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

The idea behind the campaign was to create an impact and raise awareness about the current crisis. We wanted Alan to be the voice for every forgotten . So, on September 2nd, 2017, the anniversary of his death, we brought Alan back. And the world woke up to his name. Wherever people saw the word , they saw Alan and his story. We made him voice for around the world, appealing to people everywhere to lend their voices to support the cause. The idea was to make sure Alan was seen everywhere, so that the plight of could not be forgotten or ignored.

Creative Execution

In just 12 days we needed to make sure Alan's name would be seen on every website, blog, news portal and social media channel. To do this we created a plugin which enabled browsers to take over the word and replace it with 'Alan'. We launched it on September 2nd through different media channels. A powerful video retold the story of Alan from his perspective. Simultaneously, content pieces featuring the popular actor Mazen and celebrity news anchor Jessica Azar further spread Alan's story. As his name spread across the web social media posts spread a powerful message- "Remember the name. Remember the day." Alan's story was featured on one of the top news channels in the region-Al Arabiya, once highlighting the plight of to the world. All campaign communication led users to the UNHCR website, ensuring that their voices could contribute to the cause.

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

In 12 days Reach-Over 12 million users on Social Media Total Engagement over 2.8 million. The UNHCR website had over 229,000 visitors The Voice for Alan campaign launch videos in English and Arabic got 4.2 million+ impressions and over 1.6 million+ engagements. Interviews with news anchor Jessica Azar and actor Mazen supporting the campaign had a strong impact with 4.1 million+ impressions and 650K+ engagements. Campaign posts got 3.9 million+ impressions and with 124K+ engagements.

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

The world has increasingly become numb to the refugee crisis. Our 12-day campaign was designed to spread awareness about the refugee crisis, get people to take action, embrace the campaign message and adopt it. We needed to change public apathy towards the refugee crisis. We needed to encourage people to take action and sign on to make a change. The campaign elicited a response from people, encouraging them to visit the UNHCR website and to be a Voice for Alan. The basis for the campaign was to see a real change by involving people with the work.

The current crisis is the worst in the history of mankind. Yet the world remains numb to the situation. are forgotten every day and there is no better illustration of this problem than the story of Alan Kurdi-the 3-year-old Syrian who lost his life and was then forgotten. Our strategy was to change the sentiment of people by reminding the world who Alan was. And in doing so opening their eyes to the crisis. The key message to the people in the region was simple- "Remember the name. Remember the day." We did this by making the crisis more relatable and personal through Alan Kurdi-a boy who lost his life. Using the power of his story and replacing it every time the word was seen, made people understand that real lives are lost an affected. No matter how vast the problem is.