2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The #PostWisely campaign was born from the deep-seated belief by du Telecom that their services should “add life to life.” This is not just their pay-off line. It is also their mission. To continue building consumer faith in the company’s core brand value, du ran this hard-hitting campaign. It opened a direct dialogue with all consumers about a subject that wasn’t comfortable to talk about, but crucial to discuss. du tackled a timely topic to stop worrying social media behavior – a bold move from a company whose survival depends on people to use its internet and data services.

Background.

Graphic social media content of people getting injured or finding themselves in dangerous situations has drastically increased in the last few years. The problem is that social media users often post and even more regularly share this type of content when they find it in their social feeds. The reasons are numerous – they forget that there are real people on the other side of the screen; they have become numb to this kind of content; or they find it interesting and entertaining. du Telecom inadvertently provides the means for people to consume graphic content through its services. However, du’s brand belief is to “add life to life.” This means that du always considers the societal impact their technology may have. So they created the #PostWisely initiative with the objective to encourage safer, more positive social media usage.

Describe the creative idea.

As part of du Telecom’s initiative encouraging people to #PostWisely, we created a campaign based on real-life tragic viral videos. Road accidents are a common problem in the UAE and at the beginning of 2018, viral videos immerged of a horrifying pileup that happened on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway. We flipped the camera, trapping the viewer in the victim’s point of view, so that they could see and feel some of the pain the victims experienced. Above all, we put the spotlight on the thoughtless people behind the camera who chose to capture the tragedy instead of helping.

Describe the strategy.

We tackled two audiences – the digital vultures who watched negative online content with grim curiosity and then shared it; as well as voyeurs who reached for their smartphones to film people in pain rather than taking any steps to help. We created an integrated social-first campaign that sparked consciousness of their behavior. We served our content at the right moments to bring about the change we were hoping for.

Describe the execution.

We ran a fully integrated campaign across 3 phases, from 19 February 2018 to 07 May 2018. Phase 1: Teaser Snippets on social media invited people to talk about an important topic, starting 19.02.18 Phase 2: Launch event We hosted a round table event with media, psychologists, and influencers about the topic. This is where we launched our four main films. Phase 2: Amplification We contextually engaged audiences at the right moments through social media, programmatic media (targeting people based on interests), geotagged social posts and Snapchat filters, cinema, and partnerships with authorities, content creators and news portals. Phase 3: Sustain We re-targeted users who interacted with our content. Furthermore, community managers responded to comments made on our platforms, sustaining engagement. Regional influencers and high-profile psychologists used our channels to share their informed, educated opinions, adding credibility to our message, and sparking conversations.

List the results.

We changed behaviour: 76% of respondents stopped sharing negative content (IPSOS post-campaign survey of 1500 people) People rallied behind our cause: • #PostWisely became a top 10 trending topic in the region. • Campaign was endorsed by: -Over 30 popular influencers region-wide, gaining us massive exposure. -Dubai and Abu Dhabi Police, gaining us credibility and government support. -Popular media outlets, gaining us significant exposure. We became community leaders: • du was invited to host educational roadshows at UAE universities and schools. Brand Recognition: • The campaign contributed to du breaking into the top 10 brands in MENA, from 14th place to 10th.