2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

April 1st is the go-to day for brand pranks. Arabian Automobiles decided to disrupt convention and reward fans for checking on us. We teased with a #FoolOrNoFool post and they all said it was a joke. Then at 9 am on Facebook Live, we revealed a Nissan Kicks and fans still thought we were fooling. When they saw the clues at 10 am, it was on. They got off their couches and drove around Dubai, glued to their mobiles. We drove engagement with entertainment and real-time responses. 105 minutes later, we celebrated the first-ever car giveaway on Facebook Live. #NoFool

Background.

Arabian Automobiles mostly posts Nissan brand content about various car models. April 1st was an opportunity to engage with our Facebook fans. Problem was, brands have been pranking customers with fake promotions for years. With so much brand cynicism around April Fool’s Day, there was no way to surprise fans. Our brief was to think of a promotion that would make us stand out on April 1st.

Describe the creative idea.

Fool or No Fool - a made-for mobile car hunt to surprise fans on April 1st. With so much brand baggage and #fakenews, jaded fans wouldn’t know whether they would actually win a car or not. They’d obviously doubt us but secretly wonder if it was true. Once we show them it was real, we’d have them hooked on our Facebook Live feed, engaging them like never before. We’d also have them staring at a brand new Nissan Kicks for more than 90 minutes, something no banner or sponsored post of ours could ever do. #FoolOrNoFool

Describe the strategy.

A mix of fans follow the brand page of a car dealer like Arabian Automobiles - from customers and considerers, to past campaign participants and freebie seekers. Besides raising awareness, we really wanted to stand out from the clutter of brand pranks on April Fool’s Day. This was the one time we could reward our customers for checking on us. Our approach was to seed doubt with a #FoolOrNoFool teaser post and make them curious enough to see our Facebook Live feed on April 1st. By keeping them staring at a Nissan Kicks for more than 90 minutes, we would have increased awareness and brand affinity, especially after giving away the car live.

Describe the execution.

Confidentiality was key to the success of this activation. We didn’t know how long the hunt would be but it couldn’t end in 15 minutes with a “lucky guess”. To create anticipation, our teaser post asked fans whether they thought we would give away a car on April 1st. They overwhelmingly didn’t. Then at 9 am our Facebook Live feed showed a car parked at a secret location. Early viewers doubted us. But at 10 am, we released our first clue and they realised this was really happening. They got off their couches and drove around Dubai, glued to their mobiles. To show the car was real, we threw in entertaining acts. We were responding in real time to fan queries and we had to adapt our clues to bring fans closer. 105 minutes later, we celebrated the first-ever car giveaway on Facebook Live.

List the results.

This zero-paid-media campaign was not boosted on social due to budget constraints. We relied completely on organic reach and got better-than-expected results. - 1st ever car giveaway on Facebook Live - Live feed organic reach: 181,000 in 90 minutes - Overall campaign engagement: 223,000 - Total views (organic): 7.3k - Best performing social campaign for Arabian Automobiles in 2018