2019 Winners & Shortlists

UNSEEN POTENTIAL

BrandAL TAYER MOTORS
Product/ServiceRECYCLED DESIGN
EntrantFP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryDurable Consumer Goods, including Cars
Idea Creation FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production FP7/DXB Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

We teamed up with 316 blue-collar factory workers of Al Tayer Motors, who worked across 86 teams for 6 hours per week, in their spare time, over the course of 2 months, to create masterpieces of recycled art that represented their unseen talents. Exhibitions and immersive display experiences, across Al Tayer Motors showrooms, across Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, promoted and sold the art pieces to affluent car buyers, through silent auctions. The idea revealed the unseen talents of factory workers, got affluent car buyers to respond on an emotional level to Al Tayer Motors, like never before.

Background.

In the Middle East, some blue-collar workers are viewed as commodities. They are largely undervalued; their skills are untapped and their efforts unnoticed. But given the chance, these workers have so much more to offer. Al Tayer wanted to show the passion and creativity their employees could achieve beyond their day-to-day jobs. Come up with an idea that would showcase this unseen talent found at Al Tayer Motors and prove to the world their true potential. Our objectives were three-fold: Firstly, we wanted to celebrate the potential of every worker giving them an increased sense of confidence and pride. Secondly, we wanted to be known as an employer who truly cares about its employees. Thirdly, importantly, we wanted the world to know that Al Tayer Motors don’t just hire mechanics – they hire true artisans of their craft. It would help give them an edge over other car servicing companies.

Describe the creative idea.

Unseen Potential: Elevating the unseen potential and pride of every single mechanic who took part, we helped them inspire a much wider audience to realize their unseen potential too. And created truly unique way for a brand to lift not just their people, but the business and society as well.

Describe the strategy.

Al Tayer Motors is an established dealership and servicing specialist in the UAE, operating since 1982. While it is known for its car brands, and is a known dealership, its brand and corporate image hasn’t been top-of-the-charts. With "Unseen Potential", Al Tayer Motors, in the UAE, has owned recycling of automotive spare parts in a distinctive and meaningful manner, and stood out. The dealership and the agency created a sustainable platform converting wasted spare parts from cars into beautiful art pieces, using the talents of the dealership’s blue-collar and factory workers. In recognizing the unseen potential of Al Tayer Motors’ workers, we also recognized the unseen potential of spare parts and avoiding throwing away their second life, giving both, the workers and the spare parts, a new life.

Describe the execution.

To discover the workers unseen potential, we set a simple challenge to the: take the old discarded car parts from your workshops and create something amazing. What to make was left up to them; we wanted the spare parts to inspire their creations. After they had completed their artworks, we exhibited them in select Al Tayer showrooms. We then invited select customers and the public to an auction (through a 360-awareness campaign) with all proceeds from the sales going to the workers themselves. But, it didn’t stop there. We helped the workers produce a series of how-to films showcasing how they brought their individual sculpture to life in an online content series and triggered sharing. We also asked them to speak about this idea and what it meant to them in leading Universities in the region and in Dubai prisons, where they inspired inmates to produce their own art pieces.

List the results.

+19% increased awareness for Al Tayer Motors. +37% increased community goodwill for Al Tayer Motors. +42% increased corporate image for Al Tayer Motors. +4900% ROI of elevating the status of workers whose potential would otherwise never normally be seen.

Credits

Name Company Role
Oliver Robinson FP7 McCann Dubai Executive Creative Director
Oliver Robinson FP7 McCann Dubai Executive Creative Director
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Wayne Esslemont FP7 McCann Dubai Senior Art Director
Sheldon Serrao FP7 McCann Dubai Senior Copywriter
Oliver Robinson FP7 McCann Dubai Executive Creative Director
Oliver Robinson FP7 McCann Dubai Executive Creative Director
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Tahaab Rais FP7 McCann MENAT Regional Head of Strategy
Karien Mulder FP7 McCann Dubai Content Creator
Karl Uhlemann FP7 McCann Dubai General Manager - Business Unit
Shankar KV FP7 McCann Dubai Account Manager
Maher Dawah FP7 McCann Dubai Arabic Copywriter
Mohamed Hamdan FP7 McCann Dubai Senior Graphic Designer
Amit Borawake FP7 McCann Dubai Retoucher