2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

For the people of Saudi Arabia, YouTube is not only an entertainment platform, but also a place where self-expression is commonly promoted. So, we leveraged the popularity of social media personalities like Suha Nowailaty and Lojain Omran to help us challenge the perception that being a Chef is actually a serious career choice for many in The Kingdom. We packaged our partnership with a strategy, called Social-Tainment, using the Kingdom's favourite past-times - Social media and Entertainment. We launched Al Walimah Chef – the country’s only online cooking competition, which aimed to validate the careers of aspiring chefs in Saudi.

Background.

In a country that is currently going through a progressive shift of modernization, many were still holding on to their conservative beliefs. The definition of success was still being judged by the traditional ideology that you had to be a 'doctor' or an 'engineer' to be successful. Al Walimah has been inspiring Saudis to unlock their creativity in the kitchen for years. There was a new generation that views culinary arts as a serious career path, however they were still hesitant to publicly showcase their talents in fear of societal backlash. As a brand that has been empowering the 'everyday' chefs to embrace the fun of cooking, our objective was clear. If we wanted to change the current perception of Chef's in Arab society, then we needed to take it a step further, and show the people of Saudi Arabia what it really takes to be a chef.

Describe the creative idea.

We proactively collaborated with social media celebrities with millions of followers and took part in the country's progression with an idea that helped to shift the perception of what it really takes to be a chef. We launched Al Walimah Chef - a cooking series that pit the country's aspiring chefs against each other in a winner-takes-all format. The content was primarily launched on youtube - a platform that was highly visited by millions of Saudis daily. The series took an in-depth look into the emotional and cultural stigma that aspiring chefs in today's conservative society. Every week, contestants compete against each other to showcase their talents to a panel of world-class judges. Over the seasons, the competition became more popular as cultural acceptance was slowly shifting. By the 3rd season, we had over 25 contestants compete – from both genders. Something completely unheard of!

Describe the strategy

Saudi Arabia has one of the largest social media usage in the world, with YouTube consumption at more than 70% of the population. The platform was definitely a hotspot for cultural and societal exchange between our male and female demographic aged 25-45. We also knew that social media celebrities heavily influenced this audience. They flocked to these platforms for everything from entertainment to recipes, to cooking tips & tricks. If we wanted to shift the cultural sentiment of Saudi society then we would need to speak to them on a platform they visited often, and trusted. Our influencers helped launch and maintain the show, driving reach and authenticity. To further validate our show, we partnered with the ICCA Cooking Academy in Dubai, who allowed us to shoot in their test kitchen, as well as with various international and regional brands, who provided their products for culinary challenges.

Describe the execution

The competition spanned over 3 seasons with each season seeing a new group of social and TV celebrities promote the show. The sign up process was so successful that the show had received close to 200,000 entries by Season 3. The entry videos and applications in the 1st season alone were flooding in at a rate that our panel of judges became so overwhelmed, that we had to set new parameters for the following upcoming seasons. The show also grew over time, and received funding and sponsorship from brands all across the region. The production value also increased, which helped to validate our social cause and shed light on tomorrow's culinary heroes. Social influencers and Celebrities were constantly raving about the show without any paid endorsements or media spend. Most importantly, our initiative helped to launch the career of 2 former contestants with global brand ambassador roles.

Describe the outcome

- Market Share increased by over 118+% - Over 90+million views on our channel. - Over 228+M Media Impressions - Positive brand sentiment was 87%, a 6% increase from the previous season. - But most importantly, we helped to validate the culinary careers of The Kingdom’s aspiring chefs with Al Walimah Chef!