2019 Winners & Shortlists

SUPPORT HER JOURNEY

Short List
BrandSHELL
Product/ServiceHELIX
EntrantAL JOMAIH AND SHELL LUBRICATING OIL COMPANY LIMITED Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
CategorySocial Video
Idea Creation M&C SAATCHI Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Background.

In 2018, the ban on women driving in KSA would be lifted. For the first time, Saudi women would be able to take to the roads. However, while women were mostly optimistic about the change, there was still a lot of opposition from Saudi men. In the months before this milestone, we were briefed by Shell Helix to leverage this topicality, and use the opportunity to welcome new women drivers to the roads and to our brand. We had to create something that would stand out from the clutter and get noticed. We needed to bring fresh insight to the subject, and actively contribute to the positive change in Saudi Arabia's mindset.

Describe the creative idea.

Saudi men didn't trust women to drive. So we reminded them that women have always been driving. Driving families. Driving communities. Driving society. We created an unscripted piece of branded content, inviting 5 male figures to answer our questions about women driving. Over the course of the journey, they came to the realisation that the women in their lives had played pivotal roles in driving them forward. And that it was time for them to return the support. This film was shared as our tool to spark the debate—and for the first time, turn Saudi male cynics, into vocal supporters of women's rights.

Describe the strategy.

Research showed that 82% of women in KSA intended to drive post the announcement, but that this number dwindled as the date approached—due to a largely negative response from men. We saw an opportunity to reach past our current audience (Saudi men, 18 and older, across all demographics), and for the first time, reach Saudi women, who were brand neutral and yet to form an opinion about lubricant brands on the market. With the highest online video consumption in the world, we knew our message to Saudi Arabia had to be focused there. We aimed to win the hearts of Saudi women by speaking to men. Showing how it was time for men to return the support that women have always shown. We wanted women to feel empowered that a brand wasn't just 'wishing them luck', but actively driving beside them in their journey.

Describe the execution.

We created a piece of unscripted branded content: a film that interviewed 5 Saudi male figures, asking them probing questions that would lead them to a simple, yet powerful conclusion: the women in their lives have always been driving, and that it was time for men to return the support. The film was launched in the leadup to the day that women would be allowed to drive in KSA, for the first time—sparking an online debate in the process. We took advantage of Saudi's huge appetite for online video content to place the film on YouTube. We leveraged 7 macro and 37 micro influencers to promote the film on Instagram and Snapchat. They used #SupportHerJourney in their post captions with an endearing thank you messages to the women in their lives.

List the results.

The film went viral almost immediately and sparked an intense online debate of over 8000 comments, in which Saudi men became vocal advocates for women's rights, for the first time. In addition, we generated 6.1 Million views on YouTube, made 86.5 million impressions overall, and saw an average engagement rate/view time of 52%. We increased the Youtube subscription for Shell KSA by 20%, and the video was shared over 10,800 times.

Credits

Name Company Role
Ryan Reed M&C SAATCHI Chief Creative Officer
Ben Lees M&C SAATCHI Creative Director
Jed Dawson M&C SAATCHI Creative Director
Karim Zein M&C SAATCHI Senior Arabic Copywriter
Michael Habib M&C SAATCHI Senior Art Director
Amin Soltani M&C SAATCHI Agency Producer
Deven Uchil M&C SAATCHI Account Director
Sara Abdulkader M&C SAATCHI Account Manager
Saad Shehzad M&C SAATCHI Content Producer
Scott Feasey M&C SAATCHI Chief Executive Officer
Team Boomtown Productions Content Producer
Links
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