2019 Winners & Shortlists

CLOSE UP - FRESHNESS CAMPAIGN

BrandUNILEVER
Product/ServiceCLOSE UP TOOTHPASTE
EntrantDIGITAL REPUBLIC LINKED BY ISOBAR Cairo, EGYPT
CategoryFast Moving Consumer Goods
Idea Creation DIGITAL REPUBLIC LINKED BY ISOBAR Cairo, EGYPT
Media Placement MAGNA Cairo, EGYPT
Production THE TALKIES Cairo, EGYPT
Additional Company CIRCLE POST PRODUCTION Giza, EGYPT
Additional Company 2 SQUIDS Giza, EGYPT

Background.

Closeup Gel, globally known as the teeth gel that gets you intensely closer to your lover, by giving you intense freshness that lasts for 12 hours, communicated through ads featuring real closeness, intimacy and kissing. Making it a real challenge in a country with cultural restraints where showing kissing and intimacy in any ad is considered Taboo and would probably backfire. To add to the challenge our target audience are all over the place with their different interests, unique tastes, short attention spans and diverse social media habits. For a brand that’s all about freshness and getting closer, our main objective was to own “The closeness and freshness platform in Egypt” shifting the purchase power to the younger target instead of being a household product; and to eventually increase sales.

Describe the creative idea.

We based our campaign on the targets main topic of interest and the brands main area of expertise “Relationships” and according to research, we uncovered our insight they all shared, the fear of making a bad first impression by not being prepared, not looking their best or saying something awkward and blowing their chance. Our campaign revolved around the idea that whatever you do, if you have a bad breath, it will ruin everything, and no amount of effort can get you closer to your crush. This idea was executed by showcasing a young man going out of his way to make the perfect first impression, then literally sending his crush flying away with his bad breath. For our main message we chose a well-known Egyptian saying used when a person loses someone or something because they messed up “Don’t let her fly away and start with closeup”.

Describe the strategy.

Our strategy was to create a data driven campaign to effectively disseminate our messages to our desired target, Males & females aged 18 to 24. After researching our target, we found out that relationships as an initial thought was common ground between them and the brand, and after delving further into our research we found the insight that united them. Our target shared the fear of making a bad first impression when approaching their crush, which led us to communicate our teeth gel as a must have in similar situations. After coming up with our desired message, we researched our targets digital habits, their top visited platforms and top searches. We then created executions that matched our targets top searches and used precise media targeting to reach them each in the appropriate time with the appropriate execution and on the right platform. Utilizing YouTube, Anghami, Mobile, Facebook, outdoor and TV

Describe the execution.

We launched our campaign with a humorous 45 second copy on YouTube introducing our main concept and the heroes of the campaign.Then launched six different 10 second copies under the same umbrella yet each based on one of our targets top online searches. We complemented these videos with custom sound ads on a popular music platform, each ad integrated the listeners own name and a message relating to what day it was in the script giving each user a personal experience. The campaign was also fledged across different social media platforms,utilized mobile ad networks and rich media to showcase banners and an interactive game. Aired on 11 television channels using a mix of programs that reached our target efficiently while placing 71 billboards in 8 cities across the country. All the campaign assets ran together starting October, supported afterwards with social media content and Anghami launch a month after.

List the results.

Closeup achieved remarkable results on YouTube, with the main copy reaching 158,458,669 impressions and 57,972,233 views with 76% completion rate and a VTR of 32% exceeding the benchmark of 19%. The 10 seconds personalized copies achieved a 97% completion rate and VTR of 41% also exceeding the benchmark, with an Ad recall of 25.2% a percentage that is considered high average based on studies from consumer-packaged goods. The Anghami campaign succeeded by achieving 545,079 Impressions and 4% CTR, the execution also drove organic conversation about the brand and the use of innovation. The business objective was surpassed, doubling the business in ONE year with an 85% growth on volume, an increase in Trial rate from 17% to 30% while skewed toward towards young millennials. An increase in trial rate in Cairo by 12%, increase in current usage by 11% and an increase in value share by 80bps in one year.

Credits

Name Company Role
Mohamed Basha Digital Republic Linked By Isobar Creative Director
Ahmed Abu Bakr Digital Republic Senior Copywriter
Fatima Yehia Digital Republic Senior Art Director
Sara Rabie Digital Republic Senior Account Manager
Tarek Ibrahim Digital Republic Group Accounts Director
Donia Kassem Digital Republic Account Manager
Menna Fahmy Digital Republic Digital Media Executive
Dina Magdy Digital Republic Agency Producer
Nader El Nakoury The Talkies Director
Sherif Farid The Talkies Executive Producer
Shady Amir The Talkies Senior Producer
Muhammed Ibrahim The Talkies Director Of Photography
Amir Hedayah The Talkies Music composer
Baher Rasheed Circle Editor
Baher Rasheed Circle Editor
Mohamed Sami Nassar Circle Color Grading
Malak Gomaa Digital Republic Senior Content Consultant
Mostafa Hesham Digital Republic Content Consultant
Abdel Rahman El Dakhs Digital Republic Graphic Designer
Adham El Helaly The Talkies Art Director
Reem El Adl Digital Republic Stylist
Youssef Wagdy Digital Republic Senior Copywriter
Kamel Basha Digital Republic Art Director
Mohamed Aly Magna Global Senior Digital Planner
Mostafa Amer Magna Global Senior Planner
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