2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

The volume of social content shared is increasing faster than people are able to consume it. Tackling attention deficit, platforms encourage advertisers to produce shorter form content with messaging cramped into 8 seconds. We broke the norm and demonstrated that brands can push long form content for engagement, and avoid being another victim of a thumb swipe in the feed. Our activation removed engagement-bait methods, by providing nostalgic experience through a social media gamified ad. We immersed the user by interacting with the brand, experiencing the Track firsthand, leveraging the design and user experience that was from their gaming memories.

Background.

2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, one of the biggest sporting events in the region, promising to be the most exciting Formula 1 race of the year. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix attracts huge crowds from outside the UAE, there is no guarantee long-haul audiences will continue to attend, especially among millennials, the next generation of avid fans within the sport of Formula 1. This community of fans are passionate, they never miss a race, and they’re active on social media during races. Despite this, attending overseas races can be expensive and a lower priority for these fans. Instead, turning to the European races, seen as more accessible and practical than a trip overseas, to fulfill their bucket list moments. How do we connect with millennial Formula 1 Fans through social and turn Abu Dhabi Grand Prix into a bucket list race?

Describe the creative idea/insights

Noise and clutter on social media means the average user has the attention span of Gold Fish, dedicating only 8.25 seconds to a piece of content. Short form content has become the widely accepted norm to cut through the clutter. Moreover, content is 37% more attention grabbing if offers a discount (Sprout Social – Social Advertising Report 2018). Gamified content is interactive; increasing customer activity by 68% (Post Funnel, 2017), and disrupting time spent on content to 3 minutes (Ad Age, 2016). Gamification is a big passion point for Formula 1 Fans, as 70% fans were using mobile phones to play games (GWI Index). Time spent on mobile phones is averaging 6 hours a day, with 50% of the time dedicated to social media, (Research by Hootsuite, Digital in 2018 report). 39% of Formula 1 fans actively engage on the platforms as a second screen activity during a live race.

Describe the strategy.

European Formula 1 fans are active gamers. For our message to resonate, we needed the fans to experience the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track firsthand. What better way to engage them than to get them racing on the track in a digital activation, through a gamified social ad, focused on connecting with millennial attendees, as the business had an appetite to enrich the CRM data. Our brand opportunity lay in providing a unique experience - by creating content that would resonate with their interests, in a format to capture attention. Gamifying social content to a race challenge and implementing the brand throughout, creating a meaningful connection. Hijacking events by engaging through our digital activation, shifting from aggressive methods to capture attention to earning engagement through a nostalgic experience. Users were offered a reward upon completion, and opted-in to submit their details, indicating 100% intent and gathering highly qualified marketing leads.

Describe the execution.

Instead of disruptive methods we immersed our audience into an engaging experience. Creating a game in a social ad that was unique to the millennial Formula 1 fans, back to the days of arcade gaming in 8-bit style. Matching each detail of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, pixel by pixel, putting fans in a time capsule on their mobile phones, sparking a moment of nostalgia. Launching across all social media platforms for maximum reach, bridging the gap to the millennial Formula 1 fans, right on our competitor’s doorstep. We geo-fenced European races to hijack them in real time, reaching fans online and engaged to social media – the only available touch point while attending an F1 race. Reaching our community through social media, at the right moment and at the right time. The experience ran 3 months prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to gain momentum towards our event.

List the results.

Results evoked a wave of reactions on social media, instead of the disruptive method we, immersed our audience into the experience. Delivering: - 5x F1 events hijacked, activating 11 international markets - UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, where F1 relevant audience attend races - 64,369 gamers engaged and completed the challenge, that’s more gamers than we could fit in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grandstand seats. - Time spent gaming surpassed expectations at 99 seconds on average. That’s 12x more effective than an average video ad. - 65% decrease in costs in capturing marketing leads - 198% increase in captured quality marketing leads vs. previous methods - Doubled the ROI Leading to: - Assisting in 17% increase in International visitation to the 10th edition of #AbuDhabiGP. - Assisting in the fastest sell-out of the event.