2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Outdoor is a static and 'isolated' medium. Seldom does the medium exploit the Power of Context in a manner that just one billboard ad triggers conversations and engagement the way our idea did. To generate engagement & talk-ability around the brand, our idea was to bring the fierce rivalry of Burger King & McDonald’s alive, in a market that had never seen it before & where competitive advertising is strictly not allowed. To do so, we placed a billboard right above a McD store with just three words on it. Lighting a fire that caused some serious burns!

Background.

The Kuwaiti Millennials are redefining the fast food culture, gradually rejecting the ‘age – old’ brands they grew up with in favor of smaller, newer brands that are ‘cooler’ and have more interesting stories. They perceived Burger King as ‘Traditional’, ‘Classic’, ‘Uncreative’, ‘Stuck in its own ways’. The positive associations revolved only around functional parameters like filling, bigger size, good value. Social Media analytics also brought this alive – the brand’s total impressions indicated that the consumers are hardly talking, it’s only the brand. The brand needed to change the way it was being perceived. The challenge was to find a way to be seen beyond communicating products, new sandwiches and meal deals. There were two key objectives set: 1. Get the millennial consumers talking about Burger King - impressions & brand interactions 2. Make a connection that's beyond the products or functional attributes - positive sentiment / comments

Describe the creative idea/insights

The key insight that led our creative idea was that the Millennials relate to the spirit of competition, challenge & fight more than any other generation. What led us to our insight was nothing more than some casual conversations with our target audience. Spending some time amongst them, we realized the sense of excitement and adrenaline rush they get when they experience this spirit of competitive aggression & challenge. But when it comes to brands and their fierce rivalries, all they get is to hear stories from some other parts of the world. How could Burger King, a brand that takes pride in its challenger attitude, make these millennials experience the sense of excitement for its brand? And this is what led to our creative idea - bring the fierce yet witty rivalry of Burger King with McDonald's alive in Kuwait - a market where competitive advertising is forbidden.

Describe the strategy.

Our target was the Millennial mindset, which includes primarily the consumers in the 18 – 35 age group but expands to teenagers and slightly elder consumers as well. Our research gave us some more understanding on their behavior and how they interact with brands: - The usual advertising the brand does, is only a ‘source of information’ for them on new products and offers. They don’t even go to the level of evaluating whether they liked the ad or not - Brands are perceived to be ‘cool’ when they give something interesting to talk about. Something that the consumers can share on their social media feeds. We wanted to give them shareable content, but that didn't need to originate on Social Media. We knew that if the content is exciting enough, it'll transcend the boundaries of offline & online media.

Describe the execution.

To bring our idea to life and take a dig at our arch-rival, McDonald’s, we needed to find a sort of a ‘loophole’ – something that’d allow us to target them but without being seen as attacking them. We found the ‘loophole’ in the form of an opportunity, an opportunity to exploit the Power of Context. The only media strategy was securing a hoarding that was right above a McDonald’s store in one of the busiest areas in Kuwait. We capitalized on the location of the billboard with just three words, written in a big, bold manner with a huge Burger King logo. Except for the billboard, there were no other media channels used. We wanted the people to take notice of the message and talk about it, instead of the brand pushing it on to them. Now, it was the time to just sit back and watch the show!

List the results.

Never before in Kuwait, just one billboard had resulted in the kind of impressions and conversations, as we got. - More than 10 Million Social Media Impressions in Kuwait only, without any additional media activity - More than 50 Million Online Media Impressions - the ad was showcased on popular viral & marketing content curator websites like 9GAG, The Hive, Wroops, Diply & Madovermarketing. - 72% more brand interactions & 51% more brand mentions - More than 250% increase in brand positive sentiment. Consumers couldn't stop talking about the brand - “It’s rare to see such kind of advertising in Kuwait, waiting for McDonald’s response” “Superb ad! This should make McD upset!” “Smart move BK! Missed such brand wars in Kuwait!” “Simple, Intelligent...Brutal!” By spending just 3000 USD, the brand earned millions of impressions making the Cost per Impression at just USD 0.0003, the lowest for the brand ever!