2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for PR Lynx?

Byblos Bank had a reputation problem: it was seen as a bank that is not really national, that doesn't really speak to ALL Lebanese. We needed to change that on independence day. So we started out by making fun of people using one true fact: Lebanese don't know the words to their own anthem. We knew they would get angry which was when we did what we wanted to do all along: launch the biggest initiative to teach ALL Lebanese their anthem. Something that completely changed the perception for the bank into being a bank that truly speaks to everyone.

Background

Byblos Bank had a problem: because of its branches being more present in specific areas and its history in Lebanon it was seen as a bank that only caters to upper class and mostly christian groups. While the bank did have branches all over Lebanon, it needed to strengthen its relationship with the people in difference areas and be seen as a bank that is as national as it can get. They thought the perfect opportunity to do so was on independence day, Lebanon's most celebrated national day. Our objective was clear: for the next brand health study increase score for "patriotic and national bank" by 2 points versus score in 2018's study. Decrease 5 points for "elite bank: versus score in 2018's study. We needed to ensure we hit our average page engagement rate and witness a 20% in fans (usual fans growth whenever we launch a campaign)

Describe the creative idea.

What do people do on independence days and national days? They mostly, collectively, sing their national anthem. it's one of the symbols that unite the country from all religions, races, classes. Problem was: 73% of Lebanese didn't know the words for their own anthem! Ask them to sing it and they would substitute most words with "Na Na Na" and other gibberish words. So we decided to make fun of them, show them how miserably they sing their national anthem. On TV, outdoor, social... why? because we wanted them to jump on the opportunity and bash this bank they so though was non patriotic. After catching their attention they were demanding an explanation from Byblos Bank. So we responded with what we wanted to do all along: a series of activations and initiatives that would get everyone to learn that precious anthem. The idea? Our anthem unites us.

Describe the strategy.

Our target was practically everyone. But not the ones who thought Byblos Bank was a Lebanese bank they could some day refer to but the ones who really had it for Byblos Bank, who really thought this bank was elitist and only cared about a fraction of the Lebanese. What really sets this target apart is the fact that they would gladly share any negative story about a brand they didn't really like. So we used that at the core of our strategy. Once we launched our mocking assets, negative comments were pouring in. Once we had the country buzzing we created custom segments on social, basically the people who commented negatively on our mocking assets, and re-targeted those with all the initiatives we had planned to amend the situation and come off as the bank that cared about all of Lebanon with all its national symbols.

Describe the execution.

We launched with the mocking film few days before independence day: a bunch of Lebanese attempting to sing the anthem with an end thought that says it's time to learn our anthem. The film online got what we wanted: everyone sharing it out of humiliation either bashing Lebanese or Byblos Bank. Once influencers and people prompted the conversation and put the spotlight on us, come independence day we released content films of all we did to teach people the anthem: a building long Graffiti on Beirut's busiest street, series of parades singing the anthem in the streets of Lebanon, a box of specially designed cards that represented the meanings and Lyrics of every verse in the anthem sent to influencers and school kids and the national anthem itself printed on posters in branches, on streets and in magazines

List the results.

Tier 1: Brand equity 8 times higher score vs. 2018 when it comes to “patriotic and national bank” perception 10 times lower score vs. 2018 when it comes to “elite bank” perception Tier 2: $100,000 in earned media (knowing that the average is $25,000 for banking campaigns) More than 1,000 stories and posts Special coverage on MTV main news Special coverage in AnNahar Mention on BlogBaladi, 961 media, Beirut.com and other notable publishers. Tier 3: 148% more page engagement than average 62% increase in fans