2019 Winners & Shortlists

AKHOU NORA

Gold Lynx

Case Film

Presentation Image

BrandSAUDI TELECOM COMPANY
Product/ServiceFEMALE EMPOWERMENT
EntrantJ. WALTER THOMPSON Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
CategoryCorporate Communication & Reputation Management
Idea Creation J. WALTER THOMPSON Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
Production AFLAM PRODUCTIONS Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA

Why is this work relevant for PR Lynx?

Saudi Arabia finally lifted its ban on women driving in 2018.With 24th June, the first day women would drive fast approaching and the nation still not unified behind the decree, not all women were confident to drive. STC committed to making this change accepted turned the women driving conversation completely on its head,using history and the nation’s role model to prove naysayers wrong.We went back in time to the story of King Abdulaziz and galvanised the nation behind every woman - altering the nation’s mindset. Demonstrating that change didn’t make history but that history made the change desired in Saudi.

Background

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has set a vision for the country to modernize and reform: One of the key pillars of his vision is to increase women’s role and rights within society. On 26 September 2017, a royal decree gave women the right to drive as of the 24th June 2018. while the majority of respondents (61%) felt the change showed society progressing in the right direction, only a minority of men (44%) were willing to support the women of the family driving As the leading and only national telco, STC is part of the future economy and at the forefront of the change happening in the kingdom. Support for 2030 was critical for the country and in turn for STC. With the 24th June fast approaching, STC was committed to making this change accepted and encouraging the nation to be unified behind the change

Describe the creative idea.

Remind those that oppose change, that this Change is not actually change We took the nation back to 1902, and reminded them of their roots with an online film and told the story of Noura’s brother (akhou Noura)- the story of King abdulaziz, a young man who went on a quest to reclaim his grandfather’s kingdom and succeeded. All because of Noura. Consequently he called himself the brother of Noura, as it was a man’s honour to call him self after his sister

Describe the strategy.

While many brands had started to communicate with empowering messages of “its your time”, we decided to dig deeper to really understand the fabric of Saudi Arabia, and so we went back in time – we looked at Saudi’s history and in our journey we went back as far as 1902. We discovered the story of a young man who went on a quest to reclaim his grandfather’s kingdom and succeeded. All because of the help of his sister Noura. This young man was King Abdulaziz Bin Abulrahman the founder of Saudi arabia and he named himself after his sister, the brother of noura (akhounoura) to honor her driving force in the Kingdom’s history. We had to remind the nation of its history, that women playing such a key role in society what not new but rather part of Saudi Arabia’s DNA.

Describe the execution.

We took the nation back to 1902, and reminded them of their roots with an online film telling the story of Noura’s brother (akhou Noura)- the story of King abdulaziz, Our film ended with a call to action to all men to support all women on the day of driving and even every day, asking them to change their names by following in the footsteps of King Abdulaziz and share on our hashtag #akhounoura We distributed pins and stickers that men and women could personalize and use as their own. On social media we created filters and profile templates that the nation could personalize to show support for the women in their lives. STC had to walk the talk and so we changed STC’s 17,000 email signatures. And our streets names were renamed within our compound after the first 5 female employees who took the driver’s seat.

List the results.

The nation responded:Famous TV hosts, university students, and even soldiers joined the movement through customized pins and car stickers. Influencers featured the names of their sisters, daughters or wives as their profile pics. Government officials did the same with their badges, as did The Royal Family. The film ? 5 million views ? 40 million impressions ? Our hashtag was the second trending hashtag on twitter on the day of driving STC was the Saudi woman’s first choice ? Main brand increased from 54% to 61% ? Top of Mind awareness from 70% to 72% We generated an earned media value of 1 million USD More importanty STC’s commitment to the change of woman driving helped galvanise a nation behind every woman, altering the nation’s mindset. Demonstrating that change didn’t make history but that history made the change desired in Saudi Arabia.

Credits

Name Company Role
Chafic Haddad J.Walter Thompson Chief Creative Operations Officer
Rayyan Aoun J.Walter Thompson Executive Creative Director
Hessa Al Sudairy J.Walter Thompson Creative Director
Ahmad Shanaa J.Walter Thompson Senior Art Director
Joe Aboudaher J.Walter Thompson Head Of TV Production KSA
Jad Haddad J.Walter Thompson Associate Business Director
Ziad Rayes J.Walter Thompson Account Director
Yasmin Moufti J.Walter Thompson Account Manager
Dana Alkutoubi J.Walter Thompson Head of Strategic Planning KSA
Ahmed Alsahhaf Saudi Telecom Company GM Marketing & Communications
Abdullah Alotaibi Saudi Telecom Company Digital Media Director
Aflam Aflam Production house
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