2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Mecca, Saudi Arabia, welcomes 2.5 million pilgrims, worldwide, in Ramadan and Eid. But, in 2020, due to the debilitating global health crisis owing to COVID-19, Saudi Arabia’s health minister warned of a spike of up to 200,000 cases within weeks. Consequently, Mecca was put under an absolute lockdown, during Ramadan and Eid. It was the first time in recorded history that Mecca was locked down for travellers from both Saudi Arabia and the world. Almosafer is a popular travel platform from Saudi Arabia (think Booking.com’s equivalent in Saudi Arabia). With the industry coming to a disheartening halt, all companies in the sector had been setback. Marketing budgets were frozen. No Ramadan shoots were going to happen. Almosafer wanted to be top-of-mind when the skies opened. KPIs (to overcome booking.com and flyin.com): (1) Improve brand relevance by twice the current score (i.e. 100%). (2) +20% preference for bookings to Mecca post-lockdown.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

COVID-19 forced people of all faiths to adapt to new ways of practicing faith and celebrations by staying home, being safe, being isolated and social distancing. Muslims too adjusted to these new realities as for the first time ever in most people’s memories, Ramadan was celebrated in new ways - no iftar gatherings, no prayers at mosques and charity being done from a distance. However, from 2020, what would remain etched in the memories of Muslims everywhere, would be the images of Mecca - empty. Evoking these sentiments was key to appeal to Saudis and enhance brand resonance. Doing so, in lockdowns, with no pilgrims nor shoots with people allowed in Mecca, was the first challenge. With airplanes grounded and the travel industry coming to a halt, Almosafer, like other brands in the industry, had a freeze on marketing spends. Doing so, memorably, with negligible budgets was the next challenge.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

OPPORTUNITY: When Almosafer surveyed over 3,000 travelers in Saudi Arabia about the first place they’d travel to when the lockdown ends, 84% said it’d be Mecca. From a business perspective, to win affinity with travellers once lockdowns ended, a strong association between Mecca and Almosafer was imperative. With restrictions on what we could do, our strategy had to think execution too. BREAKTHROUGH: Now, we didn't want to do a generic COVID-19 washing film in Ramadan. And we didn't want to pick library videos or stock images to create a generic Mecca film. Instead, we wanted to tap into people’s personal libraries – their personal memories and stories of Mecca when they could travel to Mecca. Because, if people could not travel to Mecca, their stories of Mecca could travel the world. We wanted to make Muslims around Saudi Arabia and around the world be a part of Almosafer's Mecca experience.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

In Ramadan, in the buildup to Eid (when most pilgrims usually gathered in Mecca), we launched a crowdsourcing campaign using Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. People could respond via hashtag, email or WhatsApp. Stories came in from 52 countries. We sifted through 12 hours of crowdsourced stories. Mapping the journey of pilgrims through peering over 12 hours of footages, we designed one connected story. And then, we created a vertical format social media ‘story’, called "STORIES OF MECCA", showing a journey to Mecca, through people’s eyes. Says Sawsan Abdillahi: “I love that this centers around Makkah. Honestly made me want to go back. Kudos on an amazing ad.” It also earned respect from non-Muslims. Says Andrea Edwards: “What a beautiful video! Of all faiths, I think our Muslim friends have suffered the most in lockdown (because of Ramadan, Eid and pilgrimage falling in the midst of hard lockdowns in the region).”

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

Costing only $4,000 for production, the Stories of Mecca earned advocacy from Muslims. It also earned respect from non-Muslims. Says Andrea Edwards: “What a beautiful video! Of all faiths, I think our Muslim friends have suffered the most in lockdown (because The campaign was ranked #1 for Direction on AdForum in June 2020. It was featured by Creative Vertical Storytellers as an example of a crowdsourced vertical format film. It featured on leading platforms like LBB Online, TRT World, Mosques of Dubai, Arabian Marketer, Tourism Authority, The Stable, Campaign and travelled across 70 countries worldwide, generating $1.5 million earned media value. Brand relevance during Ramadan & Eid: +224% vs nearest competitor. Preference for bookings to Mecca post-lockdown: +33% vs nearest competitor. Purchase intent for travel post-lockdown: +16% vs same period in 2019. Post-lockdown flight bookings: +42% vs same period in 2019. Post-lockdown hotel bookings: +18% vs same period in 2019.