2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

The ‘Holiday Blues’ were overwhelming in 2020 as a raging pandemic was sweeping the globe and celebrations were cancelled as families had to spend days in isolation, and it was no different in Saudi Arabia. Eid, a Muslim festivity, is celebrated with big gatherings & the passing of “Eidiya”, a ritual where elder members of the family distribute cash presents to their daughters, sons and grandchildren. But last year, this was completely off the table given the pandemic. So, the Saudi Telcom Company, owner of stc pay, a digital wallet which allows users to transfer,receive, and manage their money using just a smartphone, was not going to let the Kingdom of Islam be deprived of traditions and prosperity. We had an objective to utilize the fintech application to keep the spirit of Eid alive and spread joy among 100,000 Muslims in the country using the transfer feature. (stc pay data)

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

The stc pay digital wallet had the most convenient transfer feature: ‘person-to-person transfer.’ A process as easy as calling someone. And yet, no one was using it, even during a time where contactless payments were essential. Despite our best communication efforts, consumers continued to rely on traditional banks and their tedious, long processes when they can send money with a push of a button using only our application & a local phone number. The second challenge is that it’s an ancient tradition, cash Eidiyas to Muslim families is like what presents are to Christmas, it’s an extremely important part of the celebration. Our goal was to relieve Saudi households of being deprived of this beloved tradition, while simultaneously get a mass of users to try our instant transfer experience, finally giving the feature its wings, and the mobile app its recognition as a trustworthy banking solution.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

Contactless payments witnessed a surge during the pandemic as 77% of Saudis adapted to digital payments to safely conduct daily transactions. (source: Visa KSA) As it was an unconventional time and Saudis were more familiar with digital payments, we were in the midst of a major cultural shift, 69% of Saudis trusted paying with mobile wallets (source: Visa KSA) a staggering number for a usually conservative nation. So, there was a huge opportunity here to communicate at a time where no one else can, consumers won’t individually request an IBAN, add, confirm, transfer, wait 1-3 business days to give away Eidiyas, so traditional banks had absolutely no leverage. Eid was about to be compromised, but as 92% of the Saudi population are smartphone users (Hootsuite) there was real opportunity to save this holiday with the stc pay application by repackaging the transfer experience.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

Repackage the person-to-person transfer button to “give a contactless Eidiya” one. All we needed to do was bring the holiday spirit to an existing feature. This idea was extremely cost-effective as it required no change in operations, only minor adjustment which was quickly achieved internally. Taking into consideration our findings and the importance of this tradition to Saudis it had to be personalized. The new Eidiya feature not only allowed consumers to transfer cash instantly, but users could also write a personal message with each one. And it wasn’t just cash, users can send gift cards from the stores within the application’s marketplace such as Spotify, iTunes, PlayStation store and many more. To encourage people to use it, we communicated across social platforms such as Twitter & YouTube telling consumers “Because we do this every year, it won’t change this year” alongside educational infographics on how to use the service.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

We were able to keep spirits high during the Eid holiday, as consumers embraced the service as a new way to send Eidiyas: • In the first three days 350,000 Eidiya transfers were made. • Within 10 days we had over 408,200 app installs • And 34, 352, 804.64 SR (over 9 million USD) in cash transfers Meanwhile, we optimized owned digital & direct channels to achieve the most reach with the least cost: • On Facebook & Instagram we reached record impressions: 3,315,030 Impressions, 843,648 people reached, 16,424 Clicks, 30,098 views with a 23% completion rate. • And great engagement on Twitter: 882,711 Impressions, 110,650 Views, 12,958 engagements. • And within the application (UAC) we achieved: 2,260,248 Impressions, 16,147 Clicks. (Source: stc pay data & Media results)