2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

The Situation After the revolution things hasn’t changed Egyptians suffered from lack of identity and no sense of belonging knowing that things will not change. Negative consequences like immigration and looking for an alternative nationality. The brief Being the oldest bank in Egypt Banque Misr stood there just like the pyramids with no emotional link between the bank and people. Some important facts about the bank were the first bank in Egyptian history, created with Egyptian money and it was a 100 years old Objective/challenge: Reaching out for the new generation with the bank values “being 100 Egyptian” Reinforce the brand as a Love Mark brand

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Egypt’s revolution sparked the beginning of the Arab Spring in the region. It showed the strength and resilience of the Egyptian people. Unfortunately, it ended up doing more harm than good. Unemployment, corruption, poor lifestyle, and all the issues that made Egyptian people rebel in the first place went from bad to worse. Defeated and hopeless, Egyptians started looking for new opportunities. Immigration applications spiked, and Egyptians wanted to be anywhere but Egypt. They even hid their passports at the airport. They had lost all confidence in their identity. This posed a huge problem for Banque Misr. The first, and oldest bank in Egypt. It’s literally next to the pyramids. All its previous communication had been based on establishing Egyptian identity and pride. CHALLENGE: How could Banque Misr, a bank that is all about Egypt, regain affinity with its consumers when they want nothing to do with Egypt anymore?

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

“Gadaa”, “Aseel” and “Chayyal” are three words that best describe Egyptians. They respectively mean “Strong”, “Honorable” and “Resilient”. Egyptians have long been known about their pride in their 5000 years old identity, and their unbreakable self-confidence. Armed with these traits, they showed the world what an Arab revolution means. But once defeated, these three words became meaningless. All this resilience was vain, all this strength did more harm than good, all this honorability was now looking for a new identity and a new passport at the doors of embassies. Egyptians lost any self-confidence they ever had and hope vanished. It was an epidemic that hit Egyptian identity like never before. INSIGHT: It took one revolution to shatter the confidence of a 5,000 years. The strategy boiled down to revive the spirits of Egyptians by reminding them of who they are, reminding them that giving up is not for them.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

The fastest way to win Egyptians hearts is through music. We created the song “Ana Ibn Masr” or “I’m the son of Egypt”. A song based on two sentences: I am the son of Egypt, I am unbreakable. I am the son of Egypt, I never give up or surrender. Beyond the lyrics that were exactly what Egyptians needed to hear at that moment, the music and the tune resonated with adults, youth and kids. The Song was sung by three celebrity singers: Mahmoud el Essiley, Medhat Saleh and Mahmoud Hejjaj representing three different generations, three different singing styles and three different social backgrounds of Egypt. Ensuring it resonates with every single Egyptian. The song was launched during Ramadan, the super bowl of the region, and where spirituality is at its peak. It was the perfect recipe to touch the hearts, create goosebumps, and occupy a space in people’s mind.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

Anghami o The song was ranked no.1 for 3 weeks o 4.1M plays & 112K Likes YouTube o 18M views for the ad-song by Bank Misr Facebook o 20K shares & 13K comments for the ad-song by Bank Misr Instagram o 2.8M views for the ad-song by Bank Misr TV: o 1795 spots of earned-media on MBC Masr, DMC, CBC, ON E, ON Drama, El Hayat, Nile Drama, Al Nahar, Egyptian local Channel, Egyptian Satellite • The current president used the song in his presidential campaign. • In the most popular derby stadium in Egypt 65k fans sang the song like an anthem. • Children with special needs sang it in concerts. • Clubs and restaurants still play the song non-stop. • The song got popular in other Arabic countries.