2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Mobily, one of Saudi’s biggest telecom brands and challengers, is constantly driven by a unified purpose: “unlocking possibilities by empowering the digital economy”. Even though the Saudi youth are aware of Mobily as a brand, they hardly understood what this purpose meant in their daily lives. More importantly, what it meant in the middle of a global pandemic when all progress and possibilities of their future are put on hold. Saudi National Day – the Kingdom’s most socially connected day of the year - was the perfect opportunity to bring this purpose to life and actively engage with Saudi’s youth. The challenge then became how do we connect with them and empower them to connect with others in the middle of a complete social lockdown? We knew that with a seasonal campaign budget without a tactical offering that triggers them, we needed a relevant and distinctive way to drive engagement.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

During that challenging time, the only way for Saudis to connect with the world and one another was through their smartphones. That’s why the strongest way forward was creating a cultural, mobile-first movement driven by Saudi’s own energized, ambitious and digital savvy change-makers. We wanted to champion the Saudi youth who continued to create and move forward when the world was on pause - from graphic artists and dancers to fashion leaders and athletes - those who would make others push through uncertainity and realize their future today. The movement was called “GREEN IS GO”; leveraging the color of the Saudi flag that embodied our message around going onward while shining a light on young Saudis, their self-driven ambition and their potential.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

In collaboration with authentic Saudi change-makers, we partnered with pioneering calligrapher Yusuf Alahmad and graphic designer Dana Taha. Together, we developed a series of inspirational posters that brought the movement to life with bold and dynamic designs. Each illustration unpacked different interpretations of what the color green symbolizes for young Saudis: strength, creativity, pride, ambition and determination. Placed through Mobily stores across Saudi Arabia, the posters became a canvas for our Snapchat lens which used color-recognition technology; a first for the region. By snapping anything colored green, anywhere, our core audience was able to unlock our composed song and original music video, featuring the diverse group of changemakers including Saudi rap artist Slow Moe. The track as available on Spotify and became an anthem for Saudi youth; a rallying cry to go green, to go forward and make things happen.

List the results (20% of vote)

In only 3 days, our “GREEN IS GO” posters became beacons of our campaign’s message, leading thousands of Saudis to watch our music video. With the help of our poster series, we surpassed industry benchmarks and KPIs across all digital and social platforms. - 1.5 million Snapchat views - 2.77% VTR (3x the industry benchmark) - 32 second Avg. Playtime (3x the industry benchmark) - + 97,000 Snapchat Shares - + 100,000 Saved Snaps - 15 million Music Video Views - + 137 million Impressions. Last but definitely not least, we earned 26 organic media articles in top tier publications across the Kingdom (a country where PR is primarily awarded only through paid sponsorship).