2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Plastic is an ever-pressing environmental issue posing serious health risks in our ecosystem. Awareness of planet earth’s problems are at an all-time high. According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, 11 billion plastic bags are used annually in the UAE alone. As a top lifestyle destination and as an entity that has a degree of influence on customer behavior in the region, we at Virgin Megastore believe in being catalysts for change. That is why we took a stand and took it upon ourselves to work relentlessly around the clock to curb plastic pollution. We took this initiative in hopes of changing business for good. In partnership with AVANI, we designed bio-cassava bags made from organic resins, cassava starch and vegetable oil – making them 100 percent natural, biodegradable, compostable and certified non-toxic to humans and animals. Media budget is approximately USD 150,000

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

We see each bag as a portable canvas that can be used to promote change. We wanted to put forth the proposition that seemingly small lifestyle changes can have a significant, positive impact on the environment. Virgin Megastore, as a brand, stands for Serious Fun. We wanted the message to embody both the ‘serious’ and the ‘fun’ element. We wanted the message to ring a bell whilst remaining true to our brand’s tone of voice and its edginess. To inject our signature twist to the bags, we worked on straplines with Dubai-based brand communication agency Moloobhoy & Brown and created: ‘It’s Only Natural’ and ‘This Bag Is a Hero’. The ‘hero’ aspect is designed to resonate with Virgin Megastore customers. While its theme is young-at-heart, we are addressing a global duty for action. Core target audience: 25-35 years old. Mostly Arabs and Western expats.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

To change the culture surrounding environmental issues, we had to knock down the fallacy of “I’m just one person,what difference can I make?” We used our tone of voice to create straplines to appear on the bag and digital artworks:- ‘This Bag Is a Hero’ & ‘It’s Only Natural’ We created 2 animations that reflected the dissolution of the bags in 2 different environments to launch on social media and screens in-store. Alongside, we worked on 3 case films that demonstrate our journey to sustainability:- 1. Issue 2. Solution 3. How-to In line with our mother-brand’s values, we got endorsements from both Virgin group and Sir Richard Branson on their platforms. We got coverage from publications such as: Ahlan!, Dubaiweek, The National, UAE Today. For our 13 UAE physical stores, we potted plants in cassava bags, to live in synergy with the digital world.

List the results (20% of vote)

We were one of the first few retailers in the UAE to create a positive disruption in the retail space, in line with the vision of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to ban all single-use plastics. In the span of 4 months, we distributed 300,000 cassava bags countrywide, across all 13 of our UAE stores. Subsequently, saving 3 tonnes of plastic. Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson endorsed our initiative on their digital platforms. We were featured in several publications in the region including: Ahlan!, Dubaiweek, The National, UAE Today. We rounded up 2 million+ in impressions, 1.25 million in overall reach, 265K post engagement. Plans are already underway to implement our bio-cassava bags initiative across all our MEA-based stores (Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt). Through increased awareness about environmental responsibility, we paved the path for customers to recognize their own individual power in helping reduce plastic waste.