2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Due to the limitations brought on by COVID 19 during Ramadan, we had to find a new way to connect with our Expo 2020 School Programme audience. Our research showed us that social media is where students were spending a lot of their down time, and that they were searching for content that helped them gain news skills and escape. At the same time, we wanted to live up to Expo 2020’s vision of “bringing the world together”, so we devised our “Ramadan around the world” social-led campaign that centered around Ramadan traditions in different countries, along with fun DIY

Background

COVID 19 forced the world to stop. Schools closed, gatherings were forbidden, activities were cancelled, and traveling wasn’t possible. All of this took a toll on the excitement and the anticipation for the holy month of Ramadan. With Ramadan traditionally being a month of connections and gathering with family and loved ones, we needed to find a way to live up to the Ramadan spirit despite the limitations that came with the pandemic. And most importantly we wanted to encourage our audience to stay home and stay safe. With so many restrictions in place, and with our team’s inability to physically live up to Expo 2020 Dubai’s vision of bringing the world together in one place, we had to find a virtual alternative.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

While the world was at a standstill, we took to social media to bring Ramadan to life. Our campaign took our core audience of students on a virtual tour around the world to celebrate unique Ramadan traditions from different countries. They learned about KSA’s crunchy sambusa (savoury pastry), UAE’s lougaimat (sweet dough balls) and Egypt’s famous fawanees (lanterns). We even celebrated Girgian (mid-Ramadan tradition) in Kuwait and explored Jordan’s iconic qatayef (sweet pastry) before ending our journey in India to create colourful bangles just in time for Eid. Our audience had a say as to which country we would visit next via Instagram story votes, and with each episode came a DIY video that encouraged them to fully immerse themselves into the traditions of the Holy Month.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We looked at what students aged 13-18 years old were doing online, and we found that social media is where they were spending most of their free time. Secondly, we looked at what content they were consuming online. And we noticed that they were looking for content that helped them escape and content that helped them acquire new skills. Most of their searches revolved around things like “DIY” and “Things to do during lockdown”, “Baking” and “Travel & Staycations”. So building on that, our social-driven “Ramadan around the world” campaign was born, leveraging Ramadan insights derived from each country’s unique traditions.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Our “Ramadan Around The World” campaign consisted of a series of short episodes that aired on our social platforms where our Expo 2020 School Programme mascots Rashid and Latifa explored unique Ramadan traditions in different countries. The journey started in the UAE then Egypt, Kuwait, KSA and India. We made it a key priority to sustain engagement throughout the month, so after each episode we asked our audience where they wanted to go next using Instagram story polls making them key decision makers in how the journey unfolded. We added a DIY video linked to each episode, allowing our followers to get creative and to be fully immersed in the Ramadan traditions. As our journey to celebrate Ramadan traditions around the world ended, Rashid and Latifa decorated their home with all the elements they gathered along their journey just as the students could do with all the crafts they created.

List the results (30% of vote)

Our campaign generated a lot of buzz. Schools across the UAE shared their submissions of their student’s DIY projects and traffic on our social media pages saw a massive boost in results. In the month of Ramadan, we generated with over 4.1 million impressions, a unique reach of over 1 million, 158,000 video views and 2,500 engagements in the UAE alone! All in all, our mission to keep the spirit of Ramadan alive, despite all the limitations we faced, was a success.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

During a month like Ramadan, it is tradition to spend time with friends and family as well as have loved ones travel oversees to spend time together. But in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, we knew things would be different. Our research during March 2020 showed us that social media is where students were spending a lot of their down time during the lockdown, and that they were searching for content that helped them gain news skills and escape. So we took it to social media launch our campaign. We saw peaks in activities to keep them busy including baking, DIY crafts and more. In line with Expo 2020 Dubai's vision to bring the world to one place, we knew we had to build on connecting the world virtually. This is the inspiration behind our campaign and the insights that drove us to have activities with each episode.