2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

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Silver Lynx
BrandEMIRATES NBD
Product/ServiceANTI-PHISHING AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
EntrantLEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryExcellence in Music Video
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement SPARK FOUNDRY Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR LEO BURNETT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production DÈJÁVU Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

Cybercrime has cost the UAE 5.14 billion dirhams this year and 2.53 million people fell prey to online frauds. Because the fight against cyber criminals is also a battle of wit and creativity, Emirates NBD upped the ante with a music video conveying the message with swag. Combining deadpan humour and honest-to-goodness advice, we produced a parody of ‘It Wasn't Me’, the popular hit song by Jamaican rapper Shaggy. The otherwise yawn-able list of online-banking do’s and don’ts left everyone in splits. Post campaign results saw a bombastic increase in awareness and a record dip in cyber-fraud cases.

Background

In previous years the UAE recorded 2.53 million cases of customers affected by fraud, which has totaled to a cost of Dh5.14 billion a year. (Gulf News) This issue plagues the entire financial services category, and similar to other banks, Emirates NBD customers reported higher numbers of fraud cases in 2019. As a result, customers are left with a great sense of insecurity. Thus, our brief was to create awareness and education around this dry topic. The main objectives of this campaign, and an indication to its success, was to see a decrease in the below: • The amount of money lost per month because of phishing scams • The number of cases reported • The amount lost per month per case to indicate customer awareness

Describe the creative idea

The creative stemmed from our thinking that a person/organization is not deemed suspicious, until they ask for bank details. Bringing the idea to life To educate our customers on how to spot a phishing attempt, we used the power of music to create a music video of a guy singing in frustration about losing all his money because he shared his personal information with a so-called “bank representative”. On the other side, we had a bank employee singing “It Wasn’t Me.” We made this a hypothetical story to avoid inflicting any negative sentiments on Emirates NBD. Shaggy’s song “It Wasn’t Me” is a significant part of pop culture. It was a hit when released, and remains a timeless song that resonates with people. Hence, it was the perfect opportunity for Emirates NBD to reach the different demographics that reside within the UAE, especially on a dull topic.

Describe the strategy

Insight Even though customers are aware they need to protect their personal information they tend to exhibit optimism bias i.e. believing they are less likely to experience a negative event and therefore “aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe.” (Gulf News) In addition, bank customers are unable to distinguish which personal information is safe to share. Therefore, when customers lose a big sum of their money because of phishing scams, the first to blame is usually the bank or the fraudster. Bank customers needed to understand one thing: There are some things a bank will never want to know, and no legitimate organization will ask for those details. With that thinking in mind, Emirates NBD turned the dry topic of fraud into an informative song that resonated with our audience.

Describe the execution

Given that the source of the issue originated from high mobile penetration, in turn it seemed like the best channel to raise awareness on this issue. Therefore, our focus was on social and digital where we really focused our media budget allocation. The purpose of using social media is to leverage on the potential of share-ability and magnifying the campaign even more. Digital banners and radio ensured that we still managed to reach the rest of our target audience in the UAE. The channel mix was based on the touchpoints that were most likely to reach our audience. The hero content was released on all main Emirates NBD social channels, and the bank website was chosen to drive the awareness message at scale. Additionally, the Dubai Police partnership helped amplify the campaign further as the song was posted on their social channels, boosting exposure and reach.

Describe the outcome

The campaign ignited nationwide virality, championed organically, with 11M views, 91K reactions and 34K shares. Additionally, the campaign had tangible business results, leading to a drastic drop in the number of fraud cases reported, which indicates customer awareness. Results: o Number of cases down 62% o Loss amount per month is down by 86% on average o Average loss per case has also decreased by 67% indicating increased customer awareness

Credits

Name Company Role
Bechara Mouzannar Leo Burnett Chief Creative Officer
Andre Nassar Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director
Akhilesh Bagri Leo Burnett Creative Director
Sonal Chaddha Leo Burnett Group Communication Director
Lama Mosallem Leo Burnett Communication Executive
Jesper Ramadan Leo Burnett Senior Art Director
Israa Tariq Leo Burnett Copywriter
Shereen Mostafa Leo Burnett Head of Production
Valerio Mangiafico Leo Burnett Senio Art Director
Matteo Maggiore Leo Burnett Senior Copywriter
Ralph Matar Leo Burnett Agency Producer
Fabienne Naggear Leo Burnett Communication Executive
Diorgenes Wenderly Dos Santos Leo Burnett Creative Director
Shadi Khermasho Leo Burnett Head of Arabic
Ayman Shehade Leo Burnett Arabic Copywriter
Kimberly Douglas Leo Burnett Planning Director
Navya Sajeevan Spark Foundry Media Manager
Vinitha Merchant Spark Foundry Media Senior Executive
Naelle Sjoblad Deja Vu Director
Sary Hany Deja Vu Music Composer
Ramzi Sleiman Leo Burnett Business Leaad
Links
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