2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

EXPECT THE EXPECTED

BrandEMARAT (EMIRATES GENERAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION)
Product/ServiceEMARAT / EMARAT B2B SERVICES
EntrantHOUSE OF COMMS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Idea Creation HOUSE OF COMMS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement HOUSE OF COMMS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR HOUSE OF COMMS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production HOUSE OF COMMS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production 2 BOOMTOWN PRODUCTIONS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production 3 WALEED SHAH STUDIO Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

Expect the Expected was a fully integrated brand re-positioning campaign, spanning multiple marketing channels, including TV, Radio, OOH, Digital, Social Media, PR, In-store and Internal Comms. The creative assets created were film (TV and Online), photography, billboards, radio, social media content, web landing pages and PR content, as well as retail artwork used across store facades, petrol pumps and coffee sleeves. An Internal Communications content strategy was developed to engage employees and instill pride. This included a handwritten letter from the Chairman in Arabic, English, Urdu and Filipino and creative artworks put up in Emarat HQ and workers’ accommodations.

Background

Situation Emarat had been silent for nine years. As an original pioneer of petroleum in the UAE, they had built a strong reputation for quality, service and excellence, however had done no active marketing to communicate this in a decade. Fast forward to 2020 and Emarat is facing competition from rival fuel companies who are investing heavily in new service offerings, technology innovation and land. It was time for Emarat to step into the spotlight. Brief Define a new brand positioning for Emarat via a strategically-driven and creatively-led brand campaign that would revive the Emarat brand. Objectives: • Increase brand awareness and comprehension • Define a brand positioning that articulates all that Emarat offers • Develop a brand campaign that communicates the new positioning Transformational Goal: A brand with lower love and awareness than it deservers -> A brand that is loved, known and has prominence in the region

Describe the creative idea

In an unpredictable world, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the predictable, championing the reliability, consistency and excellence that customers in the UAE have come to know and love from Emarat nearly 40 years. We developed a new brand positioning reinforcing that there are no nasty surprises, no dramas and no disappointments, because at Emarat you can ‘Expect the Expected’ - and that's what people need right now. The 'Expect the Expected' line was then rolled out through a strategically-driven, 360, creative brand campaign, showing how Emarat supports journeys through life. From film and radio, to social assets, web landing pages, internal and external Comms, right through to in-store creatives, we went big on infiltrating the whole of the UAE with the 'Expect the Expected message.

Describe the strategy

In order to revitalise brand love, the primary audience was local Emiratis who have grown up with Emarat and consider it part of the UAE’s heritage. With Emarat’s business comprising both B2B (70%) and B2C (30%) offerings, we leveraged a B2H (Business to Human) approach to be relevant, credible and inclusive of all audiences. For a consumer audience, this was about reassuring them of Emarat’s reliable and friendly service. We zoned in on key services, such as fuel, coffee from in-house coffee shop, Café Arabicca and freshy baked goods from Bakeria to create relevant lifestyle scenarios across all film and photography assets.These scenarios included a married couple with female driver and a group of girlfriends catching up to represent the modern Emirati world. For B2B audiences, we needed to communicate the professional service they can expect from Emarat and demonstrate that Emarat understood their industries.

Describe the execution

To ensure a cohesive campaign, we created a master visual identity and messaging to run across all integrated communications channels. Championing Middle East talent, we enlisted acclaimed Emirati film director, Ali Mostafa and Egyptian photographer Waleed Shah to capture all B2C and B2B content, accumulating in 120 creatives rolled out across integrated channels over a four-week campaign period. Filming and production took place over three weeks and featured 40 crew. A four-week media placement strategy focused on targeting drivers – people looking to refuel or grab a coffee whilst on the road. Radio was a primary channel and we targeted specific Arabic, English, Indian and Filipino stations to reach a cross-section of UAE drivers. Similarly, OOH billboards were placed on key roads in and out of Dubai where they would be seen by drivers transiting through the emirate to Al Ain and Sharjah looking for a place to fuel up.

List the results

How do you build brand love around a petrol station? Our response was emotion, warmth and familiarity. The campaign delivered on the key objectives of driving brand awareness and love with audiences across the emirate reconnecting with the brand and sharing their memories of visiting Emarat stations over the past four decades. We successfully galvanised an outpouring of nostalgia and national pride to show how Emarat has been there every step of the way during during the last 40 years, consistently committed to representing and servicing the people of the UAE. Emarat was back in the hearts and minds of consumers. Results Breakdown: Video Views:12M PR Reach: 13 M Digital Reach: 6M TV Reach: 2.5 M Radio Reach: 2.5 M Impressions: 119M +2075% web traffic during campaign period

Credits

Name Company Role
Ali Mostafa Ali Mosafa Film Director
Carl Greiner House of Comms Head of Film
Daniel Kilalea Boomtown Productions Executive Director and Producer
Waleed Shah Waleed Shah Studio Photographer
Jamie Wilks House of Comms Executive Creative Director
Katie Bawler House of Comms Senior Client Handler
Zahra Mirza House of Comms Scriptwriter
Tom Williams House of Comms Senior Art Director
Steve Taberlanche House of Comms Senior Designer
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