2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

HEBREW CARD

Bronze Lynx

Case Film

Presentation Image

BrandABU DHABI INVESTMENT OFFICE (ADIO)
Product/ServiceHEBREW CARD
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategorySocial Business & Commerce
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR ELEVEN PR Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Background

RE-ESTABLISHING TRUST BETWEEN FEUDING NATIONS. After decades of feuds and a simmering relationship between Israel and the UAE, the ice between the two nations thawed after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords normalized relations between them. But signing a paper to establish peace is one thing, gaining the trust of Israeli tourists and businesspeople is another. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) needed something that would deeply touch and connect with Israelis, so they not only felt welcome, but actually felt comfortable enough to visit and invest in the UAE. And what better way to show a guest that they’re welcome than by speaking their language? With the Hebrew Business Card, members of ADIO leadership did exactly that.

Describe the strategy

Though the Israeli government had signed the peace accord with the UAE, our target audience was potential Israeli tourists and investors who were still skeptical given the years of tension. These men and women aged 21 and above (some with families and young kids) had lived all their lives at odds with Middle Eastern nations, so gaining their trust would be challenging. After years of conflict that had underscored regional wars and global affrays, the Israeli public and investors were uneasy about taking the first step towards visiting an Arab nation. We needed a profound yet simple gesture to prove that the UAE was committed to welcoming them to the nation and providing a great vacation and business environment. Our Hebrew Business Card campaign resonated immediately with this core target audience, leading to a 180% increase in weekly new business leads and over half a million views in 48 hours.

Describe the execution

Leading the welcoming party was the Chairman of ADIO, His Excellency Mohammad Ali Al Sharafa, and the Director General, His Excellency Dr Tariq Bin Hendi, who did the unthinkable by redesigning their business cards in the Hebrew language, a language that had been banned for decades in the UAE. They then posted these Hebrew business cards to their personal LinkedIn pages, to be seen and witnessed by thousands of people across the region and the world. But most importantly, to be seen and shared by the Israeli public and Israeli businesspeople, stimulating an emotional response and opening their hearts and minds to visiting the UAE.

List the results

This small corporate gesture had a huge commercial and emotional impact. The ADIO leadership members who posted the Hebrew Business Cards online received thousands of congratulatory and supportive messages. They also received half a million views within 48 hours, over 1,500 new contact requests from the Israeli business community, and an increase in weekly new business leads of more than 180%. The campaign was so successful, LinkedIn mistakenly thought it could only be the work of automated bots, and temporarily banned their LinkedIn accounts. In other words, this single LinkedIn posts had more success on LinkedIn than even LinkedIn itself thought was possible.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Jennifer Fischer TBWA\RAAD Chief Innovation Officer
Joe Lahham TBWA\RAAD General Manager/MD
James Robbins TBWA\RAAD ECD
Bruno Bomediano TBWA\RAAD ECD
Alex Pineda TBWA\RAAD CD
Dan Leach TBWA\RAAD PR Director
Alex Holstein TBWA\RAAD Art Director
Fadi Debian TBWA\RAAD Client Servicing
Brenda Kassir TBWA\RAAD Strategy
Jessica Handley TBWA\RAAD Strategy
Links
Social Media URL