2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

The Back to School Season is the Ministry of Education’s New Year. It’s the one time of year that the public gives us their ears but the challenge is in what to say to an audience that is tired of being told how exciting this time of year is. Instead, we decided to focus on our vision & mission. We are building the youth of today for a better tomorrow for the country. We see our role as motivating our students, this country’s future, to rise to occasion and to thrive no matter the situation, even if it is just waking up early to go back to school. So how can we motivate our community to rise to the occasion? Objectives: - Engage with students on a real level - Build positive momentum around the season - Create buzz and excitement about going back to school Easier said than done.

Describe the strategy

Today’s youth are digitally aware. A joy-filled back-to-school campaign wouldn't cut it. We needed to admit that we know this time of year is rough for them but we believe they're up for the challenge and we salute them for showing up with “Kafu” – an Emirati word that means “Bravo!” It became our rallying cry to encourage every single person connected to the school system - teachers, staff, students, parents and children of determination. Emiratis make up only 10% of the population in the UAE. Being a close-knit community, our content had to address them individually across varied topics: The new school year, achievement, learning, friendship, students of determination innovation, Smart Learning tools, light backpack education, books recycling, facilities inspection, health and safety standards, etc.

Describe the execution

The Emirati School community was pleasantly surprised with the Ministry of Education’s inspiring message. With colourful executions, #Kafu disrupted typical Back-to-School campaigns. The content executions had a common thread: By Emiratis, For Emiratis. Our launch video starred the Minister of State for Public Education, HE Jameela Salem Al Muhairi. We then engaged local influencers whose personas amplified our messaging. Diala Ali (437k followers) - Safety and Health Ali Al Blushi (144k followers) – Light backpack initiative Mahra Al Shehi (172k followers) – Spot the #Kafu Bus We launched Chat Stickers on Telegram, highly used by Emiratis, to spread our positive message. We took over social media with our ‘Spot the Bus’ competition. Our school interviews showed the campaign reaction and the genuinely positive attitude that people experienced. “#Kafu to the ____” motivated everyone to be more creative, engaged and successful.

List the results

The positive message of #Kafu managed to change the community’s perspective on the dreaded ‘first day of school’. The campaign had a larger-than-expected impact, considering the small size of our Primary Audience: UAE Public Schools with 153,000 students, supported by 26,000 teachers, administrators and technicians. Through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, we reached 2.6M users in the close-knit Emirati community with 1.6M engagements in just 30 days. Instagram: 805K with 760K engagements Facebook: 1.8M with 760K engagements Twitter: 31K with 12K engagements We also featured in 28 Online Publications: Sharjah24.ae, Tellerreport, Abu Dhabi News, Emarat Al Youm, Gulf News, Khaleej Times, WAM, Ahlan Live, Teach Middle East, 24.ae, Dubai City Guide, Fujairah News, UAE News (AR), Al Ain, Ara Al Mustaqbal