2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Zain, Kuwait's leading telecom provider, prints more than 20,000 giveaway corporate calendars every year. This year we wanted to create a shift in mindset with Zain's customers, with our dimension breaking(!) media piece. This idea is purely media centric. Why? Because each month of the calendar is plantable, However what truly makes this a unique media idea, and a one of a kind idea (and probably the first and last time it's done by any brand in the world) is that the plants, flowers herbs that will grow, they all resemble Zain's own brand patterns - now living and breathing!

Background

• Situation Paper is the 3rd largest polluter of air, water and soil in the world. It accounts for 26% of waste in the world's landfills and when paper rots it emits ethane gas, 25 times more toxic than CO2. Every year corporate brands across the globe print and distribute corporate calendars contributing to the situation. Zain, Kuwait's leading telco also prints a giveaway corporate calendar every year. Kuwait itself is one the world ‘s least green countries, from an environmental point of view, and it has also has a very sparse vegetation due to its climate with lack of rainfall. • Brief To create an environmentally friendly corporate calendar for Zain Kuwait. • Objectives To have a functional brand collateral with a minimal carbon footprint. Something that would inspire ecological thinking, and would be something different than the conventional classic corporate calendar and spark a conversation.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Creative idea Zain's brand promise is 'A Wonderful World'. We wanted to deliver on this brand promise by making Kuwait, one of the least green countries on earth, greener. This calendar uses ecological seed paper. So once a month is finished, you can plant it and a plant, herb or flower will grow. However, what really makes this calendar unique, and truly one of a kind, plus highly relevant to the brand, is that each month’s plant grows to look like one of the designs of Zain’s iconic brand patterns(!). Bringing them to life in a whole new dimension: The living dimension. The world’s first living and breathing brand elements! Zain is probably the only brand in the world that would be able to make a project like this - as their rich brand identity is comprised of 30+ different brand patterns, that are being utilized across in their communication.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

• Data gathering When analyzing Kuwait Google keyword searches in 2020, we saw a marked increase between Jan 2020 - June 2020 (project started in June) for the following search keywords: Recycling, Plants, Organic, flowers This showed us that the Kuwaiti population would be quite receptive for an idea like this. • Media planning N/A Same distribution of +20,000 calendars to consumers to their homes and offices, with some copies available also at Zain POS. • Approach A simple and engaging interactive giveaway, which allowed customers to interact with the brand in an unprecedented way, by planting and growing the brand itself!

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

• Implementation A calendar in a box with the calendar printed on 12 organic growable seed papers. All of the materials were out of recycled paper and recycled compressed cardboard. We also used de-bossing for our patterns on the box and our notebook to save ink. •Timeline The development of the calendar started in June. We conducted 2 months of botanical design research, looking at hundreds of plants and flowers in their different growth cycles, selecting suitable matches for Zain's brand patterns. Once we locked our 12 months we sourced our organic and ecological seed paper, and set out to create a pleasing modern design for our calendar. The calendar was distributed during the last week of December and the first weeks of January 2021. •Placement Delivered to homes, offices and Zain POS. Scale +20,000 copies (Box size 25 x 18cm and A5 Calendar & A5 notebook)

List the results (30% of vote)

• Action Business impact – sales, donations, site traffic (N/A & as this work launched on the 1st of Jan, we still don't have enough enough data to process in terms of increased sales, or site traffic) However once the corporate calendar (which is a free giveaway) was fully distributed, people how hadn't received it (Zain prints +20,000 copies) called to ask if and where they could buy the calendar(!). This is a quite remarkable response and shows the impact this workachieved in the marketplace. •Outcomes / Change in behaviour This work initiated a behavioral shift for Zain's customers with an increase in ecological thinking, making the brand and Kuwaitis taking a small step forward, to create a greener environment in general (something Kuwaitis are starved for). To quote the client's CSR brand promise "A sustainable World is a Wonderful World" and this calendar literally planted a seed for this.