2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

In Ramadan, when Mecca was locked down, a world-first crowdsourcing campaign using social platforms (Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram), invited people in Saudi Arabia and around the world, to share their stories of Mecca, with all responses enabled via hashtag, email or WhatsApp. In a time of budget freezes in a barely-surviving travel industry, due to COVID-19 lockdowns, this campaign uses social media platforms smartly to overcome budgetary restrictions, by crowdsourcing people's stories (use of media), in a major media occasion of the year (Ramadan), in response to a major media event of the year (Mecca being locked down).

Background

Mecca, Saudi Arabia, welcomes 2.5 million pilgrims, worldwide, in Ramadan and Eid. But, in 2020, due to the debilitating global health crisis owing to COVID-19, Saudi Arabia’s health minister warned of a spike of up to 200,000 cases within weeks. Consequently, Mecca was put under an absolute lockdown, during Ramadan and Eid. It was the first time in recorded history that Mecca was locked down for travellers from both Saudi Arabia and the world. Almosafer is a popular travel platform from Saudi Arabia (think Booking.com’s equivalent in Saudi Arabia). Almosafer wanted to be top of mind when the skies opened. But, with airplanes grounded and the travel industry coming to a halt, Almosafer, just like other brands in the industry, had a freeze on marketing spends and high-budget film productions. And with no pilgrims nor shoots with people allowed in Mecca, due to the lockdowns, conventional productions were not possible.

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

We created the “STORIES OF MECCA”: The world’s first crowdsourced film for Mecca. The film was put together through contributions from people in Saudi Arabia and the world, who shared their memories of Mecca. We wanted the film to replicate the journey of a pilgrim – from arriving in Saudi Arabia, driving to Mecca, conducting the initial part of their pilgrimage at the Holy Mosque and then, proceeding to other rituals. So, we mapped the entire journey of Mecca. And then, mapped the footages we received on that journey. Finally, from 12 hours of footages, came one connected story.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

When we surveyed people in Saudi Arabia about the first place they’d travel to when the lockdown ends, 84% said it’d be Mecca. From a business perspective, to win affinity with travellers once lock downs ended, we needed to ensure a strong association between Mecca and Almosafer. With restrictions on what we could do, our strategy had to be executional. Now, we did not want to do a generic COVID-19 washing film in Ramadan. And we did not want to pick library videos or stock images to create a generic Mecca film. We wanted to tap into people’s personal libraries – their personal memories and stories of Mecca when they could travel to Mecca. We wanted to make Muslims around Saudi Arabia and around the world be a part of the experience, because if people could not travel to Mecca, their stories of Mecca could travel the world.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

In Ramadan, in the buildup to Eid (when most pilgrims usually gathered in Mecca), we launched a crowdsourcing campaign using Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. People from 52 countries contributed their memories. We sifted through 12 hours of crowdsourced stories. Mapping the journey of a pilgrim through peering over 12 hours of footages, we designed one connected story. And then, we created a vertical format social media ‘story’, showing a journey to Mecca and the pilgrimage itself, through people’s eyes. Says Sawsan Abdillahi: “I got all the feels. I love that this centers around Makkah. Honestly made me want to go back. Kudos on an amazing ad.” It also earned respect from non-Muslims. Says Andrea Edwards: “What a beautiful video! Of all faiths, I think our Muslim friends have suffered the most in lockdown (because of Ramadan, Eid and pilgrimage falling in the midst of hard lockdowns in the region).”

List the results (30% of vote)

Costing only $4,000 for production, the Stories of Mecca earned advocacy from Muslims. The campaign was ranked #1 for Direction on AdForum in June 2020. It was picked up and featured by Creative Vertical Storytellers as an example of a crowdsourced vertical format film. It has also featured on leading platforms like LBB Online, TRT World, Mosques of Dubai, Arabian Marketer, Tourism Authority, The Stable, Campaign and travelled across 70 countries worldwide, generating an earned media value of $1.5 million. Brand relevance during Ramadan & Eid: +224% vs nearest competitor. Preference for bookings to Mecca post-lockdown: +33% vs nearest competitor. Purchase intent for travel post-lockdown: +16% vs same period in 2019. Post-lockdown flight bookings: +42% vs same period in 2019. Post-lockdown hotel bookings: +18% vs same period in 2019.