2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

How could KitKat, an iconic love brand, re-associate its equity with ‘break’? Using quantitative insights from more than 200 Google data points, we managed to define target audiences based on intent and deliver more than 50 relevant tailor-made messages. But this wasn’t enough, we redefined the concept of personalization on YouTube, by personifying YouTube, a ‘reach-based’ platform, to make it more engaging and personal. We gave our audience a ‘break’ they never expected, and one that is truly un-skippable.

Background

‘Have a break, have a KitKat’ has been KitKat’s slogan for years, and for so long, the brand was the only player tapping into the break occasion. Recently, the category started to decline, and in an attempt to create excitement amongst our audience and get them to consume more, KitKat has been focusing on launching innovations rather than supporting its core equity and platform. This allowed other brands to gain traction in the ‘break’ territory and threatened to affect our core business. We needed to react and reclaim back the ‘Break Territory’ in a way that was never done before.

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

3 billion: the number of searches YouTube gets in a month. Google receives over 63,000 searches per second on any given day. Siri receives over a billion requests, from over a million locations per week. No wonder Technology fails us sometimes…. But what if all of this is just a sign from technology asking us for a break? The idea: ‘Give Technology a break’ The perfect opportunity for KitKat to own those “troubleshoots” and claim them as breaks. So, while every other brand is focusing on giving ‘people a break’, switching the conversation to technology in today’s world, would definitely stand out and create TOM.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

With the category being driven by impulse, we needed to breakthrough using a distinctive approach to communications. Our core audience are 18-34 year-olds (Gen Z + Millennials). They are heavy consumers of YouTube. In fact, Saudi Arabia (biggest market in the region) has the highest YouTube watch time per capita globally. And we know that their expectations from the platform are two-fold: *These youngsters turn to YouTube “to consume content that hits closer to home” making personalized content that speaks to individuals even more important in driving proximity. *We know that people ‘break’ online and search YouTube to pass the time and discover new videos to watch and share. Their frustration? Ads that come in the way of those breaks.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Using Data, we pinpointed the 200 most researched topics on YouTube in the region… And in different languages: Saudi, Egyptian and English. We launched around 50 contextual video ads on YouTube; and served our audiences these films based on the searches they had entered within the platform itself. And who better to star in them than the ‘Youtube guy’ himself? No matter what the audience searched for, they would see our character promising to play their videos… after his break. And each message was personalized. Whether it was sports highlights, or a makeup tutorial, he had them covered. If someone was searching for makeup tutorials, the pre-roll would show a man sitting on his desk enjoying a KitKat while videos of makeup tutorials are covering the wall behind him. He would then apologize and ask them to wait until he was done with his break. And the list goes on.

List the results (30% of vote)

By hypertargeting content based on relevant searches, and personifying a ‘reach-based’ platform to make it more engaging and personal, KitKat proved that a great break is truly un-skippable : 98.7M Impressions 45,5M Unique users 14.8% Recall (versus benchmark 11%) 6.8% Awareness (vs benchmark 3-5%)

Describe the use of data, or how the data enhanced the campaign output

Partnering with Google, we pinpointed the 200 most researched topics on YouTube in the region, in three different languages: Saudi, Egyptian and English, amongst our target audience. We then identified 50 different trending topics that we believed could be a great base for our content development. In fact, for every single one of the searches, we created a unique asset that addressed that specific topic; and our 'Youtube Guy' then addressed the viewer directly as if in a one-to-one conversation. Only by doing so could we truly breakthrough and stand out in the sea of sameness. The objective was to shatter negative perceptions people had on generic YouTube ads, and make our young audience's breaks on the platform much more relevant, and enjoyable.