2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Write a short summary of what happens in the digital or ambient execution or campaign.

We placed lightboxes on top of parking barriers with the simple message: "SEND MONEY WITHOUT BARRIERS. TRANSFER THROUGH WESTERN UNION." The physical barriers were representative of the metaphorical barrier that more affluent audiences in the UAE - who lived and worked behind these barriers - have to using money transfer services. Every single one of our target audience had to pass through these barriers on a daily basis, making our execution literally unmissable

Cultural / Context information for the jury

There is a metaphorical barrier that affluent people feel towards money transfer services in the UAE, owing to the fact core users of these services in the UAE are lower income expats sending remittances to support family in their home country. More affluent people simply don’t perceive it as a service for them. Yet Western Union is a service for all. And much cheaper than international online banking transfers. Seemingly, a no brainer. Affluent audiences in high end residential and office communities are separated from the outside world by physical entrance barriers to their communities. There was a perfect synergy between the physical barrier and symbolism of the mental barrier. With a clever creative, we bridged the two using a physical space that lent itself perfectly to the message.

Explain how the work innovatively used the outdoor medium.

Convention dictates what was fundamentally an app download campaign should be led by ads on a mobile platform with a download link. Yet advertising is increasingly uninteresting to online audiences, inherently avoidable through ad blockers, and very easy to simply scroll past. By stepping back and considering the brand, market, message and audience, we used our understanding of local nuances to create a truly impactful campaign that resonated far stronger than any video or banner ad every could. These parking barriers had to be seen by every single one of our affluent target audiences, since they guard the entrance and exit to their houses and offices. Making this literally an unmissable piece of work. Using ads placed in these kind of spaces for the first time in many communities in Dubai.