2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for PR?

The initiative enabled charitable organisations, companies and the general public in the UAE and globally, to purchase lights on Burj Khalifa for AED 10, to contribute to vital food aid to those directly or indirectly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We wanted to reach audiences overseas to drive donations and secure global coverage for this important initiative and the UAE’s efforts during the COVID-19 outbreak. A communications campaign was then devised to support this, to help maximise global coverage and also importantly, to do so in very controlled way in the process of the engaging global media.

Background

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when millions were losing their jobs, those that needed our help most were forgotten and left to suffer. As charitable donations plummeted globally, the billions that would normally have been donated to the needy; had simply dried up and millions were unable to receive the support they required to live. In the UAE, those most affected by this backlash were the hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers, whose income is vital in putting food on the table. We answered an ordinary food donation brief from an NGO, where our challenge became to encourage donations at a time where charity had never been closer to home. The reality was that the world had stopped donating. We created a unique donation mechanic, unlike anything seen before, with an objective to capture people’s attention and, ultimately, turn a charitable cause into worldwide entertainment.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The idea was both simple and elegant. What if we could light up the smiles of those most affected by COVID-19 (those on low incomes, who’d lost their jobs and couldn’t afford to feed their families) by individually lighting up (and selling off) each of the 1.2 million lights that illuminate the façade of the Burj Khalifa? ‘The World’s Tallest Donation Box’ achieved exactly this. We invited the public to purchase and illuminate all 1.2 million LEDs on the world’s tallest building for as little as AED 10 (USD 3) each.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

We conducted an audit of the media landscape and understood that there was a massive COVID-19 fatigue in the type of content they were receiving. There was a great demand good quality footage. As our target audience was global and so we wanted to create B-roll. The media also informed us that they would create their own news packages from high-quality B-roll, so we needed to ensure that we delivered key, powerful visuals to media and also delivered with urgency as we had to work with the news agenda. As we also had a tight deadline, the strategy was to: • Deliver the key messages in a controlled manner • Work with existing and fresh content to deliver B-roll which reaches audiences globally • Use the most powerful visual content to get cut through with media coverage and stories • Have access to senior spokespeople to facilitate media requests

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Pre-recorded Audio Package: We recorded remotely and delivered pre-packaged audio content from the UAE Public Diplomacy Office, with the commercial radio network in the UK, to encourage donations to land and delivering coverage to circa 100+ different radio stations across the UK. B-roll: we utilised footage from the activation itself which was packaged up, watermarked and distributed to over 10,000+ different major news channels globally. Video News Release (VNR) in English and Arabic utilised for local and regional media sell in’s with online media. The VNR content reflected human interest showing where the meals from the donations were delivered, footage of the number of lights illuminated, relating to the number of donations received Pre-production: ensured speed of sign off, and key messaging from our spokesperson. We had to adhere to safety regulations and filmed our spokesperson remotely. The content was scripted, and advance content signed-off ahead of the final milestone.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign was expected to reach its target within one month of launching. In just seven days, all 1.2 million lights were sold, thanks to the generous donations from people of 110 nations and many global brands including Amazon, McDonalds, Unilever, Atlantis Resorts, VISA, West Zone, Tristar Group, Chalhoub Group. What started as a tall ask, quickly became a shining example of human generosity, with USD 3.3 million raised in food aid and just over 1.2 million meals donated. The initiative was covered over 400 times by news outlets, worldwide, and reached a staggering 4.3 billion people. USD 3.3 million raised in 7 days 1.2 million lights illuminated 1.2 million meals donated 166 countries reached 110 donor countries 4.3 billion media reach 1000+ online articles 400+ TV News stories worldwide 500 + Radio 175 million video views 3 million+ website visits in 7 days USD 6.7 million in free marketing