2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

NO CEDAR. NO LEBANON.

Short List
BrandLEBANESE BASKETBALL FEDERATION (FLB)
Product/ServiceBASKETBALL FEDERATION
EntrantVMLY&R Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryUse of Events & Stunts
Idea Creation VMLY&R Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement VMLY&R Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
PR VMLY&R Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production VMLY&R Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Rather than executing a campaign, and have PR push it to garner awareness and reach, our campaign was articulated at a high-profile basketball game with a full-house attendance, and was broadcasted LIVE on national television and radio, creating organic PR. In other words, our reach happened in real time while our entire target audience was paying attention.

Background

Situation: Lebanese people are very patriotic, especially when it comes to their flag and the cedar within - their national tree and symbol of the country’s pride. It is seen across all governmental and national institutions, and paraded at festivals, sports matches, national holidays and even during elections. It is a distinctive symbol that unites citizens of Lebanon with the larger Lebanese population living outside the country. Ironically however, Lebanese people aren’t very aware about how their cedar is threatened by deforestation. Brief: The Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB), a national organisation dedicated to representing the country’s interests, wanted to create awareness about cedar deforestation. Objectives: While campaign objectives were to deliver message about the threat of cedar deforestation, it was important that the message was powerful, and its reach was wide.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

At a high-profile national basketball match between two of Lebanon’s biggest teams, we shocked the fans, viewers and listeners (radio) by replacing the Lebanese anthem with the Austrian anthem. People expressed shock and dismay, but soon realised that the Austrian flag is the Lebanese flag without the cedar - showing that if Lebanon loses its cedar, it loses its identity.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Insight - Without the cedar, the Lebanese flag becomes the flag of Austria. Message: If we lose our cedars, we lose our identity. Audience - Our PR strategy was to deliver our message at a place and time that would generate maximum reach - not only to people across Lebanon, but also to the larger Lebanese population living outside of Lebanon.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Implementation: The PR happened at a high-profile, national championship basketball match between two of the country’s biggest teams. This meant that the stadium had a full-capacity attendance, and it meant that the game would be broadcasted LIVE across national television and radio. Timeline: The stunt happened during the pre-game proceedings of at a high-profile championship basketball match between two of Lebanon’s biggest teams. Scale: The stunt was witnessed by everyone at the stadium, viewers on national television and those who heard it through radio commentary. It soon spread on the social media of the federation, popular Lebanese blogs, prime-time talk shows and advertising forums.

List the results (30% of vote)

Unlike most campaigns that require a PR push, FLB’s LIVE broadcast of the replaced anthem instantly reached 51% of Lebanon’s population, and the message spread through social media reaching 37 countries worldwide. With such a wide reach and impact, this led to a 23% increase in cedar adoptions. For every adoption, our donation partner adoptacedar.org issued donation certificates, each detailing the precise location of the adopted cedar. Cedar seedlings were planted in 13 of Lebanon’s regions and forests.

Credits

Name Company Role
Kalpesh Patankar VMLY&R Chief Creative Officer
Fernando Miranda VMLY&R Copywriter
Bahaa Fakhereddine VMLY&R Art Director
Toufic Traboulsi Independent Productions Producer
Adriana Diab VMLY&R Producer
Antoun Khalil FLB Secretary General
Akram Halabi FLB President
Prathyush Kumar VMLY&R Editor