Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?
This campaign included a stunt to provide people with an amazing experience on site, on the internet and through broadcast media coverage. We created a disruptive and innovative customer journey to get people talking about the Emirates brand and the Mars Mission by having them experience something they had never seen before. That’s why this work is relevant to this category.
Background
As part of the United Arab Emirates’ space exploration agenda, the UAE launched the Mars Mission and sent a probe to the Red Planet seven months ago. The probe was set to arrive on Mars in early 2021 and – as this was to be the first time that an Arab country had ever arrived on Mars – the UAE government wanted to make sure that everyone in the world was watching.
Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)
Although not many people know this, Mars has two moons – Phobos and Deimos. These moons were in the probe’s line of sight during its arrival, so we decided to bring them to Earth to make the people of the UAE feel as if they were in space.
Describe the strategy (20% of vote)
During the first week of February, two mysterious rock-like shapes appeared in Dubai’s night sky, and social media picked up on them quickly. Within a few hours, the videos had taken the internet by storm. Some social media users even claimed that the end of the world was nigh, and this ensured that the media covered the ‘Double Moon’ phenomenon.
After the buzz built up, we made a government announcement via social media and to the press revealing that the phenomenon was actually a projection of the Mars moons that were visible to the UAE’s probe in the moments before its arrival. In the address, a government official invited everyone to tune into our live stream and watch the UAE arrive on the Red Planet.
Describe the execution (30% of vote)
The Hope Probe was scheduled to arrive on Mars on 9 February 2021, so we put the two moons in the sky over Dubai’s desert on 3 February.
Using super-realistic sky mapping projection technology that had never before been seen in the Middle East, two giant 70-metre cranes and a 40-metre holo screen, we projected two exact replicas of the Mars moons onto the Dubai sky. The screen and the cranes were invisible at night, and the moons – which were visible for miles – looked incredibly realistic.
List the results (30% of vote)
The results were very impressive; they exceeded our expectations and helped us reach our objectives. ‘The Hope Probe’s Arrival’ on YouTube was the most watched live stream ever in the UAE. The activation reached more than 82 million people, which is equivalent to more than 8 times the entire population of the UAE. With a single stunt executed over 3 days in just one location, we achieved over USD 32 million in earned media, and more than 380 broadcast networks in over 50 countries covered the story.