MANGOJAM STUDIO FZ LLC Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Summary of the work
ALMOSAFER NEEDED TO GROW VS. INTERNATIONAL GIANTS AND LOCAL LEADERS, IN AN OFFER-BASED TRAVEL LANDSCAPE.
Almosafer is an online travel platform in Saudi Arabia. Think a Saudi version of Booking.com. And that’s Almosafer.
It competes with international giants among online travel platforms like Booking.com. It also faces increasing competition from local platforms like flyin.com.
With competition dominating, Almosafer had shrunk to a smaller market share (market versus Flyin.com was 33.2% versus 36.1%).
We chose the month of Ramadan, when Muslims celebrate values of togetherness, and travel to meet their family and friends.
We didn’t want to overtly ‘sell’ Almosafer but to invest in emotional persuasion and emotional brand building, earning Saudi’s share-of-bookings.
RAMADAN AND EID WERE SEASONAL OCCASIONS TO SPUR GROWTH, BUT STANDING OUT IN THE MIDDLE EAST’S SUPER BOWL, WITH LOWER BUDGETS, WASN’T EASY.
Saudis travel a lot during Ramadan and Eid.
But, Almosafer hadn’t benefitted. Its bookings in Ramadan-2018 were the lowest since inception (only 28,665 flight and 31,323 hotel bookings).
Now, Ramadan is the Super Bowl of advertising in the Middle East. Big brands dominate big media with big bucks.
With lower budgets versus big brands, Almosafer acknowledged it hadn’t emotionally resonated enough to become part of the public's consideration.
THE THINKING BEHIND THE THINKING:
Now, Almosafer encouraged Saudis to travel to places they haven’t been to before.
But in Ramadan, every brand competed for attention showing stories from within the Middle East.
No brand had gone outside the region.
Ramadan could be a bridge between two worlds; getting Muslims to share Ramadan’s by being more inclusive and getting non-Muslims to reciprocate.
The Turn: What if Almosafer made Ramadan travel abroad to non-Muslims?
CREATIVE STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION:
We made the generosity and inclusivity of Ramadan travel, representing what Ramadan is and should be all about: living together, harmoniously, side-by-side as different nationalities, religions and races.
Through an unexpected approach, we reminded Saudi Arabia, the region and the world, Muslims AND non-Muslims, that Ramadan was for everyone.
In a brave move when marketing during a religious occasion, and in sharing a Ramadan message like never before, through the eyes of children from the region, we took the spirit of Ramadan to people and places that have potentially never celebrated Ramadan before.
As Almosafer’s story was featured on social media and media platforms across the world, the generosity and inclusivity of Ramadan travelled.
Positive endorsements and sentiments from people and media supported Almosafer's message further about what Ramadan is and should be all about: living together, harmoniously, side-by-side as different nationalities, religions and races.
Through the moving story, along with content and activations in Saudi Arabia, in challenging Ramadan’s marketing and cultural conventions, with low budgets, Almosafer, challenged its leading global and local competitors.
And as a result, the campaign had an unprecedented impact on the brand, on the business and on the culture, as Almosafer won Ramadan, improving its awareness and reputation, and growing its business versus its leading global and local competitors.