2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Glass: The Award for Change

Unfortunately, biases about gender play and roles exist, because of which Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers are generally male dominant. Research shows that girls are tracked subconsciously tracked away from science and math throughout their education, limiting their access, preparation, and opportunities to go into these fields as adults. In this era of heightened awareness and increased opportunities LEGO saw the opportunity to increase awareness and encourage a conversation to promote inclusivity for women in STEM careers by inspiring parents to encourage their young girls to pursue their dreams and explore their creativity. This campaign highlights that girls have always been ready; it’s the world that’s always playing catch-up to their creative power. LEGO looks to shed light on the challenging limitations imposed by gender biases, by driving focus around the role the wider community can play in encouraging their ambitions.

Background

Famous franchise and movie partnerships leveraging cultural trends have driven LEGO’s recent popularity; yet the brand’s purpose remains grounded in creativity, believing that simple play can spark any child’s imagination. That’s why the iconic brick has been the company’s unchanged, gender-neutral symbol of play since the 1940s. Built to empower young girls in the United Arab Emirates and around the globe, this campaign hopes to see more girls embrace and explore their individual passions. The ‘Girls Are Ready’ campaign is a call by the LEGO Group to support girls’ interests and creative pursuits. The objective of this campaign was not only to encourage young girls to pursue their dreams but also to showcase what the world can do to support their journeys and achievements. The brief called for communication to distribute this message to a public who has never been more receptive given trending conversations around equality globally.

Describe the cultural / social / political climate in your region and the significance of your campaign within this context

The STEM gap is real. Globally, only 18% of women are pursuing a STEM degree in college compared to 35% of men (UN). And not just in college, but research shows that 78% of parents globally say that they treat kids differently based on their gender (Play Well Report), and nearly 70% prefer children to play with toys that are primarily associated stereotypically with their gender. It is also very common for STEM-related play to be more associated with boys. In the Middle East, a lot of work is being done to shift education patterns for its female youth, however, there is still a long way to go. Experts note that mentoring, instilling a culture of experimentation, and overcoming failure all with the agenda of breaking down stereotypes is key to ensure further progress. Therefore, in launching the Girls Are Ready campaign, the objective was to communicate an impactful message to young girls that the world has confidence in their abilities, and to inspire those looking to pursue new interests, especially in STEM. It calls on parents and gift-givers to help girls pursue their passions from a young age by pushing the boundaries of what they can choose to be.

Describe the creative idea

The Girls Are Ready campaign celebrates the achievements of girls everywhere. The LEGO Group chose three young girls from different nationalities and backgrounds contributing to the local community who were already changing to the world to be featured in a series of videos – one of which included the United Arab Emirates. Amongst these where Fatima and Shaikha Alkaabi, who marked the first time two young Emirati Girls were featured in a global LEGO campaign video. The focus was on celebrating girls’ creativity and inspiring girls through play to take interest in STEM, the campaign also saw involvement by Emirati astronaut, Nora Al Matrooshi and young Emirati inventor Fatima Alkaabi who built a LEGO space rover. Girls Are Ready is built to encourage girls to embrace their individuality as they explore their interests, calling on the wider community to support and encourage girls’ passions

Describe the strategy

Our strategic approach was to call on the larger community of parents and relatives – particularly of young girls as the primary audience to encourage their children to pursue their dreams and passions from a young age by pushing the boundaries of what they can choose to be. This communication began during the timely occasion of Emirati Women’s Day. As such the emphasis was on awareness and engagement-based mediums that formed the media and PR campaigns, using the videos of Chelsea the participant from the US, and Fatima and Shaikha the two Emirati girls. Visuals championing creativity in girls were supported by longer-form content offering a deeper explanation; paid advertorials and press coverage to complement media to deliver the most rounded approach our budget allowed. Organic activation and partnership opportunities to widen the earned media impact as a consequence of the campaign were also to be explored.

Describe the execution

The videos were of the girls using LEGO to create a model of the Space Rover – with messaging around unleashing your dream and getting the world ready for girls! The campaign was launched at an exclusive event held at Dubai Astronomy center leading up to Emirati Women’s Day, celebrating the UAE’s achievements in the space domain, the role of Emirati women in driving this ambition forward, and the importance of STEM education for young girls. On media, we ran for 3 months across YouTube, Shahid, and rich media digital sites. The targeting was focused on parents of young children in the UAE and gift-givers. Awareness and engagement generated online was supported by radio and digital outdoor activations telling the girls’ stories. Further promotion using PR involved engagement with media. Alongside traditional press office activity, we secured on-ground and post-event interviews with Fatima AlKaabi, Shaikha AlKaabi, and Urszula Bieganska.

Describe the results / impact

Through this campaign we were able to achieve our most crucial objective – starting an engaging conversation around young girls pursuing their dreams and STEM careers. We truly were able to show the world that GIRLS ARE READY. The campaign reinforced the significance of inspiring girls to new heights and building their confidence to take part in male-dominated fields such as STEM. This buzz this campaign generated resulted in a total of 23 pieces of coverage across key women magazines such as Layalina and daily newspapers such as Gulf News and Khaleej Times. Overall, the press achieved a total reach of 202,403,977. Positive conversations and press coverage combined with the strong awareness built through media resulted in a 16% increase in sales uplift vs. last year.