2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

Saudis carry huge pride for the Kingdom and their cultural identity, conversations and celebrations are rooted music. Joining forces with singer Hussain Al Jassmi we created a song, film and consumer-centric storytelling that took over the nation using touchpoints that ranged from on-ground, online, TV all to way to on-pack. This creative integrated campaign resulted not only in increased volume growth by more than 2%, but transformed our brand's association with music and got us back in front of our audience's cultural conversations.

Background

Pepsi’s market dominance among Saudi Millennials and Generation Z was under threat from new brand entrants, innovative sub categories, significant external challenges such as sugar tax and changing consumer behavior during the global pandemic. Pepsi’s target audience of Millennials and Generation Z make-up two-thirds of the Saudi population. They value openness, progression, resilience and they take pride in their cultural identity. The KSA is taking them on an evolutionary journey into the future, and they’re constantly looking for ways to express and reinvent themselves, while remaining connected to their heritage and traditions. Music is a significant passion point. Some 70% of Saudi Millennials and Generation Z are heavy music streamers and spend an average of 75-minutes a day streaming music. Pepsi is ideally placed to provide the essential soundtrack to their lives due to its omnipresent nature, youth credentials and long association with music in the Kingdom.

Describe the creative idea

The creative idea was to partner with singer Hussain Al Jassmi to record ‘An ode to the Kingdom’ called Hay Hal Sot (Here to the Voice), written by Saudi Arabia’s poet, Prince Badr Bin Abdul Mohsin. The song would form the soundtrack to a Pepsi campaign film and associated social, in-store and on-pack activity. In the film, the song would mix different musical styles as protagonists travel across the Kingdom, reflecting the thrill of discovering the new whilst still being rooted in the country’s traditions. For on-pack, the idea was to issue special edition, scannable cans, which connected to music streaming app Anghami. Each design would play a different version of the song, based on the instrument illustrated on the can. Every Pepsi can would also feature a prize-winning code, which could be entered on a microsite for the chance to win food discounts, movie tickets etc.

Describe the strategy

By increasing Pepsi’s association with Saudi Millennials and Generation Z’s love of music, we could ensure high campaign ad recall, drive word of mouth and earned media, plus increase positive brand sentiment. The primary objective was to regain Pepsi’s share of segment, reverse the decline in brand health and own the music passion point. To do this, we needed to build excitement around the release of the song amongst our target audience, communicate the elements of the integrated campaign, engage our audience with the collectible cans and convert them with the on-pack prize promotions.

Describe the execution

After teasing the track across digital channels, both the 90-second hero film and song were revealed in a roadblock moment across TV, radio, streaming sites, digital, OOH and PR across the country. It created a tremendous moment of unity and shared excitement amongst Saudi youths. The engagement phase then kicked-in with ‘Scan the can’ collectible packaging, celebrating the ‘Old and New Beat of the Kingdom’ by featuring different instrument visuals, which each provided a different rendition of the song. In-store displays and experiential activity drove sales conversion and promoted the fact that everyone in the KSA could be a winner, simply by entering a prize-winning Pepsi can code on a microsite for the chance to win food discounts, movie tickets etc.

List the results

• The campaign provided an uplift, reversing a five-point decline in brand preference share with a 1.6 point gain in Cola’s share of segment. • +6 points in music association, enjoyable creative at 78% (16% above category benchmark) and over achieved on ad recognition, branding and key brand imagery. • +2% volume growth, reversing declines since 2017 • 183 pieces of coverage, 192 million reach, $585,000 earned media • Achieved 90% Positive Sentiment - the highest score in Pepsi’s history for a digital media campaign in Saudi Arabia.