2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

In a month where generosity is celebrated and lavish displays of food are encouraged, Almarai made an unprecedented and bold move to encourage people to consume 30% less food in Ramadan Based on the insight that 30% of food goes to waste in Ramadan. With a special media execution on TV and digital channels, Almarai covered a 1/3 of the screen to highlight the message of reducing food waste, disrupting the category, increasing purchase intent by +5, brand recommendation by +7 and differentiating the brand by 70% versus the norm of 38%

Background

Almarai was one of the first companies in the region to adopt the idea of running a Ramadan commercial that did not include any products within it. The only objective at the time was to greet people at the beginning of the holy month. Fast forward a few years and all the brands are treating the Ramadan campaigns like the Super Bowl. Products were replaced by Ramadan Values, GRPs were replaced by impressions and the videos just kept on getting bigger and bigger. With that mind, it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out with every passing year. What is making differentiation even more difficult, is that the values that these brands communicate are not always aligned with what they stand for in the mind of their consumer In 2020 Almarai wanted to differentiate the brand, increasing advocacy and purchase intent while staying true to Almarai values and offering

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

More than 30% of food is wasted during Ramadan Generosity is a key value of Islam, so come Ramadan the holy month of feasting and fasting, this generosity triples. The month brings out the best in people as many share food with those unfortunate as well as break the fast with friends and family. However, it is also a month where food is over purchased, unintentionally food waste also increases: 30 % of food goes to waste because of over purchasing in Ramadan This provided an opportunity for the region’s largest food Brand to encourage people not to waste food and to counteractively “buy less “and ultimately sacrifice a third.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We were targeting the mass, Ramadan is for everyone: the old and the young, the mom and the dad, the grandfather and the grandson, the sick and the healthy. Ramadan is traditionally a month of generosity and betterment - We were after people who believe in doing better in Ramadan and out of it, who are empathetic and want a better world. As a leading food brand, Almarai wanted to lead Saudi Arabia and itself into a better tomorrow. So while other brands rode the usual wave of Ramadan feasting and generosity with lavish food campaigns – Almarai went where no brand went before and made a bold and unprecedent move asking Saudi Arabia to consume and buy less this Ramadan : we encouraged them to buy a third less, to make a third less and throw away a third less.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Through film and digital executions, we created a strong visual mnemonic with one third of the food item missing, so for example a pizza being served with one third less, a burger a third less etc With a special media execution on TV Alaan tv channels and on digital channels, Sayidaty, Kitchen Sayidaty, Al Jamila and Hiamag Websites. we covered a 1/3 of the screen to highlight our message of reducing food waste. Reminding people that over 30% of food is wasted in Ramadan we encouraged Saudi Arabia to join our initiative this Ramadan to consume less. We also recruited popular influencers such as elbargawy, enad alotaibi, to help promote our cause and create talkability. While all other brands were showing triple the food our execution showing a third of the food missing, disrupted the Ramadan communication.

List the results (30% of vote)

What started as an eye-opening campaign, became a serious conversation around food waste during the holy month of Ramadan We increased purchase intent by 7 points versus our original KPI of 5 points. Brand recommendation increased by 5 points versus an original objective of 3 points and we increased the brand seems different attribute to be 70% versus the norm of 38%. This was the first ever campaign for Almarai to cross 135+ million video views with 137,232,663 views and Generating 429,346,970 million impressions. The views outdid the cluttered category with the likes of the big players in the Ramadan generating much less views: STC 17.1 million, Zain 9.5 million, Mobily 5.5. million, Saudi Airlines 1.4 million The campaign was also a main feature in Arab news