The Liquid Billboard was the world's first billboard that women could actually swim in. More importantly, the physical activation sparked social conversations about making swimming more inclusive as a sport across 60 countries in 6 continents. While the activation targetted Middle Eastern Women, it earned organic PR in over 40 languages. It was clear that the cause resonated with women everywhere.
Background
32% of women in the world don’t feel comfortable swimming in public.
In the Middle East, that number rises to 88%. Because conventional swimwear is not made with them in mind. Resulting in fewer women wanting to pursue aquatic sports every year. Being raised in a society where swimming isn’t widely accepted as appropriate for women, they lack the motivation to step into water. In addition, being surrounded by ads with models and professional athletes has further deteriorated their body confidence.
Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)
The world’s first swimmable billboard. Made to encourage every woman in Dubai to become ambassadors of adidas’s new inclusive swimwear collection, irrespective of their shapes, ethnicities, abilities or religion.
By physically diving in, each woman became part of the global conversation.
Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)
To inspire all women in MENA to feel confident in water, Adidas challenged sociocultural barriers preventing them from embracing water and turned water into a symbol of freedom, instead.
Through a movement that encouraged women to see water as a liberating space the brand brought women from all walks of life to inspire each other to break barriers and embrace water.
The key aim of our PR strategy was to turn this physical installation in Dubai to be the start of a conversation about inclusivity in swimming across the world.
Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)
Influencer outreach:
The first step was to make key opinion leaders and influencers the voice of the activation. By sending them special invitations that could only be seen through water, they were invited to come dive into the Liquid Billboard and become ambassadors of the new inclusive swimwear collection.
By rewarding each one of them with adidas posters featuring photos taken of them in real-time during their swim gave them further incentive to drive the conversation on their social platforms.
Global conversation:
Instead of positioning the Liquid Billboard as an activation from Dubai, we turned it into the starting point of a much-needed conversation about making swimming more inclusive as a sport.
As a result, conversations were sparked in over 60 countries spanning 6 continents.
List the results (30% of vote)
350 million total reach
$6 million earned media
60+ countries across 6 continents
45% View Through Rate vs industry average of 2%
17.7% engagement rate on social media
70% sell-through rates in just the first 4 weeks across flagship stores
Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your work
Universally, water represents freedom. For most women in MENA, due to cultural and social barriers, water represents limitations and restrictions. Being raised in a society where swimming isn’t widely accepted as appropriate for women, they lack the motivation to step into water. In addition, being surrounded by ads with models and professional athletes has further deteriorated their body confidence.
Credits
Name
Company
Role
Fabio Silveira
Havas Middle East
General Manager
Joao Medeiros
Havas Middle East
Executive Creative Director
Adrian Mutescu
Havas Middle East
Strategy Director
Carlos Nadal
Havas Middle East
Head of Growth
Paul O'Connor
adidas
Director Brand Communications and Sport Marketing MENA