To most people in 2016, Saudi Arabia was one big unexplored desert. Withcompetition challenging stc’s claim of having the largest network coverage, weintroduced ‘Unveil Saudi’, a long-term platform offering a nation-wide, real-timedemonstration of network power. Photographers traveled to remote areas andbroadcast never-before-seen content, testing our network reach, and uncovering abreathtaking country. Unveil Saudi became a permanent platformpromoting internal tourism before tourism was even a hot topic. After four years of differentiating and asserting our network leadership, increasingstc’s network strength perception from 52% in 2017 to 83% in 2020, With the introduction of new 5G technology, stc was underrenewed pressure: The market wasinundated with messages from competitors claiming to have thenewest, widest network, and strongest network, how could we further build onour unveil platform and continue to demonstrate and reiterate stc’sleadership in network strength and coverage and continue to engage ouraudiences with the unveil platform to advocate the network supremacyof stc?
Describe the creative idea
A demonstration of stc's network power putting the remotest parts of Saudi Arabia on the map using a Camel- introducing Sarha the world’s first content creating camel giving access to unseen parts of Saudi using stc’s 5G network. The camel roamed the desert for 7 days enabling photographers all over the world to capture real time photos and upload them live to the platform. Not only were they ablet to take photos but they were also able to have full control over the camera – including light and angles. The unique content was then shared with the public to showcase and demonstrate the strength of stc’s 5G network
Describe the strategy
How could we continue to convince an entire nation, that we had the best coverage? Especially when we were talking to every Saudi – with over 180%mobile penetration in Saudi, most of our audience was a customer of more than one telco operator. We had to reassure an audience whose loyalty was based on quality of service that our network was the strongest.
Key insight
We explored the realities of network coverage. As we thought about how far the network could reach within the Kingdom - We were reminded how vast, rich in culture and largely undiscovered the Saudi Kingdom is – with much of it unknown even to Saudis themselves. Much of the country is uninhabited, unseen, and unreachable by most. Except for the desert camel: A Saudi icon that has historically gone where no human has gone before
Describe the execution
We invited photographers from around the world to see Saudi Arabia throughSarha’s eyes, connected 24/7 and capture live images and videos from thecomfort of their own home. She could optimize their photography with high-definition images captured inreal time and uploaded at high network speed. Photographers wereable to control all the camera settings, As a result, epic photos and never seen before content was uploaded onto Sarha’sonline platform, and we used the content to tease people all over the kingdom that “never before seen content” was coming soon. We revealed using the rarephotos across outdoor media and social media. AShot by Sarha” outdoor gallery was displayed in city streets. We also introduced a snap chat lens, givingeveryone a view from Sarha’s perspective.Sarha also shared data through a dashboard all visualized and publishedon her Instagram account for people to follow day-by-day.This culminated in Sarha’s very own exhibition and a photographybook.
List the results
Sarha, the unrelentless powerhouse pushed stc’s network to its limits and unveiled the nation’s unseen wonders, whether through content uploaded online or displayed on city streets, bringing to life the full power and experience of stc’s 5G network. We not only maintained perception of our network strength of 89% but increased it by 2%. Furthermore, our film received 4,479,812 Total views and 307,248,640 total impressions: Conversations around Sarha resulted in 1602 posts and 1620 mentions. All together culminating in $2million in PR value. Today, Sarha is still roaming around, inviting photographers worldwide to push the limits of stc’s network and embark on a new journey of discovery.