Campaigns for global brands including Burger King, KFC, Nissan Patrol, OMO and Standard Chartered Bank, as well as local brands, such as Almosafer in Saudi Arabia, Babyshop in the UAE, Etisalat Misr in Egypt and Donner Sang Compter in Lebanon, are among the 16 winners of this year’s WARC Prize for MENA Strategy.
Now in its fourth year, the Prize is in search of the best strategic marketing thinking that has driven results in the region. Free to enter, the winners of the Grand Prix and three Special Awards share a $10,000 prize fund.
The Grand Prix is awarded to Wunderman Thompson Tunis for ‘Ahmini: The Uncovered’, an initiative launched by telco provider Tunisie Telecom which harnessed the power of mobile to bring about social change for women in rural Tunisia.
Tunisie Telecom partnered with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Women to create Ahmini (Arabic for ‘protect me’), a platform providing a simplified way for female farmers, a group particularly vulnerable to social hardship, to claim entitled social benefits via their mobile phones. After six weeks, the number of registered female farmers grew by 18%, giving 10,000 more women security for life.
A further three Golds, four Silvers, eight Bronzes and three Special Awards recognizing specific areas of excellence, were also awarded by the judging panel made-up of 19 client- and agency-side top industry professionals chaired by Tarek El Kady, Senior Marketing Director, McDonald’s Middle East & Africa.
Two of the winning entries are regional campaigns, with the other award-winning work for national markets – Saudi Arabia (6 awards), United Arab Emirates (4), Lebanon (2), Egypt (1), Tunisia (1).
Commenting on the winners, jury chair Tarek El Kady, Senior Marketing Director, McDonald’s Middle East & Africa, said: “This year’s winners show the incredible range of strategic approaches across the MENA region that are transforming businesses and brands. This selection of case studies provides strategists with helpful insights and ideas that will inspire them for years to come.”
The WARC Prize for MENA Strategy 2020 winners are:
Grand Prix
- The Uncovered · Ahmini · Tunisie Telecom · Wunderman Thompson Tunis, Ahmini · Tunisia
Gold
- Art Gap · Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) · Standard Chartered · TBWA\RAAD · United Arab Emirates
- Launching Local Chicken · KFC · Yum! · TBWA\RAAD · Saudi Arabia + Brand Rebel Special Award
- The Fair Telco Company · Jawwy · STC · FP7 McCann Dubai, FP7 McCann Riyadh · Saudi Arabia + Local Hero Special Award
Silver
- The Gift of Mom · Babyshop · Landmark Group · FP7 McCann Dubai · United Arab Emirates
- Blood Unity · Donner Sang Compter (DSC) · FP7 McCann Dubai · Lebanon
- Every Step Counts · Emirates NBD · FP7 McCann Dubai · United Arab Emirates
- Who said men don’t cry? · Burger King · Wunderman Thompson KSA · Saudi Arabia
Bronze
- The Ramadan campaign that didn’t launch during Ramadan · Jawwy · STC · FP7 McCann Dubai, FP7 McCann Riyadh · Saudi Arabia
- Hekaya – Family Talk · Etisalat Misr · FP7 McCann Cairo · Egypt
- As far as we go · Almosafer · FP7 McCann Dubai · Saudi Arabia
- Post-Credit Wash · OMO · Unilever · TBWA\RAAD · Lebanon
- Conquer Everywhere · Nissan Patrol · Nissan · TBWA\RAAD · United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain + Research Excellence Special Award
- Making meal-time fun time · Puck · Arla Foods · FP7 McCann Dubai · Pan Arab
- Burjer Kinj · Burger King · Wunderman Thompson KSA · Saudi Arabia
- Inspire What’s Next · Emirates NBD · FP7 McCann Dubai · United Arab Emirates
See here for more information on the strategies of the winning campaigns and to view the winners of the WARC Prize for MENA Strategy 2020.