By using sequential storytelling around a theme that's easy to relate to during Ramadan, Starcom Mediavest and Caviar Creative came up with a funny two-part campaign for telecommunications provider VIVA Kuwait that garnered extraordinarily high engagement rates during the busiest ad season of the year. Find out more about the strategy and results of the award-winning ad.
THE GOALS
Develop effective, creative campaign idea suited to the digital world
THE APPROACH
Launched made-for-YouTube campaign
Produced two videos
Served content sequentially
THE RESULTS
94% completion rate for teaser video
100% completion rate for second video
26% overall view-through rate against MENA benchmark of 15%
50% organic views
More than 60,000 views from searches within Kuwait and across MENA
Lantern award for most highly engaging video ad on YouTube during Ramadan
Conventionally, brands have tended to run TV adverts and then repurpose them for YouTube and print. Media and creative agencies Starcom Mediavest Group and Caviar Creative took on a different approach for telecommunications service provider VIVA Kuwait’s Ramadan activity: investing instead in made-for-YouTube content. The campaign drew viewers in with a humorous two-part story built around a locally relevant theme: guests losing their cookware after bringing food to a friend’s home.
“Go native: use all your resources to make the story local, relevant and close to the heart of the target audience. In this case, sharing food is a big part of Kuwaiti culture, but what’s more interesting is what happens AFTER the food is delivered, and the odyssey that many a dish might be misplaced before being reunited with its rightful owner,” says Haitham Al-Hajji, managing partner of creative agency Caviar Creative. “Be brave and if you intend to be funny, really be funny. Don’t use half-measures or compromise on your objective.”
By using sequential storytelling, the team created a situation for users to eagerly anticipate what would happen next, in order to create high engagement within social media channels. For other brands interested in adopting similar intelligent methods, Mark Khoury, Client Managing Director at Starcom Mediavest Group, explains in detail. “First, create immediate awareness and engagement with your target audience: start big, buy smart and go for high reach and impact. Use a strategic, multiple media touchpoint approach to maximize traffic and drive shareability. Finally, maintaining high user engagement is key to success. Keep your eyes open and optimize, optimize, optimize – fine-tuning the intensity as needed will drive results.”
Stellar engagement metrics show that the videos struck the right balance between being short enough to keep viewers’ attention and long enough to create a meaningful impression. The teaser video had a view completion rate of 94%, while the second part delivered a view completion rate of 100%. The overall view-through rate was 26% against the MENA benchmark of 15%.
The campaign achieved 50% organic views and more than 60,000 views coming from people actively searching for the ad on YouTube, both within Kuwait and across MENA countries. What’s more, it went on to win the Lantern award for delivering the most highly engaging video ad on YouTube during the Ramadan season.
"Use all your resources to make the story local, relevant, and close to the heart of the target audience."
- Haitham Al-Hajji, Managing Partner, Caviar Creative
"The value proposition on video advertising for brands is simple: a better return-on-investment by minimizing waste and sending your message to the right audience, at the right time."
- Mark Khoury, Client Managing Director, Starcom Mediavest
