| Philosophy | The Campaign Instead of being tactical and glorifying the app’s functions we decided to go for a different angle. We wanted to give our audience a credible “reason why”. We took the challenge of finding a unifying insight that everyone relates to when commuting in Dubai. Since most people came to Dubai to achieve and not waste time, there was one need that unified all commuters - the constant search for a smart shortcut. It’s what inspires us to take one route versus the other, trying to outsmart the system every day. That’s how “Every day, a smarter way” was born - the overarching concept that reframed the functional nature of the app into the go-to place for smart commuting solutions. Creative Execution Bringing the idea to life revolved around getting brand awareness about the first integrated mobility app via a variety of touchpoints. Touchpoints included branded content displayed through out of home solutions in key metro stations, as well as branded wrap for Dubai Taxis and buses. We placed promoters in key metro stations to engage and interact with the target audience. We also decided to strategically launch S’hail at the Gitex Trade show to leverage on local and international media exposure, as well as present the app’s innovative features. We developed an interactive microsite and implemented an online digital media campaign, paired with a paid social media campaign on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. PR activities involved radio and TV interviews with relevant local and international media press. S’hail has reached over 100k downloads in less than 3 months. It became the Nº1 transportation app in Dubai, helping people find a smarter way through the city. This culminated in a 10% reduction in average commuting time. Sheikh Hamdan proudly introduced S’hail to the world during GITEX as part of Dubai’s smarter city agenda. Historically, when communicating an app, a digital push is what gets the numbers. We didn’t just want numbers. We wanted to bring our benefit to life in context. That context seemed to be in the offline world. We used the out of home touchpoints to deliver the call to action where people experienced the pain-points of commuting the most. Insights, Strategy And The Idea Whilst the app now had a clear positioning, its efficiency was directly proportional to the number of commuters that use it. S’Hail needed downloads. We approached our communication strategy by applying the principles of pain-point planning. We realized that in an overly cluttered environment, our target audience might not be so receptive to what we had to say. So we decided the pivotal approach was to drive influence by bringing content within a relevant context. We distributed our channels in hotspot areas where congestion was high and the commuting struggle was real. To hone it closer to the benefit, each piece of communication had a message related to the mode of transport within the vicinity of our boards. We were able to use interactive screens that engaged commuters on the go, letting them know how to save time and money with the best travel route. |