Saving water has become a challenge not just in the Middle East but also across several regions in the world. Raising concern over this grave issue, a young team from Mindshare and Nissan got together to create a campaign engaging people and urging them to give a drop of water.
The campaign was created following a brief from WaterAid, an international NGO which focuses on achieving universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene. The brief was to come up with a strategy for WaterAids to raise awareness about clean water in Africa.
The trio Reham Eldidi, Ammar Safi and Tarek Elsaad sat down and started creating a campaign, to not just make people realize their social responsblities but also make them the key players to take the conversation forward.
“Our campaign started with the simple truth that people do not care about CSR causes and that posed the question of how to get selfish people to commit a selfless act. We decided not to go against human nature but rather flow with it. We would speak to their alter ego, appeal to their competitive nature, and quench their thirst for self-validation. We would get them to ‘Give a Drop,’” shared Reham Eldidi, Section Manager – Corporate Communications, Nissan Middle East FZE
Knowing that the audience spent a lot of time on social media, they used this as a platform for self-expression.
“We know our primary audience, “Digital Natives,” is busy, impulsive, and likes more for less. But we also know that they spend a lot of their time on social media. So we decided to initiate a conversation and let the users take over. The campaign is triggered by reaching out to our database and sharing a drop of water with them the only way possible – with a sound. The influencers are then urged to pledge their support by sharing their own drop of water using the hashtag #GiveADrop and ask their communities to do the same, creating a ripple effect,” added Ms Eldidi.
For its uniqueness, the campaign stood first in the Young Lynx Integrated Competition held under the banner of Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity earlier this month. The jury comprised Suzanne Powers, Chief Strategy Officer at McCann; Jose Miguel Sokoloff, Chairman of Global Creative Council at Lowe and Partners and Ajay Keerthy, Regional Head Campaigns, RBWM Marketing at HSBC Bank Middle East.
“The entire experience was extremely surreal and still is. It is such a great honor to win and be recognized by our own colleagues,” expressed Ms Eldidi.
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For the young team of Mindshare, while it was a challenge, the victory was memorable.
“Winning the award was a great closure to two intense days. The award and the overall experience will remain in our minds forever. In the middle of competition time, pressure wasn’t the only challenge I was going through because this was the last opportunity for me to be part of Young Lynx before turning 30, the age limit for Dubai Lynx, so I am especially glad that I won it”, shared Ammar Safi, Manager – Invention, Mindshare UAE
“It was a great honor to compete against the top minds in the industry and come up with a concept that won. The whole process was a challenge and we didn’t expect to win. Hearing that we had won was completely unexpected and being able to walk onto that stage after hearing my name called is an experience I will not soon forget,” said Tarek El Saad, Senior Executive – Exchange Digital, Mindshare UAE.
Now the trio hope that while this year, through the #GiveADrop platform the people pledged by making a sound – perhaps next year they will pledge by double-tapping an image.
