Fatafeat declared positive Ramadan campaign results, following a strategy adopted in response to the presence of Covid-19 during the Holy Month. With each country across the region undertaking varying levels of lockdown and movement restrictions during the Holy Month, the adapted strategy focused on amplified levels of digital content, alongside traditional linear programming, resulting in universal increases in followership, digital subscribership and engagement across all social platforms.
The campaign rights an increase of over 1 million new subscribers and followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat, with increases in each platform resulting in a combined 11.6 million followers of Fatafeat’s social platforms. Engagement across platforms was at an all-time high, with highlights being Instagram, which saw more than 2 million video views across the month, and Facebook where videos were viewed more than 25 million times, a 78 percent increase from 2019.
Snapchat proved to be a strength for the brand, having been included in Fatafeat’s Ramadan campaign for the first time this year, with five shows running in parallel, including a show which had been filmed exclusively for Snapchat – Qatayef Ramadan with Afnan.
“Creating a month’s worth of content without the ability to film or work alongside colleagues definitely presented its challenges; however, our dedicated team showcased its strength and agility to deliver the rich content experience that Fatafeat fans deserve, across a multitude of platforms,” stated Henry Windridge, Head of Brand for Discovery, the parent company of Fatafeat.
The campaign’s execution was made possible by the months of filming which had taken place ahead of lockdown coming into effect in Dubai, where Fatafeat’s studio is based and all content for the brand is created, allowing producers and editors to finalize pre-recorded content. The new content was backed by evergreen content, as well as fan favorite recipes, which were seeded across platforms and the support of Fatafeat’s chefs. Episodes from Chefs Manal Alalem and Afnan Alghamdi proved to be particularly popular, with crème caramel cake and mutabaq recipes being amongst the most watched content.
“With filming unable to take place at our award winning studio in Production City, we relied on our advance planning and offsite production capabilities to finalise content, aided by the agility of our chefs who continued to create content from their homes. It’s the adaptability and versatility of the team which allowed us to succeed in welcoming so many people into our kitchen whilst they celebrated ‘Ramadan at home with Fatafeat’,” added Mr Windridge.
Alternative plans had been made for public relations events and media engagement which also had to be overhauled as a result of the restrictions; a cancelled media event in Morocco meant the PR element of the campaign was reliant on more traditional means to raise awareness and drive engagement, resulting in activity which reached an estimated 57 million across the region.
The Ramadan campaign was also complemented by the use of ‘stay home’ messaging across social and linear channels, as well as adapted content specially designed to appeal to those spending an increased amount of time at home.
Continuing the focus on digital, the team behind the success of Fatafeat has recently launched fully Arabic cooking course app, Genius Kitchen. The app offers viewers and cooking fans another way to access their favorite chefs and recipes, featuring 120 cooking classes. Genius Kitchen is said to be home to almost 9,000 recipes, 60 quick view ‘How To’ videos and 140 episodes in its library of TV shows, with new content uploaded each week.
