Intricate and well-produced Egyptian musical numbers blossom in Ramadan 2022 like no other season. We’re not even halfway through the festive month and we already have plenty. Helming the race to the most engaging music videos, as usual, are Telecom brands; they historically spend and gain the most from them. Among them, Telecom Egypt (WE) is standing out this year by staging an amusing, entertaining, and relatable debate between Egyptian generations on how their own version of Ramadan is the real deal.
The ad’s idea is simple: how we communicate, spend our evenings, and have fun throughout Ramadan has changed over time. It sometimes feels like that’s not the Ramadan we’re familiar with. But after the ad exhibits all the different traditions and activities then vs now, it’s clear that our spirit and joy during all the Ramadans have remained the same. Let’s take a closer look…
First, here’s the ad in case you haven’t seen it yet:
The ad focused on evoking nostalgia and being super relatable as it manifests how various generations and families communicate and enjoy their Ramadan in Egypt. This resulted in overwhelmingly positive feedback on social media and decent community engagement (e.g., people creating their own content based on it). Before we go through these aspects, let’s take a look at the stars.
A Closer Look At The Elements and Strategy Behind The Engaging Campaign
Let’s have a closer look at the elements, numbers, and engagement impact of Telecom Egypt’s (WE) Ramadan Ad of 2022.
A Smart Way To Tease The Audience
The brand started with a one-of-a-kind teaser phase to give a glimpse what is coming next.
On the 1st of April, the brand posted a video on its official Facebook page asking people which version of Ramadan they love more, the one we’re currently living or the “Old” Ramadan.
The brand didn’t give any hints about the collaboration, it just gave away the idea!
Meanwhile, the superstars and comedians Yasmine Abdelaziz and Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz posted a video on their official Instagram account where Karim asked Yasmin about her plan of not being a part of Ramadan this year.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbxmpxRATCQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
So, far, the audience couldn’t relate the two teasers together, this is where the surprise lies and We impressed us with a very unique and humorous collaboration.
Are You Team “Old Ramadan” or “New Ramadan”?
Telecom Egypt collaborated with the two amazing superstars Yasmin Abdelaziz and Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz and released one of the best, most cheerful, and most colorful adverts with the help of Synergy advertising.
Both of the public figures portrayed multiple characters that represent the debate between generations preferring the old Ramadan over the current one and vice versa.
Also, we can tell that the characters representing the old generations are relatable as they were similar to old characters from TV shows.
The idea of the campaign tackled a very trendy topic that all people talk about, which is which version of Ramadan is better.
We can see that this idea came from a deep search and true insights, as it is a fact that people are divided into two teams, a team that longs for the old Ramadan and the other team that prefers the current one with its vibes.
The Choice Of Yasmin Abdelaziz And Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz
Even random fans on social media can’t stop talking about how Yasmin Abdelaziz and Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz are such a great choice for this. Not only does the part seem to come so naturally to them, but they also possess excellent chemistry. But beyond that, why might Telecom Egypt (WE) settle on those two?
First, Their Public Persona
A charismatic duo emanating warmth and famous for exhibiting a sense of humor that suits everyone in the family? Sounds like a no-brainer and proves consistent with the brand image a brand like Telecom Egypt (WE) would be after, especially in Ramadan.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcBNpcyoE3v/
Then, There’s Their Digital Presence
Both Yasmin Abdelaziz and Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz have a total of over 18 million followers on Instagram alone. Their digital presence means that BTS videos like the ones below took hold of TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram for days, stimulating even further positive engagement.
Subtly Evoking A Sense Of Nostalgia: A Classic Ramadan Marketing Tactic
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, some may say. Well, that’s how most brands saw the utilization of nostalgia in their marketing campaigns this Ramadan. Nostalgia has always been an essential component of marketing, especially during this specific month. It’s been the case for decades and it continues to be.
Telecom Egypt (WE) is no exception. They focused on throwing back to old-but-gold fictional characters we’re used to watching on TV. It works well in paralleling and fitting the theme of the old vs. the new and does so subtly. That alone motivated some engagement.
Here’s a TikToker pointing out the nostalgia factor:
@the__sarah__show
رمضان هو هو #رمضان_كريم #ramadan2022 #اعلانات_رمضان #ياسمين_عبدالعزيز #كريم_محمود_عبدالعزيز #we #thesarahshow #egypt #commercial #مصر #مصر_السعوديه_العراق_فلسطين #fyp
One Of The Best Digital Marketing Strategies in Ramadan 2022
Telecom Egypt didn’t just depend on releasing the advert on TV and social media platforms, it went far beyond that. Telecom Egypt is paying attention to all of its platforms as it had another digital strategy to drive traffic to its YouTube channel, which gave the best results.
The brand had posted snippets from the advert on their social media platform and asked people to watch the full advert on YouTube, which made people head to their YouTube channel resulting in gaining over 27 million views and being number one trending for 3 days straight.
The Advert With Almost Zero Negative Feedback
As we previously mentioned, the advert was number one trending on YouTube and it received very positive feedback. The comments and the TikToks or Reels using the ad’s sound are the best proof of the positive engagement impact it had.
WE Invades Social Media Platforms Becoming #1 Trending Advert on YouTube
The advert so far has over 45M total views on YouTube [Main Copy: 28M views] and over 40M total views on Facebook [Main Copy: 37M Views], which made the brand’s advert rank the second viewed advert among the Telecom operators this Ramadan.
It is obvious that the brand had a result driven digital marketing strategy. After releasing the advert, We created a series of digital copies starring the two superstars to promote the offer and to drive more engagement.
As for Instagram, both stars kept posting some behind-the-scenes from the advert and also humorous TikTok videos they did together while filming the advert.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cb7_r8tg_Ld/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcF3LOTAD9o/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
We can’t also ignore the fact that both of the stars are leaving comments on each other’s posts on Instagram.
This strategy drove a huge engagement rate for this campaign.
WE Urges The Audience To Create TikTok Content
One of the best factors that can drive engagement to your brand is creating user-generated content.
Telecom Egypt posted on its Facebook page asking the audience to participate in its challenge on TikTok by singing the advert’s song.
The result was as expected as people did take part in the challenge and the actress Yasmin Abdelaziz posted one of the videos on her Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CcA9LuhAhvP/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Additional Factors Helped The Advert Go Viral
The brand depended on many factors that enabled this advert to be one of the top successful adverts this Ramadan.
When creating an advert, it has to depend on at least one type of advertisement appeal, Telecom Egypt depended on multiple ones.
First of all, the brand depended on the sense of nostalgia to trigger the audience’s emotions to make them relate to the idea.
Second, it used musical appeal as it created a very catchy jingle that also went viral.
Third, It used humor appeal, both of the superstars are comedians and are widely loved by all Egyptians for their amazing sense of humor.
Fourth, another appeal was used, is the endorsement appeal, which is the collaboration with the two celebrities.
Lastly, the social appeal; the brand depended on this appeal to make the audience feel that they are part of a group and that they’re not the only ones who debate which Ramadan is better.
All of the previous factors were pillars in making everyone relate to the advert and fall in love with it.
In the end, Telecom Egypt had launched a fully integrated campaign to show us that Ramadan spirit will never change across generations… Tell us your opinion on the campaign.
