A month ago, an outdoor campaign rolled out for a week with a series of visuals introduced first as teasers stating that The Makers are the ones who "travel the world", "grow their talent", "get things for free", "are never alone" and "are up to date". The campaign sparked interest and curiosity by capturing the ‘spirit of youth and rebellion’ leaving everyone wondering who those makers are. A week later, the reveal campaign got plastered all over town promoting the new account Byblos Bank is offering to the youth aged 18-24.
In parallel, a 90-second TVC ran on local channels to spread the word even farther. The campaign has emotion, a good music score by Lebanese band Lumi, as well as a powerful and clever copy narrated by a resonant voice over coupled with beautiful film making elements that often go into a winning commercial.
Interested in learning more, ArabAd asked FP7 Beirut, the agency behind this campaign about the thought and strategy used.
"The exercise was challenging, given the fact that a lot of brands and products were already speaking and targeting this age group. Rather than promising them a world full of magic, we wanted to tell them that they were the magic our country needed," explained the creative team.
Truth is, for Lebanese youth, it’s harder to achieve their goals and dreams and even harder to achieve their independence and freedom.... all in all it was harder for them to “build” who they are. However, one thing the agency was clear on is that Lebanese youth are sick of being told what to do, what to say and how to say it. "We really wanted to get on their good side by positioning “Byblos Bank” as the cool uncle or aunt who have always given us the extra freedom because they believe we’re responsible enough to know what to do with it."
Summing all this up, the obvious thing for the agency was to create a pledge. Their pledge told by those who are going to make a difference. Those who are not afraid to move forward. Those who in order for them to create a new world, had to first create themselves.
"We started shooting in late July and went into postproduction in August, which is when the Beirut uprising started. We were afraid that we would be thought of as, riding the wave, but to our surprise, people and youth in particular, appreciated the campaign and the true messages it holds," FP7 team asserted.
All in all, this feel-good spot, which was originally created to target teens managed to score high with other demographic groups as comments on social media platforms showed, which goes to prove how well it was crafted.