With the wave of the China Dream, an inspiring call by Xi Jinping for Chinese people to make something for themselves to progress China in the world stage, Shell saw an opportunity to represent something that matters to them. We created the series “A Sky Made For Dreams” that feature real-life stories about Chinese people overcoming trials and tribulations for their dreams. Tapping into the China Dream sentiment, these stories inspired the spirit of Chinese people into pursuing their dreams.

We travelled across China to unearth true stories of Chinese people with dreams and how they overcome trials and tribulations to work towards it. A digital content hub was also created to house the 4 short documentaries where viewers can also find out more about how Shell products enabled their road towards their dreams.

The stories included a 30 second ad version and a longer 2 minutes full version for storytelling. Through TV, OTV, paid social, localized events, PR in local media we communicated these stories. Earned media and influencer participation helped amplify our awareness.

A Sky Made for Dreams not only significantly drove higher Brand Awareness (+46%) and preference (+24%) within just 8 weeks, but also higher sub-brands lubricant Last Purchase (+31%) & retail trial share (+19%). The campaign attracted 55.25 million impressions, spawning 2 trending Weibo topics with 105 articles pick-up by the press.

Furthermore, Shell brand has become more Meaningful (+28%) and Different (+20%) while the competitors are declining, even compared to the SOE players. The campaign has exceeded the ROI forecast significantly in all test cities. In each test city the Brand activity has delivered a higher ROI than the Line of Business advertising.