2020 was a year that trended words like socially distant, lockdown, quarantine. Among many other factors, kept everyone apart on so many levels. As humans we long for connectivity and the events that transpired during this year had ripped that apart.

Despite the challenges of the year 2020, there was something human that kept us close, closer than ever actually. "Sound"! The sound of a “voice messages”, sound of “hellos” and “sound of music”.

We needed a new way to reach and engage with our audience using our love for music and connectivity.

The idea was to overlook the usual passive way we try to connect with people; instead, using a newly digital engagement solution, create a space were everyone can feel heard and linked to one another.

A leading telecom in the UAE who strongly believes in togetherness, launched the “Sound of Togetherness” campaign to reflect the essence of what they do, which is day-to-day connections that can be unifiers instead of separators, and that nothing should stand in the way of togetherness.

Our brand, an online music streaming app, and our creative partners, saw this as an opportunity and joined forces with the telecom company to engage with people on a whole new frequency.

To ensure that the new soundtrack resonates with consumers, we decided to run a digital activation, giving users the possibility to create their own beat for a chance to win a select range of prizes; a pure-engagement driven strategy.

We launched a multi-layer campaign using our owned mediums: In-App media, CRM, and Social Media. Targeting relevant audiences who already interact with the app music content to ensure high engagement.

Based on the telecom brand identity, the microsite was designed with a pre-planned user journey to listen to the new Etisalat theme song before being able to register and participate.

Participation: Music enthusiasts along with curious listeners accessed the microsite, logged in, selected between 3 tracks, played the instruments with the rhythm, then sampled their own tracks. At that moment everyone became a DJ.

Having submitted the track, users could share the microsite on social media platforms to entice more engagement. The new brand film was played to wrap up the user journey.

Every week, for a month, 5 lucky beat-makers were shortlisted by the music app for their impressive beat track. They were then sent an email congratulating them and inviting them to share their tracks with friends and on social media for voting.

Voting: Phase 2 of the competition consisted of voting for 1 of 5 best tracks

The activation’s video Pre-roll received +18% CTR while

Online advertising video are averaging at 1.84%

The Audio Format resulted in 1.26% CTR vs 0.46% Industry benchmark

Overall, the activation received over 1,000 registrations, 500+ tracks & Thousands of votes

13 winners won a premium subscription with the music app & 1 grand prize winner of 500k Smiles reward points from the telecom company to enjoy daily deals from their favorite brands.