The Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) wanted to launch a brand new TV channel in 2018. Changing years-worth of cynicism when it comes to Saudi television, and to compete with major players that had majority of the market share. The client needed to impact the society in a strong manner that brings in the viewers who lost interest in local TV channels for decades, but also shows the country's progression towards a better quality of life for its inhabitants. The client values economic and social development of the country, while maintaining strong cultural values and beliefs which are the core of Saudi Arabia. One of the main desired outcomes for this project was to connect with people and entertain them, becoming one of the top 5 channels in the MENA region and to be attractive for advertisers to promote on.

For years Saudi TV was referred to as "Ghasb" channel which literally translates to “Forced”. After many brainstorming sessions exploring various insights, we decided to take a risky approach. We knew that the word "Ghasb" would be controversial, as it wasn’t only a negative word in it self but it also represented a time where people had no choice. By using such a strong word as the main communication, it would not only spark interest in people who didn’t know the backstory, which is the younger target audience, but also trigger nostalgia in the older audience which in result would start a conversation between both generations. The challenge of using this negative term and turning it into a positive notion was a risk we were willing to take. By the confidence of a brave client and support team, we mapped our project plan and dived in to execute.

70% of Saudis are under 30, and SBA wanted to revolutionize the Saudi TV experience into this generation’s channel of choice, the focus target audience was between the ages of 18-35. It was also important to regain the older generations who experienced the rise and fall of Saudi TV.

In order to achieve the clients goals, a regional 360 marketing campaign based on three phases was launched: Teaser, Revealer, channel launch. Out of Home, digital, radio ads, newspapers and PR were all part of the media spend, targeting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE. The teaser campaign was planned to bring in the audience's attention and create a sense of curiosity, leading up to the revealer stage where the main communication was to be launched, followed by releasing the content that will be shown on the TV channel.

Teaser : 8th April – 14th April

Revealer: 15th April – 21st April

Channel content release: 6th May – 19th May

Total: 26 days

The teaser phase was executed to intrigue the curiosities of the general public by keeping the campaign vague and ambiguous, only the three letters of Arabic word "ghasb" (forced) was shown everywhere, without context. It created a massive buzz and online engagement on every digital platform in the kingdom. Outdoor and digital advertisements were distributed kingdom-wide and in UAE, Kuwait as well as Bahrain. Newspapers and radio spots too were utilized. A website was created to redirect users from the digital platforms to a landing page that had a countdown to the revealer stage of the campaign. After a successful teaser, the general public was introduced to the campaign message: “Forced to love it”. Followed by the channel content release that went out for 13 days.

The "Ghasb campaign" was the single largest advertisement campaign in the industry within the region and the teaser to revealer phases were able to start a conversation that included influencers, celebrities and people of all ages alike, everyone was engaged from beginning to end. The channel launched and became the 2nd most viewed channel in the region. And with the launch of the channel the first night of Ramadan, it seamlessly integrated itself with big players in the industry and quickly became a part of the television experience in people’s homes.

We took the negativity felt in the society and turned it into a positive,

from being “Forced to watch it” to “Forced to love it”. This has changed an environment that has been overruled by a few selected channels for decades, we were able to reclaim television and introduce a new quality option the entire region can enjoy.