Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country, one where tribal and family customs as well as traditions run through every facet of daily life.

We needed to launch Infiniti in Saudi Arabia and the biggest challenge came about in the clash between the market conservative composition and the brand attitude:

how can we launch a provocative global brand in a traditionally conservative market, respecting Saudi culture while staying true to Infiniti’s non-conformist DNA?

Restrictions in Saudi Arabian media are several and they all relay around the idea that any content for broadcast must adhere to cultural norms. Dresswear, appearance of the featured ladies, content, all cannot be provocative and nothing discussing politics or defying societal norms. Content needs to be toned down lower than even PG13 level, and that creates a massive challenge for brands as usually content loses juiciness when adhering to the region's cultural restrictions in media.

The brand experience started by giving the Infiniti lineup to a respected Saudi family to host each-week. The families took their Infiniti to key locations across the city as they had their own stories and memories to tell, which we revealed on YouTube and Facebook.

To ensure the campaign is social by design, we created a digital map of KSA which showcased these stories. Each time a new location was filmed, the same area on the map lit up. On weekly basis, #itstimeforInfiniti tweets were published with embedded videos of the Saudi user generated content and pushed up for re-tweets.

The competition partnership engaging the public:

• Generated more than 20,000 retweets

• Making Infiniti the top trending topic on Twitter throughout the launch period

• & Exposing the Saudi family content to more than 6 million Saudis

Total Campaign Results:

While respecting the Saudi mindset of doing things their way, and staying true to the Infiniti DNA of doing things differently, the results of this campaign exceeded all set KPIS qualitatively and most notably, the campaign will always have a point of reference: A digital map, signed and lit by more than 20,000 Saudis welcoming INFINITI to their kingdom.

Qualitative Social KPI’s

• Buzz: The most talked-about premium brand in KSA (source: map by SYSOMOS – July 2014)

• Online mentions: 35% of total share of mentions (the highest between all competitors) (source: map by SYSOMOS – July 2014)

• Facebook: Highest engagement rate in premium automotive category (source: Social bakers)

• Twitter: The highest Twitter engagement for INFINITI global (source: twitter analytics)

• Earned media: $550,000 worth of earned media

Sales Results

• Sales: 187% increase in sales (Source: MEAC, 2013 – YTD 2014)

• Significance: Biggest market share for INFINITI global (Source: INFINITI Business Unit)