WhatsApp has 2.5 billion global daily users, but many of them didn’t know the emotional value that the brand provided in people’s lives.

To drive preference, WhatsApp needed to drive brand love, so we found a way to tap into an underrepresented yet global audience that would garner love and support in a global way.

WhatsApp needed to make it clear to this audience who they are, what they stood for, and that they were a brand that believes in the power of transformational connection.

Ultimately, WhatsApp needed to shift people’s relationship with the brand from a functional one to an emotional one.

The film Naija Odyssey is a Nigerian twist on the Greek classic that allowed us to explore Giannis' Nigerian and Greek roots, while telling his story to the world on his own terms.

Within this story, we showcased how Giannis refused to choose between his Greek and Nigerian identities, and showed how both of those cultures helped make Giannis into the man he is today.

The film was a transitional moment for WhatsApp to grow from a product that 2 billion people use but don’t think emotionally about, into a brand that people love and associate with cross-cultural pride.

People from multiple cultures often feel "stuck in the middle" and that they need to choose between their cultural identities.

Giannis felt that same tension. Although he identifies as Greek and Nigerian, the world chose his identity for him, nicknaming him “The Greek Freak."

We wanted to give Giannis an opportunity to reclaim his cross-cultural identity and normalize this behavior for others who could relate to his story.

The guiding insight for this work was “refuse to choose.”

Through our film Naija Odyssey, we not only show how Giannis refuses to choose between his Greek and Nigerian identities (ultimately taking pride in both,) but we also created the rallying cry There’s No One Like Us that speaks to cross-cultural citizens across the globe who can relate to his story.

Ultimately, WhatsApp, the connector for billions of diasporas worldwide, turned having to choose between cultures into a celebration of cross-cultural identity.

People from cross-cultural backgrounds represent the core of WhatsApp’s user base, so to connect with this audience, WhatsApp partnered with Meta’s very first brand ambassador – NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis had a natural connection to WhatsApp – he felt alone when he first moved to the US, and WhatsApp helped him stay connected to his family. Furthermore, his story resonated with cross-cultural audiences that felt they needed to choose between their cultural identities.

Giannis’ identity was chosen for him when the world named him “The Greek Freak,” and Naija Odyssey was an opportunity for him to tell his story on his own terms.

In this Nigerian twist on the Greek classic, Giannis explores his Greek/Nigerian roots, ultimately concluding he doesn’t want to choose between cultures and is proud to be both.

The film concludes with There’s No One Like Us, a rallying cry for cross-cultural communities across the globe.

Naija Odyssey was a film of historic proportions not only for WhatsApp, but Meta more broadly as an organization.

Naija Odyssey served as Meta’s first piece of original content and was streamed in 52+ countries, covered by 60+ global media outlets, and earned $17M in media value. Social conversations increased by 56x more than the same time a year ago, and WhatsApp gained over 49,00 followers after the film was released.

Naija Odyssey also accomplished WhatsApp’s original objective of driving brand love, while increasing consideration of the brand in the US market where they historically had lower awareness.

Naija Odyssey lifted brand favorability by 6.6% and helped increase consideration among young adults by 22%. There was also a 25% lift in young adults feeling WhatsApp helped them stay connected to their culture, and 23% lift in them feeling WhatsApp brought them closer to friends and family.