There are currently no detailed studies or data for Branded Content per se in the MENA region, so providing an accurate picture of this isn’t possible at this point in time. However, MENA has a proven appetite for video and entertainment content, with YouTube recently moving to the region and many brands engaging in content creation. The restrictions come from a cultural and/or brand perspective and vary from country to country – for example attitudes to sex, alcohol, women, dress, religion etc. and there are no official restrictions or laws on Branded Entertainment, particularly where online content (and therefore this campaign) is concerned.

The musical rap style, talent and theme of ‘love’ chosen for the song, ‘Cupid’, were picked to appeal both to our demographic and this region – ‘love’ is one of the most popular topics amongst Pepsi’s fans. The language reflected a youthful, street attitude and the video was fresh and unexpected. We used independent writing, performing and music talent to appeal to Pepsi’s audience.

Cupid was part of a dedicated campaign to raise awareness, drive views and encourage engagement with the content and brand. Using PepsiArabia’s media assets and bought media, the audience was teased by clips and invited to comment on and share the programmes.

Cupid is the most viewed piece of branded entertainment content that Pepsi has ever produced in this region. It was the clip that launched PepsiArabiaTV’s December content and was shared across Pepsi’s social media platforms as well as on YouTube. Our viewers could like, share and comment on each programme both on PepsiArabiaTV itself and across social media.

A week after its release, it trended globally on YouTube and in total had over 1.8m views, over 73,000 likes on Facebook and was shared almost 20,000 times. 97.5% of the comments about the clip were positive with people loving and relating to the song, requesting downloads and asking for more similar content in the future.

Since launch, the content has been incredibly popular with our audience being shared over 33,000 times and achieving an average engagement rate on the PepsiArabia Facebook page of 1.4% (official Facebook benchmark is 0.09%). In total, the content has meant that PepsiArabia’s Facebook page has grown by 98.5%.

Of all the content produced for PepsiArabiaTV, Cupid has had the most impact. Overall the project has absolutely achieved its goal of engaging and entertaining consumers whilst spreading the Pepsi message and increasing its love mark.