We didn’t simply want to reassert the iconic Johnnie Walker whisky as a product of choice, we needed to remind the Lebanese to Keep Walking despite the troubled times they faced.

We started with an event where media and influencers experienced a menacing audio-visual storm only to get introduced to the campaign film: A fable about a flame that defies a storm. Triumphant, the flame finally says, “Storms shall always pass, but the fire inside burns on”.

Our message sparked the flame within the Lebanese. We set up a digital ecosystem, with Facebook at its core, encouraging crowd source messages through our trending #keepwalkinglebanon. On the ground a fire calligrapher roamed the country for 20 nights and rewarded users online in real time by transforming key statements into pieces of art. These messages became the heart of the campaign, spreading across the country.

A ripple effect was born. With each image shared, more people posted their own positive messages gradually transforming the country’s conversations’ from negative to positive online and offline. This time, it was the media that followed.

4 major publications changed their end of year editorial contents to join in the popular movement of reigniting hope in the country.

Finally, on January 1st, Lebanon’s main TV talk show dedicated an entire 2-hour episode to the JW campaign, with its content articulated around 5 key campaign visuals, which also branded the entire show. Our #keepwalkinglebanon was used by the show to communicate with viewers live.

Our objectives were to first solidify the bond that the Lebanese people have with Johnnie Walker’s brand mantra: Keep Walking, and to assert the dominance of its whiskies in the market place.

November/December 2014 online results:

- 14,189,000 users reached in Lebanon and 20 other countries

- 38,400,000 impressions

- Over 440,000 Actions

- 306,022 Total Video Views

- 766,000 in earned media

Over 2,500 user messages of hope generated. Hundreds where transformed into campaign visuals used across media.

On January 1st, Lebanon’s main TV talk show dedicated an entire episode to the brand, with its content articulated around 5 key campaign visuals, which also branded the entire show. The show’s name was also changed from the ‘The Republic of Failure’ to the ‘Republic of Hope’.

4 publications changed their editorial content to promote hope in the country.

In a saturated market (source AC Nielsen):

- JW market share (Nov/Dec 2014), from leader position, grew by 19.99% vs. last year’s 2,2% growth, +6.54 ppts ahead of category

- Black label: value share grew 31%, 10ppt faster than category

- Red label volume share grew by 4% since campaign launch.

We first shared our hopeful message through a short film.

Our message sparked the flame within the Lebanese. When they reacted through our social online activation, we were ready.

We hired a calligrapher, who wrote people’s messages of resilience with fire, a reflection of their own resilient inner flames. We then replied to their posts with a finished image.

For 20 nights, the calligrapher and a team travelled all over the country, writing hundreds of messages where the Lebanese interact.

This time, it was the media that followed.

On December 4 magazines dedicated their end of year issues to Lebanese achievements.

After naming Lebanon “The Republic of Failure” in 2014, Lebanon’s most watched TV talk show titled the first episode of 2015 “The Republic of Hope,” dedicating it to 25 Lebanese success stories.

A nation’s biggest failure is when it forgets what it’s capable of.

In 2014, a dark cloud loomed over Lebanon once more. Media outlets competed to paint a dark vision of the future, and the people followed suit. The Lebanese were forgetting what they’re truly capable of, and we made it our mission to remind them.

Engagement was at the core of the solution, as it was the media stories who contributed to the problem we needed to use people as ambassadors of hope to transform the conversations from despair to optimism once more.

While in the past the Lebanese could have been inspired by the achievements of a national icon, in 2014 each and every Lebanese needed to be empowered to become an agent of change and hope. We understood that in order to connect with a nation in need of inspiration, the strategy could no longer focus on the aspirational character of a national icon but rather we would need to focus on building a grass roots/popular movement celebrating national resilience.

Through a participative campaign we used people as media to change the various media landscapes online and offline, from tweets, timeline Facebook posts, blogs to the 8 o’clock evening news, publication and TV shows alike.