A Scratch Card with a timeless reward.

Finding our purpose in Ramadan.

The Ramadan ‘Scratch & Smile Card’ was a campaign for children with cleft conditions. It came out of a Ramadan initiative for our brand: Dubai Festival City Mall (DFCM).

Rather than doing multiple generic 'causes' or running promotional offers during Ramadan, we chose to connect on an emotional level, through one single relevant and meaningful cause. One that would resonate strongly enough with its growing family of shoppers.

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The power of positive purpose:

Ramadan is a time of giving. It's also the time when scores of brands across the Middle East indulge in ‘purpose-driven advertising’ or ‘short-term noble causes’ but more often than not, with less brand relevance.

When we looked at our growing audience of family shoppers where the appeal lay strongly among teens and young adults, we realised that while these were the fortunate few who had all the smiles and happiness of a perfectly normal and well-rounded life, what about those little ones who have literally, ‘lost their smile’ with no hope to celebrate life’s joys?

Was there a chance to reignite positivity in their life through a generous act?

Finding our True North in smiles:

We found our ‘relevant calling’ with children who had cleft conditions, in short, children who had lost their physical ability to smile.

Research revealed that every three minutes across the world, a child is born with a cleft condition, some fatal.

Operation Smile (a prominent NGO in the Middle East), has always dedicated itself to the cause of raising funds towards their treatment.

We partnered with Operation Smile with a simple objective: To get Brand DFCM’s base of corporate clients and shoppers alike in donating generously towards this noble cause, through a full-fledged communication campaign.

Reimagining a ‘commercial act’ through an emotional insight: ?

In the United Arab Emirates, the concept of a Scratch & Win Card is a hugely popular device of brand promotions, driven by hordes of shoppers who throng the malls to spend and win. We focused our communication on this insight: by simply turning this ‘material’ act into a ‘social’ one, and by shifting a commercial intent into an emotional plea. One that appealed to the heart, in keeping with the season’s spirit of giving.

When a creative execution is on the cards:

We created special Ramadan greeting cards distributed to our clients and shoppers alike, that showed children with a scratch card foil covering their mouth.

When scratched with a coin, (as is usually done in this part of the world), the child’s smile was revealed, reinforcing the simple truth that all you need is a dirham to make a child smile again.

Unlocking a smile, through an engaging act:

We simply reversed the entire process of a Scratch & Win Card with a ‘Scratch & Smile Card’!

Instead of winning a prize upon spending, we got our clients to give: by playing the role of a benefactor. The interactive scratch card mechanism helped us demonstrate how they had the power to ‘unlock’ the smile of a child born with a cleft condition with just a dirham and be the enablers of positive change.

You can view the case history film and the credits at this link: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/the-ramadan-scratch-amp-smile-cards

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Amplifing a world of smiles

While our communication centered around the act of the Scratch and Smile Card, we amplified our insight into a clarion call that ran across indoor at several touchpoints across Dubai Festival City Mall and outdoor media.

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Even the numbers were something to smile about: Out of nearly 400 cards sent out to our select corporate clients, donations collected were nearly AED 30,000 during the Ramadan month.

At AED 880 being the cost for a single operation, it enabled us to put a smile back on the faces of 35 children = that’s one smiling child every day over 1 month!

?Recognition:

• Shortlist at the MENA Cristals 2016 in the Best Direct Mailing Category.
• ‘ACT Responsible’ initiative by Ad Forum. https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34520365/the-scratch-and-smile-card/cleft-condition-awareness

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?Learnings:

-?????? Nothing tops creating a relevant purpose to a cause that actually works for your brand and for who it is intended for.

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-?????? When your intent is genuine emotion and not over-riding commercial outcomes, the positivity you build for your brand is always a long-term one.

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