THE MIDDLE EAST EXPLAINED
Title | THE MIDDLE EAST EXPLAINED |
Brand | THE NATIONAL NEWS |
Product/Service | THE NATIONAL |
Category |
A05. Data Visualisation |
Entrant
|
MRM UK London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Idea Creation
|
MRM UK London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Credits
Nicky Bullard |
MRM |
Chairwoman & Chief Creative Officer |
John Treacy |
MRM UK |
ECD |
Andrew Pogson |
MRM UK |
Associate Creative Director |
Michael Poole |
MRM |
Associate Creative Director |
Magda Gosek-Kyprianou |
MRM UK |
Art Director |
Gavin Daniel |
MRM UK |
Copywriter |
David Hunt |
MRM |
Editor |
Mike Krzyzanowski |
MRM UK |
Digital Planning Director |
Chris Pearce |
MRM UK |
CEO |
Karim Slim |
MRM UK |
Global Managing Partner |
Charles Eddy |
MRM UK |
Business Director |
Varsha Nursimloo |
MRM UK |
Business Lead |
Dexter Wong |
MRM UK |
Senior Account Manager |
Mireille Puskulian |
The National News |
Head of Marketing & Communications |
Duaa Zietoun |
The National News |
Marketing Lead |
Richard Anthony |
MRM UK |
Freelance Editor |
Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?
The Shocking Percentage is a campaign with a heart of data. Not only is the work driven from a data insight, but it’s also visually executed to reflect and amplify the insights uncovered. It powerfully demonstrates how compelling a genuinely data driven insight can be when used to address a business and wider societal problem.
Background
The Western press often neglect positive Middle Eastern stories. Which means we're not getting the full picture about the region. This fuels racism and insecurity. The National, a leading Middle Eastern news source, wanted to relaunch in the UK and US – to create a clear, unbiased view of the region.
Describe the Creative idea / data solution (20% of vote)
What was so surprising about the insight we uncovered was it didn’t matter what political leaning the western media outlets had, they all failed to report positive stories from the Middle East. This meant we were building our campaign on a universal truth.
So, while every other newspaper tries to sell potential readers it’s stories, we sold the stories we knew all those newspapers wouldn’t write. This was our breakthrough. The amount of the story you saw was determined exactly by how much coverage the Western press was giving it, enticing the viewer in. We used graphic, minimalist art direction for maximum stand out in feed and kept the campaign fresh by constantly updating our visualisations using live data. ‘The Shocking Percentage’ It was a campaign built on a powerful truth and delivered at the speed of news.
Describe the data driven strategy (30% of vote)
We knew the Western press often neglect positive and balanced stories from the Middle East. This means it's difficult for our audience to get the balanced view they want. So, we set up listening tools to find out just how much Middle Eastern news was being neglected. Even we found the results shocking.
To quantify the scale of the problem we created a 'Ratio Engine' using base keyword analysis data sourced from a global listening platform over a rolling 30-day window.
The algorithm counted all the stories written by online news brands about the Middle East - published both globally and in the Middle East.
The data showed that on average only 1% of all positive news stories from the region are reported in Western media. This became our creative springboard.
Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output (30% of vote)
We decided to let the data tell the story. So we created a film that gave you a glimpse of a story about the Middle East.
The amount of the story you saw was determined exactly by how much coverage the Western press was giving it. For example in the case of space exploration this was just 1%.
It created a striking visual presence. And of course, when something is hidden from us it makes us all the more determined to find out what it is that's going on. The campaign worked brilliantly.
It drew our audience in – and created a rich, engaging, emotive story around cold hard, logical facts.
Using our listening platform, meant we could use the latest statistics live in our online ads. This meant you could see in real time how much traction a Middle Eastern story was getting.
List the data driven results (20% of vote)
We reached over 16 million people in the UK alone – many of whom see the Middle East largely as a place of conflict. When in fact, it is a vibrant region, full of wonderful stories about fashion, culture and science.
We highlighted the contribution that women are making in these cultures and showed that the Middle East are actively involved in positive, progressive movements like renewable energy.
We got hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and US to start reading The National regularly. This means that there are more people in Western society with a clearer view of what's going on in the Middle East. Helping to make sure that more people understood this culturally diverse, historically rich region is vitally important to us all.