The movie comes from Publicis, for King Faisal Specialist Hospital, as a way to encourage the viewers to donate organs and was conceptualized and directed by Tahaab Rais (Rais wears other hats but for the purposes of this article, he is director). The effort portrays organ donation as a way to continue one's life, presence, legacy and good deeds, for a topic which is still ethically-checkered in the Arab world due to social, religious and ethical restrictions. Film can be seen here.

The Ad Awareness question asks consumers if they have seen an advertisement for a brand in the previous two weeks, and the difference in scores (highest vs lowest) for the month determines our Advertisers of the Month.

The company that makes Vimto reported record sales in the Middle East during Ramadan, selling 25 million bottles of Vimto Cordial. Vimto is a popular drink for iftar, the meal to break the fast, enjoyed by families. Vimto’s YouTube video showing a family's iftar got 9.5 million views, and an Instagram reel received 3.4 million views in the month of March. Vimto's Ad Awareness increased by 12.2 percentage points, from 20% on February 26 to 32.2% by March 24.

In second place Tasali, the potato chips company, saw a rise of 7.3 percentage points in its Ad Awareness score from 19.2% on 27 February to 26.5% on 25 March.

Ranking third on our list is Lexus, which had an increase of 7.2 percentage points in Ad Awareness from 15.8% on 29 February to 23% on 25 March.

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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. A brand’s Ad Awareness score is based on the question: “Which of the following consumer brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?” Data from surveys of adults aged 18 years and above residing in the KSA from 26 February to 25 March 2024. Ad Awareness scores are based on a four-week moving average. The change in scores for each brand is calculated by taking the difference between the highest and lowest scoring days within the period.

First Story has been a highly requested feature from advertising partners and was first tested in Saudi Arabia and the UAE ahead of Eid-al-Fitr, two of the largest markets for Snap Inc. in the MENA region, seeing great results for advertisers. Now, the company is excited to announce the global roll-out of First Story, set to unlock new opportunities for brands on Snapchat.

"Snap serves a highly engaged audience in MENA and the success of the First Story ads trial is a testament to this," said Sandra Essa, Product Marketing Lead – Brand at Snap Inc. in MENA. "This new ad product will undoubtedly help brands to stand out from the crowd and unlock an enhanced return on investment. By reserving the first slot within friend’s stories, brands can capture Snapchatters' attention at scale in a way that was not before possible, providing a unique opportunity to make an impression right from the start."

Early partners running First Story ads include Maybelline (L'Oreal), Unilever, Ounass, Level Shoes, The Royal Commission for Al Ula, and Parfums Christian Dior. These international and local brands have recognized the immense potential of being the first to appear in Friend Stories and now other advertisers can reserve First Story placements in Snapchat markets around the world.

Level Shoes, a luxury multi-brand retailer offering global designer footwear, bags, and accessories for women, men, and kids was the first Snapchat partner to test First Story ads in the UAE. Designed to deliver high reach within 24 hours, First Story helped Level Shoes deliver impressive results, achieving over one million in reach, a swipe rate of 1.1 percent, and a return on ad spend (ROAs) of x18. These results did not only deliver brand awareness but also drove an impressive down-funnel impact.

“First Story's impressive results demonstrate its effectiveness as a premium ad format for luxury brands, delivering high reach and engaging audiences with an impressive ROI," said Ahmed Sedeek, Director of Growth Marketing at Level Shoes.

"We launched the @experiencealula account last year and have collaborated closely with Snap to share insights and continue to develop our understanding of how we should connect with our Snap audiences across the customer journey," said Melanie De Souza, Executive Director of Destination Marketing at The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).

De Souza added, "In March 2023, "AlUla Old Town Village", comprising Old Town Mud Village, AlJadidah Arts District, and the Cultural Oasis, was recognized as a 'Best Tourism Village' by the UN World Tourism Organization. We saw an opportunity to showcase its heritage, art, and oasis through an interactive AR experience and Snap lens, amplified by Snap's new "First Story" feature. Connecting with 9 million Snapchatters on its first day and seeing a swipe rate of 1.2%, the campaign is off to a promising start."

In addition to providing a new way for advertisers to reach Snapchatters, First Story ads will also unlock new opportunities for partners alongside Snap’s other takeover offerings which include First Commercial, First Lens, and Platform Burst among others.

Snap Inc. is committed to providing new impactful ways to connect. This includes advertising solutions like First Story that allow brands to connect more deeply with audiences. First Story is just one of the many ways advertising partners can achieve their marketing objectives on Snapchat.

Ad Awareness asks consumers if they have seen an advertisement for a brand in the previous two weeks, and the difference between low and high scores for the month determines our Advertisers of the Month.

HOHOs introduced a new product called HOHOs Mix for which it recently released an ad. The video has garnered more than nine million views on YouTube. YouGov BrandIndex shows HOHOs Ad Awareness metric rose by 10 percentage points from 15.6% on October 26 to 25.6% on November 24.  

Jumia.com, which is number two on our list, saw a rise of 9.7 percentage points from 35.4% on October 26 to 45.1% on November 23. Often dubbed as the ‘Amazon of Africa’, this e-commerce giant recently appointed a new management board. Jumia.com also announced that it generated over $50 million in revenue in Q3, up by 18% since last year. The brand recently launched its Black Friday campaign encouraging people to spend affordably reflecting Egypt’s current economic challenges.

Ranking third on our list is Spotify which rose 5.9 percentage points from 16.3% on October 26 to 22.2% on November 23. The brand launched video podcasting in Egypt which allows podcasters to freely switch between active watching (with the video in the foreground) and passive listening (with the video in the background) through its video background-play feature.

Methodology 
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. A brand’s Ad Awareness score is based on the question: “Which of the following consumer brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?” Data from surveys of adults aged 18 years and above residing in Egypt from 26 October to 24 November 2022. Ad Awareness scores are based on a four-week moving average. The change in scores for each brand is calculated by taking the difference between the highest and lowest scoring days within the period. Learn more about BrandIndex.  

Using thermosensitive ink, Wunderman Thompson has created a collection of coasters, stickers, flyers, and print ads for parents to test the temperature of the milk before giving it to their baby. To capture the public’s attention, the agency has brought the thermosensitive ink to life with the cast of characters. Parents can put a drop of milk onto the printed ads and if the milk is too hot, a warning message will appear. 

Bora Sejdini, Brand Activation Associate Manager at NUK commented, “For newborn parents, even the most basic things can sometimes become a source of stress. When parents are far from home, for example, warming up the feeding bottle at the right temperature can be challenging especially while baby is hungry. This is why NUK created Nuk First Choice +, a Temperature Control feeding bottle that warns parents when milk is too hot. Unfortunately, not all parents have this amazing bottle and yet, parents need to heat their milk when they’re on the go. Wunderman Thompson France has brought this technology to the world through their innovative solution that turns print ads into real-life product demos. We’re delighted to share this with parents no matter what brand they use as NUK takes care of all babies.”

Adrien Mancel, Creative Director at Wunderman Thompson France added, “After months of research, we’ve been able to apply NUK’s revolutionary Temperature Control Technology to paper and create a campaign that would allow NUK to live their purpose of protecting all babies. This technology is now available to parents on the go to help them protect their little monsters, muffins, sweethearts, and bears, from the risk of burns and give them peace of mind.”

The company added in the statement that a third-party marketers might have reached Twitter users based on contact details. They added that the issue was fixed as of September.

“As of September 17, we have addressed the issue that allowed this to occur and are no longer using phone numbers or email addresses collected for safety or security purposes for advertising,” said the statement.

The statement added “When an advertiser uploaded their marketing list, we may have matched people on Twitter to their list based on the email or phone number the Twitter account holder provided for safety and security purposes. This was an error and we apologize.”

In an interview with DW, GDI program director Fagan said that a cross-platform approach would be the sole sufficient way to combat disinformation and the advertisement revenue made through these websites. “It really needs to be driven by the industry right now to be able to fix the problem,” Fagan told DW. “It’s a whole-of-industry problem that needs a whole-of-industry solution.”

Google is experimenting with contextual ads at “much lower costs” when it comes to marketing its own products—even as it leads the way as one of the most vocal proponents of the power of personal data for targeting ads online.

Augmented Reality (AR) is propelling the e-commerce industry into the future with a model that makes advertising not only personalized but fun for the user. 

Augmented reality revenues are estimated to reach a staggering $14 billion in 2021, according to ARtillery Intelligence. This growth presents an exciting opportunity for marketers, as consumers are opting to buy online now more than ever before, based on comfort and convenience, AR removes one consumer concern or barrier – will the purchase live up to their expectations, be it the right lipstick to a sofa or car. Augmented reality (AR) technology has emerged and helped brands overcome this problem for consumers, allowing them to visualize and experience – as in some cases it’s about fit but it’s really about “what am I getting ?” 

Technology and publishers are driving increased opportunity. We’ve recently witnessed Facebook introducing AR ads, following the lead of Snapchat, meaning we have only scratched the surface of what this technology can accomplish. Coupled with the widespread rollout of 5G, and the accompanying promise of increased connection speeds, this represents an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of AR and offer consumer more sophisticated mobile AR experiences – Imagine watching a movie trailer unfold on the street as you walk by, then skipping the ticket line by choosing your seats through a virtual kiosk. By enhancing everyday activities, AR will be a driving force for commerce, sports and entertainment

As AR marketing grows in popularity, questions remain about best practices and what the future holds. 

1. What industries are best suited for AR ads?

All industries can engage consumers through AR advertising, however, retail has been the fastest adopter. The furniture, clothing and cosmetics industries have all already caught on to the potential of AR. 

• Zara has incorporated AR displays in more than 100 stores globally. The technology lets customers point smartphones at the stores’ mannequins and instantly buy any of the clothing items being modeled
• L’Oreal recently acquired AR startup ModiFace and has since developed a variety of virtual “try-on apps.” Through the different AR apps, consumers can see what they’d look like with various hairstyles, lipstick shades, and the use of other cosmetics.
• Online furniture retailer Wayfair developed a mobile app with an AR feature that allows customers to see virtual furniture and décor in their homes at full scale. The app ultimately helps customers determine whether a piece of furniture will fit within a space before buying it.
• E-commerce supergiant, Alibaba Group, recently announced Taobao Buy, an AR infused shopping experience that reimagines how you shop online with an interactive experience that looks and feels futuristic but is also easy to use. Alibaba’s new AR infused shopping app perfectly blends the real-world with 3D images for a result that looks like something straight out of big budget science fiction movie. Taobao Buy will let you browse and place 3D holograms of select products from their massive online store into your environment to see how they might look in a room. You can look at virtual dishware and see how it looks in front of you before making the final decision to purchase.
• This summer, Nike will roll out its latest augmented reality (AR) initiative, Nike Fit. While the feature is another move toward independence and away from wholesalers, it could also help to alleviate the biggest hassles of online shopping when it comes to clothes and accessories. The feature, powered through the shoemaker’s mobile app, will use a smartphone camera to take a detailed scan of a person’s feet. In less than a minute, Nike will be able to recommend ideal shoe fits and sizes for everyone. 

At Mindshare, we are already working closely with our partners, to create immersive consumers experiences, to yield that all-important ROI. In Tunisia for example we partnered with a local start up to address a challenge Tunisie Telecom was facing – loss of leadership position, impacting annual turnover. We developed the first mobile AR game, triggered by top up cards, featuring the iconic Ramadan persona, Boutbila. Throughout the campaign duration, it become the most downloaded game on the PlayStore (15,000 in 10 days), securing an excellent 4.1 rating. Most importantly, 10,000 active users doubled their data consumption. 

2. What might hinder AR marketing adoption?

AR software has become increasingly accessible for advertisers, allowing creative, meaningful experiences with a lower barrier to entry. 

AR advertising technology and content partners need to commit to creating a framework that reduces the technical burden for marketers and helps drive scale more broadly. Consumers are still in the discovery phase so educating them about AR technology and making available experiences is paramount, so for now, the focus need to be on content production and creation of experiences, to drive mass adoption.

3. How can brands measure AR ROI?

Brands can easily measure AR activations through number of clicks and time spent. However very soon we’ll start to see a bespoke set of engagement metrics emerge, that will shed light on the user experience. These could include object rotation and movement of the device around an object to show whether a user is interested in seeing the interior of the car versus the headlights in an automotive campaign.

Faris Sibai is Client Leadership at Mindshare MENA.

This article has been published in collaboration with Adage.com