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DUBAI: TikTok emerged as the world’s favorite social media platform of 2021, overtaking Google as the most popular destination on the internet. The app was downloaded 3 billion times, and was the most downloaded non-game app in the first six months of 2021, hitting 383 million installations from January to June 2021 alone, according to SEO consultancy Backlinko.
Brands have been integral to the growth of TikTok, with more and more advertisers embracing the short and entertaining formats that it offers. “This year, we were inspired and humbled to see trends and culture come to life through the TikTok community, and businesses no doubt played a huge role in this,” said Shant Oknayan, TikTok’s head of global business solutions for Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
At its first global virtual event, TikTok World, the company revealed key data points reflecting consumer attitudes on the platform.
For example, 46 percent watch TikTok without distractions, making it the most conducive environment for advertisers to reach existing and new customers. Advertising on the app is well received and effective, with 70 percent saying TikTok ads are enjoyable and 92 percent taking action after watching a video.
The data also revealed what audiences are looking for from brands, with 44 percent saying they want branded content to be fun. As the year ends, TikTok is celebrating the brands that used the platform most effectively and authentically to reach new audiences, start or tap into trends, and create commerce opportunities through TikTok.
Small businesses have taken to social media as a cost-effective way of connecting with audiences. One such example is Dubai-based Japanese cheesecake company Uncle Fluffy, which amassed an impressive following as soon as it debuted on TikTok. The brand currently has over 2 million followers on the platform.
In order for brands to succeed on TikTok, they have to embrace its nuances such as the latest challenges and formats like Duet and Branded Effects, which help them co-create with audiences through interactive experiences. Starbucks, for example, created a Ramadan campaign where users were asked to show how much they miss their cup of coffee during the fasting hours through lip-syncing.
Nike engaged with audiences by asking people to flaunt their favorite Air Max with a unique Nike Air Max HTC soundtrack and transition. The video garnered a massive 3.9 billion views.
The popularity of TikTok has made brands think like creators, and it is paying off. For example, Kraft created “Kraft Remixes,” which are recipes modeled around familiar tracks and rhythms. The lyrics are essentially a detailed recipe but one that can be easily sung.
Capitalizing on the trend of creators showing off their shopping hauls and outfits, Max asked its fans on White Wednesday to share the different outfits they had curated from their purchases.
Live streams are the most authentic way to connect with audiences, and retail giant Alshaya used this format to create its first-ever online shopping event #ShopTillYouTok. The campaign ran for eight days; each day, a different brand from the group ran a live stream on the brand’s TikTok channel, with the best deals for Black Friday and other content that drove audiences to shop.
“Brands across the MENA region brought us joy and encouraged us to get creative. They reminded us of the importance of being authentic when connecting with the community and were able to engage with a wide global audience. 2021 was the year that TikTok became a launchpad for must-have brands and products that the community loves,” added Oknayan.
DUBAI: Twitter has had an interesting year, starting with the platform banning former US President Donald Trump and ending with CEO Jack Dorsey stepping down from his role, handing over the reins to chief technology officer Parag Agrawal.
According to the company’s latest earnings call, total revenue was $1.28 billion in the third quarter of the year, up 37 percent year over year, and advertising revenue reached $1.14 billion, an increase of 41 percent year over year.
Earlier this year, a Twitter survey revealed that audiences on the platform are highly receptive to brands and that a 10 percent increase in conversation can increase brand sales revenue by up to 3 percent. Moreover, 91 percent of respondents said that they are looking for new brand launches on the platform. The data also showed that Twitter users are 35 percent more likely than non-users to be affluent consumers.
Launching a product, service, or campaign also yields impressive results for brands, with data showing that launching on Twitter leads to an average 83 percent lift in ad recall, an 18 percent lift in brand awareness and a 15 percent lift in message association.
“2021 was a year of opportunity, from reopening of borders to easing of restrictions and regulations, yet it was not without its unique challenges, including cutting through the clutter to elevate, entertain and connect,” said Carla El Maalouli, Head of Business Marketing MENA.
“They (brands) have been busy launching award-winning, perception-shifting, innovative campaigns throughout the year, but as we reflect, the question remains, who are the brands that grabbed people’s attention this year?”
The Best Launch with Impact Campaign: @LexusKSA
For the global launch of the 2021 Lexus IS, Lexus KSA used Twitter to connect with Saudi audiences. The brand used Twitter products such as notifications, live event and trend takeover+, building anticipation for the launch of the new Lexus IS in a phased approach.
In the first phase, the brand created awareness about the launch event with instructions on how to join the event through the live stream. Viewership of the event peaked at 500,000 in the first few hours. Featuring electronic duo Dish Dash, the launch event helped Lexus KSA engage with a wider audience.
Following the event, the brand served people information about it and what they may have missed. Once the brand had created awareness, the next step was to turn it to action through website cards that guided prospective customers to the Lexus IS landing page.
The live event had more than 60,000 total live viewers, and brand awareness among engaged audiences rose by 15 percent, brand awareness via video users increased by 11 percent, and brand favorability grew by 19 percent.
The Best Connections through Space Campaign: @stc_KSA
This year, the launch of Twitter Spaces, a feature based on live audio conversations on Twitter, coincided with Ramadan, creating an opportunity for Saudi telco STC.
STC partnered with Rotana Music, introducing the second season of its show “Sawalef Ramadaniya” through Twitter Spaces. The campaign adopted a dual approach, with STC using Twitter Amplify to present different ways of accessing Rotana Music’s content and providing post-broadcast highlights to audiences.
To create excitement around the Twitter Spaces sessions, STC included a pre-roll video campaign consisting of teaser content that previewed episodes in the 24-hour run-up to showtime. The brand then used Twitter’s brand notifications feature to remind fans to tune in ahead of the broadcast, with each subscriber receiving a notification before the Space went live.
After the show had ended, STC followed up by promoting video highlights on Twitter. The campaign generated more than 78.5 million impressions and more than 8.1 million video views.
The Best Change for Good Campaign: @MastercardMEA
In June 2021, Twitter became the first social media platform to offer the language setting Arabic (Feminine), which better supports the feminine form of the Arabic language. Mastercard used this launch to tell its own inclusion story through a two-phased campaign.
In phase one Mastercard announced its pledge to support the #FeminineArabic initiative with an animated video ad. To reach the widest possible audience, the brand launched a trend takeover in the UAE, which allowed it to take the top spot on Twitter’s Explore tab for 24 hours.
In the second phase Mastercard engaged its audiences, asking them to share stories of how the women in their lives have positively influenced them. Some of the tweets generated conversation around the language itself, with users sharing their favorite Arabic words in the feminine form.
The campaign launch coincided with Mastercard’s Global Community Day to champion the narrative and saw a total of 19.8 million impressions, more than 6.7 million video views, and more than 300,000 engagements across both the UAE and KSA.
The Best Creative Canvas Campaign: @Expo2020Dubai
After a year of delay, Expo 2020 Dubai wanted to excite and engage people ahead of its official opening to give them a glimpse of what to expect on the ground.
The brand worked with Twitter’s creative technologists to create a custom emoji engine that would add a level of personalization. Whenever someone tweeted a country flag emoji alongside the official Expo hashtag (#Expo2020), they would receive a notification that included a video featuring facts about that country’s pavilion and its architecture.
The Best Conversation Starter Campaign: @GMCArabia
For the launch of the new Yukon, GMC wanted to steer the conversation towards the idea of legacy. To connect with Saudi Arabian poetry lovers on Twitter, it partnered with broadcast network Rotana launching the Legacy of Verse poetry competition via a series of video ads.
GMC then challenged Saudi audiences to pen an original poem inspired by the Yukon campaign, which called on audiences to get involved with call-to-action buttons and video ads, amplifying engagement across the platform.
The campaign drove more than 7.5 million video views and achieved more than 226,000 engagements. Moreover, the brand achieved its largest follower growth in a single month.
CAIRO: World renowned Egyptian pop star Amr Diab has been caught in the midst of online fury after audiences accused him of enabling ‘sexual harassment of women’ in his new advertisement with car manufacturer Citroen.
Social media users expressed that the advert promoted “sexism, sexual harassment, violence and objectification of women” after it was aired.
This is a really creepy ad from Citroën. I have many questions for Amr Diab https://t.co/VyMseYTV9g
Terrible. Citroen Egypt runs creepy ad starring pop star Amr Diab. @Citroen global marketing must have been sleeping at the wheel. #wtf pic.twitter.com/e5U9zD8JBr
In the commercial for the French car company, Citroen, the pop star is seen tapping his vehicle’s screen to take a photo of a woman crossing the street in order to showcase an advanced feature in the car.
The new option allowed Diab to snap the picture and send it to his mobile phone.
Harassing women the Amr Diab way https://t.co/e2foEtUqxV
The rest of the scenes in the commercial show Diab taking the woman out on dates.
The ad, which was launched last month, has allegedly been removed from YouTube, and reports suggest that neither Diab could be reached to comment on the situation.
Citroen’s Egypt office issued a statement apologizing for the ad, saying that the company “deeply regrets and understands the negative interpretation.”
The car manufacturing company also withdrew the commercial from all channels.
DUBAI: In September, 14 former BBC journalists were stranded in Kabul, Afghanistan, reported The Guardian newspaper.
The journalists accused the BBC and the UK embassy in Kabul of rejecting their calls for assistance. They said they were living in hiding in fear for their lives.
One of the 14 journalists escaped from Afghanistan but has been stuck at a refugee camp in the UAE since October. The journalist and his family are looked after well, with the family thanking the UAE for providing a safe haven, but they can’t go further than 100 meters from the building they’re staying in. Moreover, the UAE will not accept asylum applications.
“My hope is that the UK government will fulfill their commitment towards me and my family. But right now it seems no one is paying attention to my case. Since arriving in the UAE two months ago there has been zero progress,” the journalist said in an interview with The Guardian.
He had hoped the UK would grant him a visa but his hopes have waned over time. “My life is at risk because I have worked for the BBC. The UK government knows this but they have done nothing to help me,” he said.
Unfortunately, he isn’t alone. His struggle reflects the plight of many Afghan immigrants who can neither return home nor travel to any place willing to grant them refugee status.
The UK government announced that the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) would start in January 2022 supporting up to 20,000 Afghans, in addition to the existing Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
The escaped journalist, however, has to wait until next year to apply for ACRS, and even when the program opens, it will only accept referrals for resettlements from NGOs. He also does not qualify for ARAP.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, which is representing the journalist and others in the same situation, said that time is running out.
“Three months ago, our government promised a ‘warm welcome’ to Afghan refugees but increasingly it seems that there’s precious little welcome to be found,” said interim chief Minnie Rahman.
The National Union of Journalists has also been lobbying the UK government to help secure visas for all Afghan former BBC staff. “While progress on the resettlement process happens at a snail’s pace, journalists affected are living in fear and being forced into hiding. We need urgent and robust measures put in place to secure safe passage to the UK for all those Afghans at such high risk,” said Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the NUJ.
While the BBC extended its “sympathy with former staff,” it said it was regretful that it wasn’t in a “position to extend our direct support to them.”
The UK Home Office said that it wouldn’t discuss individual cases: “We continue to work at pace to open the scheme (ACRS) amid a complex and changing picture, working across government and with partners such as UNHCR to design the scheme.”
JEDDAH: FAYVO, a new social media app, has partnered with MBC Group in an effort to enhance its engagement with media. The collaboration will help FAYVO drive business growth by enhancing its service offering and expanding its user base.
The social media app aims to redefine how digital and social media connections are made, by allowing users to save and access their favorite items from books and music to restaurants and products in one place.
Entrepreneur and investor Fahad bin Mansour came up with the idea for the app in 2015, hoping to provide a convenient way to share favorite moments and experiences, and exchange recommendations with family and friends around the world.
Development work on the app was completed two years later.
“We are pleased to partner with MBC Group in line with FAYVO’s strategy to build and enhance strategic relationships with our stakeholders,” said bin Mansour, founder and CEO of FAYVO.
“This collaboration comes as a significant addition to our wide-ranging efforts to further increase the breadth and scope of our services, and grow and expand our user base in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the wider region and globally,” he added.
Fadel Zahreddine, group director of emerging media at MBC Group, said that the agreement is in line with the group’s belief that “innovation and entrepreneurship are key to addressing new consumer needs, and therefore, we have an ongoing commitment to encouraging new ideas and digital platforms.”
The partnership also “furthers our contribution to driving the development of a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and the region” and is “part of MBC Group’s ongoing efforts to support local startups and emerging companies,” he added.
FAYVO offers integration with platforms, such as IMDB, Anghami, Google Maps and Amazon.
“Integration with other service providers to make it easy for users to discover and share their favorites across a wide range of media and experiences is a key part of our strategy, and we are looking forward to announcing new partnerships in this segment,” said bin Mansour.
FAYVO is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
DUBAI: Majarra and MIT Technology Review Arabia have announced the winners of the 4th Innovators Under 35 Awards. The awards honor young Arab innovators from around the world, showcasing their efforts in creating innovative solutions.
MIT Technology Review Arabia, along with 21 distinguished judges from various sectors including technology, AI, biology, medical, and cybersecurity, selected 15 winners in 2021.
“This is my third year as a judge and I’m impressed with the progress over the years. The candidates are simply outstanding. Their work is of high quality and relevant to the challenges of tomorrow,” said Bashar Kilani, managing director of Accenture.
The list includes two women from Saudi Arabia: Dana Al-Sulaiman, assistant professor of Material Science and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), for developing a functional hydrogel-coated microneedle platform for the sampling of cancer-specific biomarkers from interstitial fluid, and Nouf Al-Jabri, PhD in Chemical Engineering at KAUST, for developing a process to convert plastics into clean fuels and renewable chemicals.
“I hope my invention can transform the way cancer is diagnosed and monitored, and potentially lead to more personalized therapies,” Al-Sulaiman told Arab News.
“I’m honored and humbled to have received this prestigious award — my hope is that this recognition encourages more girls and young women all over the world to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.”
Looking to address the importance of sustainability, Al-Jabri’s research focuses on customizing nanotechnology in designing disruptive materials called nanoalloys.
“These alloys are capable of converting the zero-value plastic waste into valuable fuel and renewable chemicals using a very sustainable and environmentally friendly approach. Contrary to current methods, the nanoalloy platforms convert the plastic waste into clean fuel at full conversion and high selectivity without generation emissions,” she told Arab News.
The other winners are:
Ali Al-Hammadi, assistant professor at Khalifa University, with a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, for his innovative geospatial insights for smart cities.
Mohamed Abdelaziz, postdoctoral research associate at the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London, for his work on a versatile, MR-safe robotic platform to assist physicians in treating patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Atheer Awad, research fellow at the University College London School of Pharmacy, who received her PhD in Pharmaceutics and Drug Design, for her invention of 3D printers for personalized medications.
Jamal Shaktour, CEO at ResQ2, for his work in developing an electric backpack with two masks to filter out toxic chemicals from the air in battleground conditions.
Ghada Dushaq, postdoctoral researcher at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus, with a PhD in Microsystem Engineering from Masdar Institute for Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, for her novel application of germanium to improve the speed and efficiency of computer chips and processors.
Eslam Katab, a PhD student completing his studies at the Technical University of Munich, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, for his research into using c-Rel proteins (a type of protein that can be targeted for treating cancer) to diagnose and possibly treat lymphoma and pancreatic cancers.
Ahmed ElGamal, founder and CEO of LinkBox, with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the American University of Cairo, for his software allowing users of the same PDF or e-book to simultaneously connect for real-time annotation, collaboration, and chat.
Nader Shafi, research associate at the American University of Beirut, who received his master’s in electrical and computer engineering from AUB, for his invention SkanMD, a handheld scanner for skin anomalies and diseases.
Ibrahim Abdelwahab, Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, after receiving a joint PhD and diploma in physics and chemistry from both Imperial College London and the National University of Singapore, for developing nano-scale intelligent materials for ultrafast photonic applications.
Salim Al-Kaabi, founder and CEO of Lubanium, with a bachelor’s in process operation and maintenance from Caledonian University, Scotland. The company provides eco-friendly and sustainable products and painting protectants for artists.
Mohamed Shehata, PhD candidate at the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Louisville, who has programmed a non-invasive software system for early and precise identification of renal allograft dysfunction.
Yasmin Al- Halawani, postdoctoral fellow at the System-on-Chip Center of Khalifa University, who received her PhD in electrical and electronics engineering from the same university. Her innovation involves efficient data compression via novel brain-inspired hardware platforms.
Mia Dibe, product implementation specialist at 3D Repo and UCL, who received her master’s in smart cities and urban analytics with merit from the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at UCL. She has created an AI-enabled detector of floor construction using onsite imagery to compare the actual construction to the intended plans.
