Globespotting – September
PR Campaigns & Stunts
LIGHTS OUT
What?
The tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, stood in solidarity with Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to empower women, globally, by switching off half of its lights
Who and When?
Emaar’s Burj Khalifa turned half of its lights off to symbolise the power lost when the world excludes women and girls, as part of the HeForShe global initiative on 26th September
Where?
The story caught the attention of the whole city (and wider region) and appeared in local newspapers and top publications such as Khaleej Times, The National, Time Out Dubai and What’s On Dubai
Why?
The contrast is a visual metaphor for what would happen if women and their contributions were excluded from society – which made for a visually impactful stunt
HIGH FLYING CELEBRATION
What?
Emirates celebrates Saudi National Day with a special one-off A380 flight to Riyadh
Who and When?
On September 23rd Emirates operated a special one-off A380 service to Riyadh in celebration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 88th National Day. Upon landing at 1550hrs at King Khalid International Airport, the aircraft was met with a ceremonial water cannon salute
Where?
The story took the media by storm, appearing in major newspapers and on news websites including Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Trade Arabia and Al Bawaba
Why?
In celebration of Saudi Arabia’s 88th National day, the special trip paid tribute to the strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and UAE and secured column inches as a result
DEAD-COOL STUNT
What?
Amid the release of the Deadpool 2 in UAE, The Dubai Mall created a show-stopping PR stunt within an iconic waterfall
Who and When?
Rather than the regular silver shimmer divers, one of the statues wore the Marvel superhero Deadpool’s costume to celebrate the release of the movie sequel
Where?
The stunt got picked up by Time Out Dubai, Esquire Middle East, Lovin Dubai, The National and What’s on Dubai. Ryan Reynolds reposted the image on his Instagram causing it to go viral with an impressive 1.2 million impressions
Why?
A simple yet massively effective stunt that got the whole city talking
Trends
ISLAMIC NEW YEAR
Islamic New Year was celebrated on September 10th which marked the year 1440 in the Islamic calendar. This was celebrated across the UAE with a 3 day holiday!
It’s a time for celebration which saw the Burj Khalifa light up, and beautiful firework displays at Dubai Festival City and the Dubai Marina.
Happy New Year, everyone!
OKTOBERFEST
Oktoberfest may have originated in Germany but that has not stopped Dubai from getting in on the action.
Places such as Atlantis, The Palm, Emirates Golf Club, Dubai Sports City and Soho Garden all pulled out the stops in joining this Bavarian Bonanza with steins of ice cold beer – kicking off celebrations ahead of time in September.
Cheers!
ALOFT STAR UAE
Aloft Star UAE took over UAE this month.
This singing competition will see the winner take a trip to Abbey Road Studios to record and release their debut single.
Last year’s winner is now the resident performer at Soho Garden and has shared his experience with Gulf News and Khaleej Times.
Get voting for your favourite before it’s too late!
#PRFAIL
SCOFF A LOAD OF THIS
What?
US Brewer, Scofflaw (and its PR agency) broke the PR ‘law’ by issuing an unapproved and controversial press release putting UK craft beer company, BrewDog in the firing line
Who and When?
The Scofflaw rogue release set lofty and bizarre goals for its BrewDog tour, such as getting the UK ‘beered up redneck style’ and promising Trump supporters free beer at BrewDog bars – an initiative BrewDog claims it had no idea about, insisting it was ‘fake news’
Where?
The release and a bizarre follow up apology/ recall email by the same PR agency was published, verbatim, by top food critic, Jay Rayner before being scoffed by the national and industry press. Consumers and social media observers were quick to share their opinions, too…
Why?
The timing of this mishap was particularly poor after, earlier this month, BrewDog pledged to avoid politically linked marketing stunts with a view to focusing its messaging purely on beer…
Want more information? Contact us here