Challenge
Historically, Arab women have not trusted washing powders on the delicate silks and fabrics of their Abayas - traditional dress wear for Muslim women. Persil Abaya found that many preferred to use hair shampoo instead, and so there was a clear consumer need for a specialised detergent that could take care of the delicate fabric.
To turn this insight into action Henkel Arabia created Persil Abaya Shampoo, a specialised liquid detergent specifically designed for washing Abayas. It needed to get people talking about the new product so it created ‘Arwa3 Abaya’ – an amateur design initiative across the Middle-East. This first-of-its-kind platform gave Arab women an opportunity to showcase and share their enthusiasm for Abaya fashion on national television. After two successful seasons, its competition retaliated by copying this strategy, therefore the brand had to redefine its position and differentiate itself from its ‘me-too’ competitors.
Insight
Persil Abaya’s idea was to use ‘Arwa3 Abaya’ to move the brand away from the Abaya mainstream to a trend-setting position. By studying the luxury fashion industry, it soon realised that no market personifies high-end consumption quite like the Middle-East. It was also apparent that Arab women had a strong affinity for particular luxury brands. This led to the formation of three key strategic partnerships with Swarovski, Armani and Hanayen (a high-end Abaya retailer).
It soon recognised that although ‘Arwa3 Abaya’ had tasted success for two seasons, the bulk of the content had revolved around amateur Abaya designers. For it to gain the desired premium relevance for itself, it needed to move away from amateur designers and approach professional talent to become the stars of the show.
Solution
Taking inspiration from Arab females’ love of reality TV, the brand changed the structure of the show to create more drama by incorporating reality-style conventions. Additionally it put together an impressive panel of judges and introduced designer challenges presented by influential celebrities from the region.
Contestants were taken out of the studio to visit Swarovski stores and Hanayen atelier’s for master classes from top designers. Armani were then introduced to become the focal point for the grand finale where the remaining two contestants went head-to-head in a fashion show challenge held at Armani’s exclusive Privee Hotel. The contestants, Ola and Moza, showcased their finished designs on a Swarovski decorated catwalk in front of a live audience. An engagement programme was developed using social media and other channels to create buzz around the show and give consumers a chance to interact with contestants.
Results
More than half of the Arab women who watched the show said their purchase consideration of Persil had increased as a result of watching.
‘Arwa3 Abaya’ delivered business results and positive outcomes across key metrics including value, engagement and brand perceptions.
Post ‘Arwa3 Abaya,’ sales of Persil Abaya Shampoo increased by 81% v 2010.