Situation: The Middle East, with its rich storytelling tradition, had yet to see a true crime show that resonated with its unique cultural and social landscape. Asharq Discovery identified this gap and aimed to launch "Dark Minds," a pioneering true crime series focused on stories from the region.

Brief: Create a captivating launch campaign for "Dark Minds" that breaks through the clutter of traditional media, engages the audience in an unprecedented manner, and generates buzz about the show across the Middle East.

Objectives:

Generate widespread anticipation and curiosity for "Dark Minds" ahead of its premiere.

Engage audiences directly in a novel and interactive way, leveraging outdoor media to create a buzzworthy talking point.

Establish "Dark Minds" as a must-watch series on Asharq Discovery, setting the stage for a successful debut season by targeting a significant viewership spike and social media engagement around the campaign reveal.

Our creative idea was to immerse the Middle East in a real-life mystery that mirrored the essence of "Dark Minds." We orchestrated a region-wide outdoor campaign where billboards from various brands appeared vandalized overnight, with letters mysteriously cut out. This act of 'vandalism' sparked widespread curiosity and media attention, as the public and influencers speculated on the perpetrator. The climax of this narrative was the unveiling of a giant ransom note composed of the missing letters, revealing the message "Dark Minds, coming to Asharq Discovery." This innovative approach not only blurred the lines between fiction and reality but also engaged the audience in a tangible mystery, embodying the intrigue and suspense of true crime. A bold, interactive campaign that transformed public spaces into a canvas for storytelling, directly connecting with the audience's love for puzzles and narratives, and setting a new benchmark for launching television content in the region.

We aimed to raise awareness for the launch of Dark Minds, the first true crime show produced in the region. We divided the campaign into two phases. In the first phase, we partnered with other brands to vandalize their billboards and create a buzz around the missing letters. This was done to tease our audience with something they love to follow: crimes. And also to get free media coverage for our campaign. Once the buzz peaked, we started revealing an outdoor advertisement made up of the missing pieces from the other brands’ billboards.

Our campaign resonated with a wide audience of approximately 495 million individuals globally, resulting in an estimated earned media value of around $673,000. Besides generating buzz for the Dark Minds show, the campaign also served to highlight other upcoming programs on the channel, firmly establishing Asharq Discovery in the minds of our target audience.

We aimed to raise awareness for the launch of Dark Minds, which is the first true crime show produced in the region. We divided the campaign into two phases. In the first phase, we partnered with other brands to vandalize their billboards by cutting letters mimicking the work of a real criminal, by doing this we managed to create a buzz around the missing letters. This was done to tease our audience with something they love to follow: mysteries. And also to get free media coverage for our campaign. Once the buzz peaked, we started our second phase, which involved revealing an outdoor advertisement made up of the missing pieces from the other brands’ billboards.

Through our timely strategy, the campaign became the most talked about launch of a regionally produced show in recent history. Our results spanned over a couple of weeks, first we generated a lot of media buzz by cutting up billboards. Mainstream TV channels, influencers and the general public made it the topic of the moment, so by the time we released our reveal, our campaign became global news, making it to CNN amongst many other news outlets. The campaign generated impact on around 495 million people worldwide, with an estimated earned media value of around $673,000. The campaign not only created buzz around the Dark Minds show, but also brought attention to other upcoming programs on the channel, putting Asharq Discovery on the minds of our target audience.