The Ford campaign aimed to redefine how SUVs should be promoted to Saudi and Emirati drivers by strategically leveraging TikTok and the creativity of local creators. By allowing creators to be themselves and incorporate the Ford Everest into their personal narratives, we tapped into the power of authenticity and user-generated content, resulting in a clear, measurable, positive impact on brand perception and awareness.

In the Middle East, cars are not only a mode of transportation for the local population but are also perceived as an extension of the drivers’ social status and character – embodying the philosophy of "You are what you drive." Unfortunately, in automotive communication, we often see outdated views of local Arab culture being promoted, with stories told in media and advertising limited to the portrayal of the perfect Emirati and Saudi family or leveraging bedouin culture themes and clichés. Emirati and Saudi people are beautiful in their diversity and deserve diverse stories about them.

While the rest of the world turned its back on the SUV car category due to current economic difficulties, the GCC market was growing. Ford aimed to secure a bigger share of the future by launching a brand-new SUV model, the Ford Everest, for the first time in the Saudi and UAE markets. The Everest was positioned as a premium model, offering best-in-class comfort in its category.

However, in a region where SUVs reigned supreme in the automotive industry, competition was fierce in a market driven by an unwavering affinity for legacy performance driven SUV models by local Saudi and Emirati drivers. To attract the next generation of Ford Everest drivers and carve out our place under the desert sun, we recognized the need to venture off-road and discover a new path to connect with our drivers in a new relevant and impactful way.

To create relevance for our new SUV among our Saudi and Emirati drivers, we needed to integrate our car into the community in an organic way, finding a meaningful role in their everyday lives.

In Saudi and Emirati societies, a car is more than just a mode of transportation it is also a space where individuals can be themselves in privacy and comfort, whether alone or closed ones. No external rules apply within the car, allowing for serious self-reflection, lighthearted moments with friends, or tender interactions with loved ones. It serves as a sanctuary from external pressures and societal expectations.

To capture these special 'in-between' car moments, we set out to create a content series called 'The Real Local Car Life,' depicting moments where drivers feel comfortable sharing in their truest, joyful, tender, and playful selves—all while enjoying the features of the new Ford Everest, their new everyday adventure companion.

If we were to capture the attention of our Emirati and Saudi drivers with the launch of our new Ford Everest, and promote its exceptional comfort features, we needed to surprise them where we would get their full undivided attention because it holds a special place in their hearts and phones: TikTok.

On TikTok, Emirati and Saudi creators made it their mission to give the world a glimpse into their personal lives – the real ones, not the clichéd Bling lifestyle. They leveraged the platform to create content and share their pride for their culture, the humor of their daily lives, proving that they are multi-dimensional people. On TikTok, these moments are usually captured in their bedrooms, closets, or in their cars – spaces where they feel comfortable and safe to be themselves. So, we set out to position the Ford Everest on TikTok as their new story partner.

First, we embarked on a mission to discover the best local creators on TikTok who wholeheartedly embraced the multi-dimensional aspects of their lives and cultures. We collaborated with local Emirati and Saudi creators who possessed incredible talents, those on a mission to defy Arab clichés, individuals who portrayed and celebrated different family and friendship dynamics not commonly seen in traditional communication, such as celebrating a tender Saudi brother/sister relationship.

Once we identified our creators, we followed the TikTok creative strategy of "let creators be creators," we provided the Ford Everest as a canvas for them to experience the comfort of our car, explore its unique features, and craft their own personal stories in and with the car. After capturing these authentic local car life stories and slices of life, we collaborated with our media partner to target the right audiences on TikTok in both the Saudi and UAE markets.

Our campaign had an impressive impact on both key markets, accumulating a total of 54.1M video views on TikTok across KSA and UAE, reaching 9M TikTok users in KSA and 3.5M users in the UAE.

TikTok users didn’t just scroll through our videos; they carefully watched them, achieving an impressive VTR of 38% in the UAE and 46% in KSA. This attentive viewership resulted in a remarkable uplift, with a +5.9% increase in brand awareness in KSA (12.5x stronger vs KSA Internal Benchmark) and a +3.8% uplift in Ad Recall in the UAE.

The unique stories of our creators resonated with the platform's community, garnering 103K likes. Our campaign transformed the perception of the Ford brand and the Everest model, achieving a +2.8% uplift in attitudes in KSA. The campaign surpassed our expectations, exceeding targets for consideration and generating an impressive 154k clicks to the website across UAE and KSA.