Living in a richly diverse city is exciting. No one food, humour, language, fashion, religion, or music, fits all. And no one insight either – the key to brands communicating successfully. Yet we all love those brands that get us and get under our skin. That usually happens when their emotional driver makes us like, download, watch, buy or react in some way. But connecting with multi-cultural societies has always been a dilemma for brands. How do you engage with everyone when they’re all so different with all different tastes?
One way is music. Music transcends all language and cultural barriers. You don’t need to know a song’s meaning, lyrics to like it. When I lived in Milan, I often found myself singing along to certain Italian songs not knowing (or caring to know) the meaning of the lyrics. Music is contagious and we can’t get enough of it. It’s no wonder that nearly two-thirds (65%) of TikTok users prefer branded content that carries an original sound. Likewise, the growing rise of the ever-changing playlists designed just for you are on the rise. Simply put, there’s nothing better than music to trigger emotions, paint pictures of a brand, motivate people to do things, and most importantly, to connect with people.
This was our thinking when we created our campaign this year, ‘Entertainer Every Day’ – the app that offers a ‘buy one, get one free’ on everything from water parks to chicken wings. Looking for a catchy sound that ‘spoke’ to everyone, we contacted Dubai’s local rappers, “Ahmedoo and SG.” SG raps in a mixture of Arabic and English, a blend that has become a hallmark of the hip-hop scene in the United Arab Emirates. Both artists go as a duo under the name Levelz.
We also turned to Yafei production, a company that specializes in local talent, music, and comedians. Working with passionate music gurus, Ahmed Yafei, Firas Alzubaidi and Abdulqader (an award-winning Emirati director and cinematographer.
Digital music services like Anghami have changed and shaped the music business, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Streaming music has become part of everyday life for 73 million users who have access to over 57 million Arabic and international songs*. Moreover, globally it’s reported that Spotify generated €7.85 billion in revenue in 2020, a 16% increase year on year.* Music and the opportunities for brands to harness its power will only get bigger and better.
After an exhausting but energetic production, we created our first original rap song. It’s all about the local insight that people here (of all cultures) aren’t so much driven to save money or find good deals, but more interested in getting value, getting more for their money. They like to treat a friend and get the bill. And after the last year and a half, there’s never been a better time than now to live it up. So of course, why not double it up!
This is our first commercial hip-hop drops that hopefully has the potential of reaching thousands of potential Entertainer members. The success of this track can be boiled down to the acceptance of hip-hop in the mainstream, and with the UAE’s and KSA’s rap scene, we’re just getting started.
Like my Italian, my Arabic hasn’t improved much after our rap song. But it doesn’t matter that I don’t understand all the words…I just love the catchy sound and rhythm. A sound that we all love and feel connected to. And hopefully, that’s how people will connect with the Entertainer and best of all, benefit from the Entertainer offer.
References:
* https://www.businessofapps.com/data/spotify-statistics/
*https://www.anghami.com/about
