FACES, a leading beauty omni-channel retailer that offers fragrances and grooming products, has partnered with footballer Saud Abdulhamid for a powerful and inspirational Saudi National Day campaign that intends to take beauty beyond the surface by highlighting the ‘Beauty-ful Game’ of football, where beauty rituals meet performance rituals.
The campaign was brought to life by the in-house creative, design, brand, marketing, CRM and e-commerce teams at FACES, in partnership with XO Productions, SMC, and media, digital and PR support from Havas Middle East.
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The hero video and photography highlighted Saud Abdulhamid’s pre- and post-game rituals with featured products such as Prada Paradigme, YSL Myslf, Boss Bottled Beyond, Ralph’s Club, and Ghawali Kin Musk.
Executed as a digital-first activation, and supported by in-store visibility, the campaign was rolled out across:
- Digital and social media: A hero film with Saud Abdulhamid, editorial-style content, and short-form videos across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
- CRM and e-commerce: Personalised emailers, push notifications and a dedicated editorial landing page featuring Saud’s rituals and curated product picks.
- In-store through visual merchandising: Branded visual merchandising takeovers, point-of-sale (POS) screens and product placements designed to immerse customers in the campaign narrative.
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Short-form edits of the hero video were produced for TikTok and Instagram, while in-store visual merchandising carried similar creative language.
FACES picked this omnichannel strategy, which delivered visibility and conversion, based on insights about where its customers are most engaged for Saudi National Day conversations.
Digital and social media rollout enabled immediacy and shareability during a period of celebrations in Saudi Arabia; CRM permitted for more in-depth personalised storytelling that connected Saudi residents’ beauty rituals product recommendations; and in-store visual merchandising created a tangible extension of the concept, leading consumers from inspiration to purchase.
Objectives, strategy and measurement of the Saudi National Day FACES campaign
FACES set out to celebrate Saudi National Day in a way that felt culturally authentic and true to what the nation is going through.
The brand intended to highlight the incredible transformation within Saudi Arabia, especially in line with Vision 2030, while also highlighting that beauty goes beyond surface level appearances. The campaign shows beauty as a source of strength, discipline and confidence.
Collaborating with footballer Saud Abdulhamid, the brand intended to spotlight an individual who has inspired others to shape the Kingdom’s future and represent of the bold spirit of modern Saudi Arabia.
As such, the brand’s mandate for the campaign was to strengthen FACES’ cultural relevance while driving engagement across both digital and in-store channels.
The campaign was primarily targeted towards male Gen Z and millennial Saudi nationals, who are highly engaged with football as well as lifestyle content.
The secondary audience was both male and female beauty shoppers across the Kingdom, who are seeking inspiration during the Saudi National Day period.
The campaign, which is exclusive to Saudi Arabia and designed specifically for National Day, will run for a month around Saudi National Day, with content extended online for several weeks to sustain digital traction.
The campaign’s success is being measured across awareness, engagement, and conversion:
- Awareness: Social reach, impressions, and media coverage.
- Engagement: Interactions on content, landing page traffic and CRM performance.
- Conversion: Increase in sales for featured products such as fragrance and grooming, and uplift in footfall and e-commerce traffic during the campaign window.
Most importantly, the campaign intended to reinforce the role of FACES as a brand that celebrates Saudi culture and beauty rituals in a way that is modern, proud and relevant.
