SINGAPORE – Lux, one of Unilever’s largest Beauty & Personal Care brands has announced a new campaign that puts Saudi Arabian women #IntoTheSpotlight in celebration of International Women’s Day.
The genesis of Lux’s #IntoTheSpotlight campaign is based on the insight that whilst there has been a societal shift in Saudi Arabia in recent years, many women are still hesitant about embracing this newfound freedom due to the lack of female role models in the workforce. As of 2018, only 16% of the Saudi Arabian workforce was female. In comparison, the global average is close to 40%.
“With the knowledge that many professions in Saudi Arabia continue to be male-dominated despite there being qualified women who have successfully entered these male-dominated fields, we believe that now, more than ever, is the time for women to dare to step “IntoTheSpotlight”.” said Anne Radmacher, Global Brand VP, Lux – Unilever.
The idea behind the campaign was conceived when Lux discovered that, when searching for most professions in Saudi Arabia on Google, professional men are consistently the top results on Google despite there being qualified women who have successfully entered these male-dominated fields. Hence on International Women’s Day, Lux wanted to put female professionals #IntoTheSpotlight by highlighting them using Google Search.
The Campaign: #IntoTheSpotlight
Lux launched the #IntoTheSpotlight campaign in partnership with content platform Miraa (Vice) and J. Walter Thompson Singapore on International Women’s Day. The campaign features a Google Search Words activation that makes accomplished Saudi Arabian women the top search result on Google when people search for services in male-dominated industries, literally putting them #IntoTheSpotlight.
For example, when a user searches for “Photographers” in Saudi Arabia, the first Google Search result displayed is a link to Lux’s #IntoTheSpotlight campaign landing page hosted on https://miraa.me/وجوه/ (Vice).The campaign landing page showcases accomplished women from different lines of work, highlighting their talents and achievements to inspire women in Saudi Arabia to look up to these female role models. As part of the campaign, Lux has also launched a series of videos showcasing inspiring stories and interviews with these women who have successfully established themselves in predominantly male-dominated industries. The first four videos in the series feature Fashion Photographer, Huda Beydoun, Personal Trainer, Najia Alfadl, Dentist, Nouf Sufyani and Creative, Sarah Taibah.
The first Google search result for “Best Photographers” in Saudi Arabia is a link to Lux’s #IntoTheSpotlight campaign landing page
“We are excited to partner with Lux to do something tangible – disrupting the norm by putting women on top, and highlighting their achievements. It is a simple execution that raises the question of, ‘Why don’t we see many women in professional contexts?’, and follows it up with ‘Women can do it too,’, and this is only the first step to making a real difference in the societal landscape in Saudi Araba.” said Hinoti Joshi, Business Director (Global Lux) – J. Walter Thompson Singapore. “The aim was to bump women up the Search results in order to showcase inspiring stories of women who have entered male-dominated fields. By doing so, we hope that this will not only inspire other women to defy judgements, and enter these professions, but to also help to raise awareness amongst men.” said .
The campaign is part of Lux’s overall global strategy to launch its new brand purpose – Inspiring women to defy judgements and to dare to express their femininity unapologetically – in Saudi Arabia.
The Campaign Results
Since the launch on March 8, the campaign has successfully propelled Saudi Arabian female professionals #IntoTheSpotlight, achieving close to 150,000 impressions from Saudi Arabians via Google Search. To build on the success of the campaign, Lux will continue to spotlight more female professionals who have successfully entered male-dominated fields.
