BOU KHALIL: Case study

Credits & Description:

Client: Bou Khalil Supermarket
Product: Corporate
Agency: J. Walter Thompson Beirut, Lebanon
Entrant: J. Walter Thompson Beirut, Lebanon
Product/Service: Corporate
Idea Creation: J. Walter Thompson Beirut, Lebanon
Regional Executive Creative Director: Nicolas Geahchan (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Creative Director: Paola Mounla (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Art Director: Elie Nasr (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Arabic Copywriter: Jennifer Sarkis (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Copywriter: Maher Dahdouh (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Managing Director: Tarek Haddad (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Group Account Director: Billy Baz (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Account Manager: Lea Halwani (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Account Executive: Gregory Muyesseroglu (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Head Of Print Production: Toni Kilzi (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Social Media Manager: Mohamad Awkal (J. Walter Thompson Beirut)
Commercial Manager: Ralph Boukhalil (Bou Khalil Supermarket)
Social Media URL: https://www.instagram.com/ther...
Synopsis:
The Campaign:
To tilt the balance, we went where few brands have gone before.
We created our own counter brand and influencer.
Meet Em Khalil, meaning ‘mother of Khalil’, the voice that tackles gender-associated laws and societal stereotypes. Also known as the Yin to Bou Khalil's Yang.
Execution:
With the lack of influencers who champion gender equality, we decided that instead of solely relying on them to spread our message, we would create our very own influencer, Em Khalil.
Online, we launched Em Khalil's Instagram account and ensured that it received the proper attention and following from influencers and bloggers.
On ground, we high-jacked Bou Khalil Supermarket's flagship store signage and gave it to Em Khalil for a day, inviting bloggers and influencers to witness and then spread the news.
And all the PR efforts led to Lebanon's top business publication, Executive Magazine, to invite Em Khalil to headline her own monthly column.
Em Khalil's Instagram posts started getting attention from both male and female influencers on the platform. They quickly started sharing, liking and commenting on them.
In less than 1 month, Em Khalil had more followers on Instagram than the number one NGO for women's rights in Lebanon. And Em Khalil is followed equally by men and women.
After the guerrilla high-jacking of the signage on Women's Equality Day, bloggers and media picked up on the story, and both Em Khalil and Women’s Equality Day were in the news for the very first time in Lebanon.
And from here on, Em Khalil’s voice will only get louder:
Em Khalil was invited to write her own monthly column in Lebanon’s most famous business magazine: Executive Magazine.
And this is how a supermarket chain became the champion of women… by giving them exactly what they need, beyond just products on a shelf.
The Situation:
With the lack of influencers online who champion gender equality, we decided that instead of solely relying on influencers to spread our message, we would create our very own influencer, Em Khalil, first by gaining clout on Instagram, then by increasing Em Khalil's voice with her very own column in a top business magazine.
Em Khalil's posts on Instagram garnered so much attention online, we were also able to leverage influencers and bloggers who joined the effort.
The Strategy:
Em Khalil was introduced to the world on her very own Instagram account. And the conversation began… Post by post, we discussed the dormant inequality that is at the heart of our society. Child marriage, body positivity, women driving, women voting, women in business and how to pull equal weight as a couple.
Then, on Women’s Equality Day, we crossed from the digital world into the real world, in one bold, guerrilla move:
In a matter of minutes, we high-jacked the signage of Bou Khalil Supermarket’s flagship store and gave it to Em Khalil for the day, inviting all media and influencers to witness.
Moreover, couples who showed up to shop together got a 10% discount on their purchases, to encourage men to pull equal weight in grocery shopping.
Em Khalil was also invited to write her own monthly column in Lebanon’s most famous business magazine: Executive Magazine.