Banking on Reels ads to deliver results

Emirates NBD achieved a 6.4-point rise in ad recall after using Instagram Reels ads as part of its Mother’s Day campaign in the UAE

This Mother’s Day, Emirates NBD bank and FP7 partnered with Meta’s Instagram to launch a Reels-first execution using the platform’s trending ‘Teleportation’ transition. Videos showed a mother being plucked out of her environment and transported into the lap of luxury at one of the hotel partners of ENBD.

The videos promoted a competition where users were asked to recreate the same teleportation effect with their own mothers for the chance to win a Mother’s Day gift.

The campaign’s aim was to raise awareness of ENBD’s Mother’s Day offers and discounts, and to engage mothers themselves, encouraging them to participate in the campaign. The target was affluent adults aged 18-45.

As with any user-generated-content campaign in the UAE, lowering barriers to entry to ensure participation was a challenge. ENBD and Instagram launched a tutorial Reel to complement the campaign, educating users about how easy it is to replicate the effect using just their phones, and showing them exactly how to enter the competition.

The campaign saw average ad recall lift by 6.4 points on average with Reels placement. Ad recall with Reels placement for the 34-44 age group rose by 7.5 points, and there was a 4.6 point lift in campaign awareness with Reels placement.

One of the reasons for the campaign’s success was that it was created specifically for Reels, using the visual and cultural language of that platform. It performed much better as a Reels placement than it did across other platforms, demonstrating that content performs better when it is created for the medium or format where it goes live.

The content was well produced, but cost much less than a TVC. The production value was perfect for Mother’s Day. It’s an occasion when the objectives were to entertain and engage with an audience. While that doesn’t negate the need for high production values, Meta has found that with the right campaign, agile creatives delivered quickly and efficiently can deliver results.

Although the Reels format is usually associated with a younger demographic, this campaign proved effective across all age groups. Reels shouldn’t be dismissed by campaigns or brands that target an older demographic. If content is done in a way that speaks the language of Reels, it can generate great results.