Emirates NBD’s ‘The Wise Ones’ takes new approach to data-driven marketing
The bank aims to transform marketing in the Middle East
Over 48% of people in UAE are more willing to ‘ethically’ share their data and have it used
Updated 03 January 2021
Arab News
DUBAI:A 2019 study in the UAE showed that more than 48 percent of people are more willing to share their data and have it used — ethically — by a company if it makes their life easier and more rewarding.
Given the existing economic crisis where people have become more conscious of the value they get from the products and experiences that they spend their money on, financial prudence and literacy are not just a “nice-to-have” but an imperative.
One regional bank, Emirates NBD, says it has taken the approach of using customer data ethically and meaningfully by combining it with creative storytelling to show how people can spend and save wisely.
Starting out with a film series titled “The Wise Ones,” the bank aims to transform marketing in the Middle East. It says the campaign is not about simply selling Emirates NBD’s products and services; instead, it aims to demonstrate the benefits of its product and services through its most active customers.
The films’ narrative style diverges from traditional testimonial style and adopts a more tongue-in-cheek approach to demystify financial prudence by telling the stories through the lens of those who admire, envy or look up to the bank’s customer.
It was shot in 12 hours over one day due to COVID-19 limitations. As the fans speak about the smart people they know, we see teases of those people through cutaways. And then, when the reveal steps in and the music drops, we see an underwater shot coupled with “heroic” dolly zooms that reveal the bank’s real customers; their names as well as the data around how they use a product to the fullest. The soundtrack is an original piece that has been composed for the series.
LONDON: Few cultural imports have crossed borders as unexpectedly, or as powerfully, as Grendizer, the Japanese giant robot that half a century ago became a childhood hero across the Arab world, nowhere more so than in Saudi Arabia.
Created in Japan in the mid-1970s by manga artist Go Nagai, Grendizer was part of the “mecha” tradition of giant robots. The genre was shaped by Japan’s experience during the Second World War, and explored themes of invasion, resistance and loss through the medium of science fiction.
But while the series enjoyed moderate success in Japan, its true legacy was established thousands of kilometers away in the Middle East.
By the early 1980s, “Grendizer” had spread across the Middle East, inspiring fandoms in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and beyond. (Supplied)
The anime “UFO Robot Grendizer” arrived on television in the region in 1979, dubbed into Arabic and initially broadcast in Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. The story it told of the heroic Duke Fleed, a displaced prince whose planet had been destroyed by alien invaders, struck a chord with children growing up amid regional conflict and occupation by Israel.
Its themes of defending one’s homeland, standing up to aggression and protecting the innocent were painfully relevant in the region, transforming the series from mere entertainment into a kind of emotional refuge.
Much of the show’s impact came from its successful Arabization. The powerful Arabic dubbing and emotionally charged voice-acting, especially by Lebanese actor Jihad El-Atrash as Duke Fleed, lent the show a moral gravity unmatched by other cartoons of the era.
While the series enjoyed moderate success in Japan, its true legacy was established thousands of kilometers away in the Middle East. (Supplied)
The theme song for the series, performed by Sami Clark, became an anthem that the Lebanese singer continued to perform at concerts and festivals right up until his death in 2022.
By the early 1980s, “Grendizer” had spread across the Middle East, inspiring fandoms in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and beyond. For many, it was not only their first exposure to anime, it also delivered lessons on values such as justice and honor.
Grendizer was so influential in the region that it became the subject of scholarly research, which in addition to recognizing the ways in which the plight of the show’s characters resonated with the audience in the Middle East, also linked the show’s popularity to generational memories of displacement, particularly the Palestinian Nakba.
By the early 1980s, “Grendizer” had spread across the Middle East, inspiring fandoms in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and beyond. (Supplied)
Half a century later, “Grendizer” remains culturally alive and relevant in the region. In Saudi Arabia, which embraced the original version of the show wholeheartedly, Manga Productions is now introducing a new generation of fans to a modernized version of the character, through a video game, The Feast of The Wolves, which is available in Arabic and eight other languages on platforms including PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, and a new Arabic-language anime series, “Grendizer U,” which was broadcast last year.
Fifty years after the debut of the show, “Grendizer” is back — although to a generation of fans of the original series, their shelves still full of merchandise and memorabilia, it never really went away.
