{"code":0,"data":[{"keyword":"SUB CATEGORY","content":"CONTEXTUAL INSIGHT","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ENTRANT COMPANY","content":"LANDOR, DUBAI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"TITLE","content":"THE COOLEST IHRAM","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BRAND","content":"SAUDIA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ADVERTISER","content":"SAUDIA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"AGENCY","content":"LANDOR, DUBAI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"GLOBAL CHIEF STRATEGY & INNOVATION OFFICER","content":"LUC SPEISSER","is_link":false},{"keyword":"GLOBAL EXECUTIVE STRATEGY DIRECTOR","content":"ANNA KOHL","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER","content":"TEEMU SUVIALA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR","content":"TRISTAN MACHEREL","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVE DIRECTOR","content":"JEA HYUN","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BUSINESS STRATEGY DIRECTOR","content":"FILIZ CIFTCI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ACCOUNT MANAGER","content":"NARIMAN GAMAL","is_link":false},{"keyword":"MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR","content":"MARINA NEMCHINA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"STRATEGY DIRECTOR","content":"OLIVER RONALDSON","is_link":false},{"keyword":"STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR","content":"SOFIENE EL KEBIR","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CAMPAIGN SUMMARY","content":"Saudia, the Kingdom’s national airline and the world’s leading pilgrim carrier, built its brand on the promise “Welcome to Our Future”, combining hospitality with innovation. Each year, millions of pilgrims travel to Mecca, walking more up to 60 kilometers in temperatures exceeding 50°C, making heatstroke a serious health risk.\r<br>Our idea was to transform the ihram, the garment pilgrims must wear, into a protective shield without altering its appearance. In collaboration with textile engineers, we developed the first- religiously compliant cooling fabric, creating The Coolest Ihram: a traditional garment enhanced with invisible technology that lowers skin temperature by up to 2°C.\r<br>The Coolest Ihram generated over 100 million impressions, delivered a 20% uplift in positive sentiment, and received historic official endorsement from the Ministry of Hajj, which requested its inclusion in all Hajj packages sold via Saudi Arabia’s government-backed pilgrimage platform, making it available to 2 million pilgrims each year.\r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"INSIGHT","content":"Our strategic research uncovered a simple but powerful truth: during Hajj, the only thing physically standing between all pilgrims and extreme heat is the ihram. Unlike any other garment, it cannot be modified, redesigned, or accessorised freely, it is governed by strict religious rules designed to showcase purity, equality, humility and the absence of material advantage. With no option to add, remove or visibly alter anything, our only path to innovation was inside the fabric itself. The breakthrough was the idea of creating invisible technology, weaving cooling science into a sacred textile without changing its form, appearance, symbolism or meaning. Not innovation on the ihram, but innovation deep within its core. \r<br>\r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"STRATEGY","content":"The strategy was built around a simple but overlooked truth: for pilgrims, the most physically demanding and emotionally intense part of the journey happens after landing, not in the air. While airlines traditionally focus on in-flight service, Saudia identified extreme heat during Hajj as the greatest risk to their main target’s wellbeing and the biggest gap in the travel experience.\r<br>Rather than adding new touchpoints or communications, the strategy was to intervene directly at the point of human vulnerability. The ihram, the only garment pilgrims are permitted to wear, became the strategic interface. Because its form could not be altered, innovation had to be invisible, respectful, and culturally compliant.\r<br>By embedding cooling technology into the garment itself, Saudia transformed hospitality into protection and shifted brand experience from storytelling to lived experience, delivering care where it mattered most and redefining what an airline can meaningfully offer its passengers.\r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVITY IDEA","content":"Saudia redefined what an airline can do. Instead of limiting innovation to the customer journey in the air, Saudia entered a new space: product design. By creating a garment, the brand extended its responsibility from transporting people to protecting them throughout their journey.\r<br>\r<br>Because the ihram is governed by strict religious rules, no brand had ever dared to innovate it. To create the Coolest Ihram, we merged design, technology, and innovation to deliver the world’s first cooling ihram, guided by Saudia’s positioning, Welcome to Our Future.\r<br>\r<br>This revolutionary solution transcends a simple passenger experience and answers a critical human challenge.\r<br>\r<br>By reinventing one garment, we made Hajj safer for 2 million pilgrims annually and unlocked a USD 700+ million business opportunity for our brand, an innovation already requested for inclusion in official Hajj packages distributed via Nusuk, the Kingdom’s government-backed pilgrimage platform. Not bad for one garment.\r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"EXECUTION","content":"The Coolest Ihram was launched at consumer and institutional level, in a sensitive religious where impact must be earned through experience, not traditional advertising.\r<br>Over 3,350 Ihrams were distributed during Hajj 2025 on Saudia airplanes and worn by pilgrims, allowing people to experience the brand through real physical protection. This on-ground deployment was amplified through influencer participation generating widespread attention and helping normalize the garment as a new standard for hajj experience.\r<br>In parallel, we targeted the travel and pilgrimage ecosystem. Saudia introduced the Coolest Ihram at Arabian Travel Market and the Hajj Expo, generating strong traction with both public authorities and private operators. These platforms were critical to establishing credibility, enabling scale, and securing system-level buy-in.\r<br>The execution was so well received that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the highest religious authority overseeing pilgrimage, decided to make Saudia’s Coolest Ihram the exclusive garment distributed through its central Hajj travel platform. \r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"RESULT","content":"Institutional adoption \r<br>• Historic endorsement from the Dar-al-Itaa and leading religious authorities, validating full religious compliance and cultural legitimacy\r<br>• Requested by the Ministry of Hajj for inclusion in all official Hajj packages sold via Nusuk, the Kingdom’s government-backed pilgrimage platform, and 12 largest Hajj agents, making the innovation available to all 2 million Hajj pilgrims annually\r<br>\r<br>Earned reach under cultural constraint\r<br>• Generated 100+ million earned media impressions within 10 days, achieved without paid advertising through PR, KOL engagement, and real pilgrim advocacy outperforming typical launch activity in a non-advertisable context\r<br>• Delivered a 20% uplift in positive brand sentiment exceeding average brand performance despite lower media investment\r<br>\r<br>Operational Validation and New Market Creation\r<br>• Initial live deployment with 3,350 pilgrims during the 2025 Hajj season achieving 100% satisfaction and protection providing operational validation and confirming readiness for system-wide rollout\r<br>• Established a new protective pilgrimage-wear category, unlocking an estimated USD 700+ million annual market\r<br>","is_link":false},{"keyword":"URL","content":"https:\/\/www.saudia.com\/featured\/the-coolest-ihram","is_link":true}],"files2":[{"name":"CS09_004.mp4","type":"mp4"},{"name":"CS09_004_DI01L.jpg","type":"jpg"}],"count":2}