Why is this work relevant for Media?

#SeeBeyondTheHijab was designed as a cross-platform campaign, to enable GenZ hijabis self-expression in the digital and social spaces they occupy. Using GenZ’s preferred language, we created a social pack of emojis for the platforms where many of today’s movements gain traction. The message was - let’s humanize the hijab and give its wearers the tools for self expression. P&G Rejoice partnered with hijabi influencers to express the importance of inclusion on social platforms. Our specifically designed GIPHY social pack became mediums in and of themselves to create a groundswell and encourage the hijabi community to express their unique personalities.

Background

In Malaysia, hijabis represent a big segment for hair care where major shampoo brands have a hijab-specific range to address the needs of the community. However, competition is intense with P&G Rejoice up against Safi and Sunsilk, key competitors with a larger market share. In order to build relevance among hijabi Gen Zs, P&G needed to create a credible role for Rejoice in culture. And do this by staying true to their brand purpose of encouraging self-expression and driving advocacy for better representation of hijab wearing women.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

To the wearer, the hijab is a symbol of pride and identity. But to many, it is seen as a singular item of clothing to vilify and dehumanize an already segregated population. Data and language experts tell us the way we communicate needs to change in order to rehumanize and build empathy. Yet the world’s most popular language for GenZ - emojis - has only one emotionless emoji. And the emoji keyboard on every mobile device further perpetuates the stigma that hijabis are nothing more than their headscarf. P&G Rejoice believes that every person deserves the right to individuality and self-expression. #SeeBeyondTheHijab is a call to action for better representation giving hijabi women the tools they need to express themselves on the spaces they occupy on mobile and social. If cats can have nine emojis of different expressions, why deny 1 billion hijabis the right to express themselves freely?

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Gen Z hijabis in Malaysia struggle with self-expression with many refusing to see them as anything more than their head scarf. This stereotype is perpetuated on the emoji keyboard with a solitary hijab emoji. So we launched #SeeBeyondTheHijab to give the hijabi community the means to express themselves effortlessly on social media and messaging platforms. We did this by using 2 defining elements of their generation: social activism and social media. Leveraging the popular crowdfunding platform, Change.org, we launched a petition for more hijab emojis. Then, we created 2 promo videos for Youtube, along with social posts for Facebook and Instagram targeting Gen Zs and younger millennials. We engaged 8 KOLs across tier 1, 2 and 3 to achieve reach and engagement and finally, using GIPHY as a cross-platform medium for our customized emoji pack, we gave the power back to hijabis, enabling them to express themselves freely.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

To get the world to #SeeBeyondtheHijab, we petitioned the Unicode Consortium on change.org to officially recognize a set of emoji designs that encapsulate the range and breadth of hijabi self expression. As the proposal typically takes 1-2 years for approval, we decided to continue the push for change and representation by creating a customized emoji pack on GIPHY to enable hijabis to showcase every facet of their personality effortlessly on social media and messaging apps. This was launched on World Emoji Day, followed by a promo film to underscore the importance of change and representation. GIPHY stickers and a customized emoji pack were then distributed for use on Instagram and Tik Tok. We drove awareness with KOLs - Stephanie Kurlow (World’s first hijabi ballerina), Nor Phoenix Diana (Malaysia’s first hijabi wrestler), Qhouirunnisa (Malaysia’s first hijabi football freestyler). All of whom advocated for and broadcasted our cause for better hijab representation.

List the results (30% of vote)

The #SeeBeyondtheHijab 60s social film garnered over 939,700 views on YouTube (TrueView in-stream skippable), performing at 15% above the industry benchmark VTR. The 15s film achieved a 30% reach on Youtube pre-roll (non-skippable), with over 1.6M completed views. 8 KOLs were engaged to drive awareness and engagement, achieving a social reach of 403k and 40k+ engagements. The emoji mobile sticker pack on GIPHY hit 3 million organic engagements within 2 months, proving the need for better hijab representation on the emoji keyboard #SeeBeyondtheHijab’s petition on Change.org received one supporter for every six views. Beating the platform’s benchmark statistics for petition signatures per page views by 4 times. While our application to Unicode to officially recognize our emoji pack is still pending, the true result is starting a much-needed conversation to humanize the hijab and empower over 1 billion hijabis globally with the tools they needed for self-expression.

Please tell us how the brand purpose inspired the work

P&G Rejoice believes that everyone should have the confidence to express themselves effortlessly. However, amongst its target audience of hijab wearers, individual self-expression is limited to stereotypes of what the hijab represents. This further dehumanizes an already marginalized group. Data and language experts tell us the way we communicate needs to change in order to rehumanize and build empathy. Unfortunately the world’s most widely used language - emojis - has only one emoji to express the range and breadth of hijabi self-expression. This further compounds the notion that hijabis are nothing more than their head scarf. True to their brand purpose, P&G Rejoice created an emoji set representing the myriad personalities of hijabis. And gave them the tools they needed to express themselves more freely. After all, when hijabis have so much to say, why should they have so little to say it with?