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National Culture Awards
Client: Ministry of Culture
Sector:
Duration: 14 Months
Industry: Culture
Overview
Challenge
To bring awareness to, show support for, and encourage Saudi creative talents to forge ahead and become new role models within the 16 cultural sectors.
Outcome
Tens of thousands of local creatives showed interest in cultural progress by applying for the awards. The positive response to the event allows for its continuation, inspiring hundreds — if not thousands — more people to take creative action.
Impact
The awarding event engaged the community and brought back cultural awareness through 180 million social media impressions and reach. This, along with the almost 30,000 submissions, goes to show just how such an event can create new Saudi cultural heroes and magnify the national appreciation for culture.
Context
Saudi Arabia's newly acquired digital culture has allowed it to digitize its traditional culture — motivating Saudi cultural creatives to advance and showcase their talents through digital multimedia platforms. As the Kingdom's outlook on life, culture, and the economy changes, the public's interest in cultural expression grows and diversifies.
A 2019 report by the Ministry of Culture proved that Vision 2030's measures had spread cultural vocabulary and practices far beyond just the elites to the public at large. That same year, the Kingdom inaugurated 16 new cultural development authorities — one for each sector (film, heritage, language, music, etc.) — to further support, sponsor, and promote Saudi talents.
"Culture, with its civilizational value, its social weight, and its effective developmental role today occupies the place it deserves. Thanks to the inspiring and ambitious national vision, the Saudi Vision 2030, which restored culture as a basic pillar in building society."
— Vice Minister of Culture, Hamed M. Fayez
TAM's Approach
The Saudi Ministry of Culture appointed TAM to publicly introduce its first ever National Culture Awards (NCA) — celebrating the cultural accomplishments and productions of talented locals, with a focus on encouraging culture-conveying content creation.
Awareness Campaign Launch
The campaign kicked off with a single tweet from the initiative's independent Twitter account. With retweets from the Ministry and influential Saudi figures, the post gained millions of views throughout the three-month registration period ending September 30, 2020. The event was picked up by Saudi Press Agency, Arab News, and Al Arabiya — garnering the attention of millions of readers worldwide.
Nominations Platform
TAM built a dedicated NCA website where the public could nominate their own work or that of others for 14 awards — categorized based on skill sets, achievements, and contributions to Saudi cultural society. The total number of registered nominees reached approximately 30,000.
Digital Sorting & Judging System
TAM provided a criteria-based digital sorting system that separated valid from invalid submissions — extracting around 1,150 viable proposals. These then passed through a council of category experts and specialists who made final winning decisions using the same system.
"These intellectuals and creative minds are our cultural capital. With whom we will reach, with them and with their help, a cultural renaissance fitting the stature of our country."
— Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud
What We Delivered
- End-to-end management of Saudi Arabia's first National Culture Awards event.
- A multi-channel awareness campaign earning 180M+ social media impressions.
- A dedicated NCA website for public nominations across 14 award categories.
- A criteria-based digital sorting system managing 30,000 submissions.
- A council of category experts and specialists for final judging and selection.
- National and international media coverage across leading platforms.
Impact at a Glance
180M+
social media impressions and reach
30,000
nominees registered across 14 award categories
1,150
viable proposals extracted through digital sorting
35M
video views across digital platforms
7M
clicks and reactions on campaign content
14
award categories celebrating Saudi cultural contributions
16
cultural sectors represented in the awards
3
months of active registration and campaign engagement
Lasting Value Created
The National Culture Awards proved that Saudi Arabia has a vast, talented, and culturally engaged population ready to be recognized and celebrated. The registration of nearly 30,000 nominees demonstrates the extraordinary depth of local creative talent and willingness to participate in culture-defining events. The initiative also showed how quickly Saudi cultural sectors have broadened within just a four-year timespan — pandemic-filled year and all. The NCA's success has paved the way for its continuation, ensuring that Saudi cultural heroes continue to be discovered, celebrated, and inspired.