Cases

The group of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) commissioned Ogilvy PR to develop a campaign to encourage people across the European Union to take action to reduce their environmental impact.

The target audience were Europeans, between the ages of 16 and 21, and also members of the ALDE group, as the campaign was designed to be rolled out by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in their national markets.

The campaign was built on the premise of change, based on simple actions aimed at changing behavior. A campaign had to be built to address the various audiences on a pan-European level. Slogans which would have universal appeal across target audiences and markets were designed to headline the campaign. Notably, “How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb?” became the ALDE call-to-action.

To address the younger audience, a bilingual Website, www.theChangers.eu, was designed to inspire and stimulate changes in behavior. This Website allows its users to enter a world of floating islands, to become a part of each island’s eco-system by creating individual avatars, transforming into an animal, or even a cloud, and through quizzes, games and videos, discover the impact that simple daily actions have on the natural world.

A materials toolkit was provided and used by the ALDE MEPs to engage with the general public, with the tagline “Join the Changers.” Posters, banners, t-shirts, badges and bookmarks all included simple imagery based on the campaign slogans.

A media bannering campaign was run on social networking sites visited by young people in 22 EU markets. In addition. a Facebook application was developed to enable changers to build their own on-line community.

“The Changers” campaign was launched at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 21 to members of the ALDE group and other MEPs, and to the general public in Brussels during the Parliament’s Open Doors day on June 7. The Website was demonstrated and life size versions of the avatars were placed on display.