Title	SCHOOL PAPER
Brand	DE PERSGROEP
Product/Service	AD
Category	C06. Publications & Media
Entrant Company	J. WALTER THOMPSON AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Advertising Agency	J. WALTER THOMPSON AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Production Company	SUPERHERO CHEESECAKE Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Name	Company	Position
Bas Korsten	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Executive Creative Director
Bas Korsten	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Concept
Agustín Soriano	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Strategy Director
David Navarro	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Head Of Design/Interective Director
Budi Gonzalez	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Business Director
Jesse Houweling	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Digital Director
Dalischa De Kok	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Creative Art
Marijn Van Der Meer	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Creative Copy
Alexander Buining	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Digital Producer
Joeri Kiekebosch	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Senior Ux Designer
Richard Beerens	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Digital Designer
Ronald Mica	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Designer
Chariva Geurts	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Print Producer
Robert Harrison	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Camera
Aliz Toth	J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam	Strategist
Marijn Vermeer		Sound Designs/Music
Jorrit Kleijnen		Sound Designs/Music

Brief Explanation

The main objective was finding a peaceful way to react, using creativity and technology, to recent attacks against freedom of speech. The brand objectives were focused on increasing brand engagement and the brand’s reputation among the Dutch public. Media insight: reviving a fading and forgotten medium, the school newspaper. To do so, we created the AD School Paper, an educational platform that all schools can use for free. Through this new medium, AD could engage naturally with its targets and be relevant to the education and culture communities in the Netherlands as well as to families, readers and the public at large.

Results and Effectiveness

The main objective for the brand has already been accomplished, since kids from more than 300 schools are now creating their own school newspapers, learning how to express their opinion and respect those of others. The project is still running, is starting to gain traction and continues to attract new participants every week. Image campaigns like this are created for the long term, and since the project of the school newspaper is ongoing, it is too soon to build a case isolating the results. Yet we can say the project is honoured by winning: AWWWARDS Site of the day – 18 September AWWWARDS Honourable mention FWA Site of the day – 22 September

Creative Execution

Teachers were able to use the tools and content and integrate these into their lessons. We also invited classes to visit the AD offices and find out how an actual newspaper gets made. Through this platform, which is still running and continues to attract new schools every month, kids are able to create their own school newspaper and discover how important it is to have an opinion and respect others’ opinions in turn. In other words: helping to preserve freedom of speech for the next generations. We used the different channels described above.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Target: AD readers and non-readers, AD staff, parents, schools, the journalism community, the education community, the advertising and design communities and the general public. Channels: we used the online and print editions of AD to announce the project of reviving the school newspaper to defend freedom of speech for the next generations. We teamed up with opinion leaders from the education, philosophy, culture, politics, journalism and blogging communities. We sought out specialised media about education and journalism and actively used Social Media to engage with our audiences. We involved the parents of children attending the participating schools by personal letter.