NAZIS AGAINST NAZIS - GERMANY'S MOST INVOLUNTARY CHARITY WALK
| Title | NAZIS AGAINST NAZIS - GERMANY'S MOST INVOLUNTARY CHARITY WALK |
| Brand | ZDK - GESELLSCHAFT DEMOKRATISCHE KULTUR |
| Product/Service | EXIT-DEUTSCHLAND |
| Category |
A01. Creative Effectiveness |
|
Entrant
|
GRABARZ & PARTNER Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Idea Creation
|
GRABARZ & PARTNER Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Idea Creation 2
|
GGH MULLENLOWE Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Production
|
27 KILOMETER ENTERTAINMENT Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Production 2
|
HARVEST DIGITAL AGRICULTURE Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company
|
STUDIO FUNK Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company 2
|
ROBA MUSIC PUBLISHING Hamburg, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company 3
|
MOKOH MUSIC Berlin, GERMANY
|
|
Additional Company 4
|
CKS MEGAPRINT Hamburg, GERMANY
|
Credits
| Fabian Wichmann |
ZDK - Gesellschaft Demokratische Kultur |
Senior Project Manager |
| Ralf Heuel |
Grabarz & Partner |
CCO |
| Florian Grimm |
GGH MullenLowe |
CCO |
| Jan Wiendieck |
GGH MullenLowe |
CD |
| Boris Grunwald |
GGH MullenLowe |
CD |
| Philipp Schwartz |
GGH MullenLowe |
Head of Strategic Planning |
| Ina Bach |
Grabarz & Partner |
Head of Corporate Communications |
| Fiete Lühn |
GGH MullenLowe |
Art Direction |
| Anne-Grit Maier |
GGH MullenLowe |
Art Direction |
| Yasemin Boyraz |
Grabarz & Partner |
Art Direction |
| Miriam Mückner |
GGH MullenLowe |
Projectmanagement Online |
| Matthäus Bauer |
GGH MullenLowe |
Text |
| Michael Martin |
GGH MullenLowe |
Text |
| Alina Meisenbach |
Grabarz & Partner |
Text |
| Ulrich Erdmann |
Grabarz & Partner |
Head of Digital Concept |
| Jens Gardeler |
GGH MullenLowe |
Web Development |
| Robert Stoof |
GGH MullenLowe |
Art Direction/Screen Design |
| Steffen Zörnig |
GGH MullenLowe |
Technical Direction |
| Judith Uhrlau |
Grabarz & Partner |
Senior Producer |
| Kai Struwe |
Grabarz & Partner |
Producer |
| Michael Sturm |
GGH MullenLowe |
Motion Design |
| Martin Kaeswurm |
- |
Camera |
| Leon Winkler |
- |
Camera Assistant |
| Mark Broszeit |
- |
Postproduction |
| Michael Prelle |
- |
Voice over |
Brief Explanation
For 15 years, the initiative EXIT-Deutschland has been successfully helping neo-Nazis quit the far-right scene. Yet, despite this socially important and effective work, the initiative receives too little attention and too few donations. That’s why EXIT-Deutschland has to fight for its own existence every year. Many towns and cities in Germany are also fighting against right-wing extremists, who exploit their right to demonstrate, overrunning town centres – raising their own profile and creating negative PR for their chosen parade locations. None more so than the small German town of Wunsiedel, the site of an annual neo-Nazi march that is now 20 years old.
But in 2014, everything changed. Because with the help of Wunsiedel’s citizens we secretly turned the annual Nazi march on its head: a funny, colourful and entertaining fundraising walk for EXIT-Deutschland.
On 15 November, we transformed the annual march into something positive: Germany’s most involuntary charity walk. For every metre the neo-Nazis marched, €10 went to EXIT-Deutschland whether they liked it or not. Motivated by bright banners and bananas, the neo-Nazis went the full distance and unwillingly raised €10,000 to help their own members leave the scene (the money was collected from citizens and regional companies beforehand). But that was just the start:
When the neo-Nazis set off, so did a meticulously planned integrated campaign. Via a microsite, Twitter, Facebook and carefully chosen social media influencers, we started the live coverage and provided content for the general public and the media. During the march itself, 21,000 people visited the microsite and were able to follow what was happening in Wunsiedel in real time – thanks to an interactive map, the live ticker and the social media wall. Three hours after the neo-Nazis crossed the finishing line, another element of the campaign went online: a documentary. Thanks to the immediate release, it became the campaign’s central communications tool, with the original shown worldwide by many TV stations, in some cases even in full length. It was also embedded into and adapted for hundreds of websites.
With a budget of just €5,000 (spent mainly on banners and bananas), we not only let the neo-Nazis raise €10,000 against their cause, but reached more than 24 million people in Germany through national TV and print coverage alone. We also got more than 279 million impressions through social media. But even more importantly: 6,900 people clicked on the EXIT button on our website, and a huge number of voluntary donors quickly doubled the original sum of €10,000. So in the end, all sides got what they deserved: Wunsiedel and EXIT-Deutschland got positive PR, EXIT-Deutschlnd the donations they needed, society a new form of protest and the neo-Nazis the chance to leave the far-right scene.