ROMANIANS ADOPT REMAINIANS
| Title | ROMANIANS ADOPT REMAINIANS |
| Brand | GÂNDUL |
| Product/Service | MEDIAFAX |
| Category |
C06. Response / Real-time Activity |
|
Entrant
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GMP ADVERTISING Bucharest, ROMANIA
|
|
Idea Creation
|
GMP ADVERTISING Bucharest, ROMANIA
|
|
Idea Creation 2
|
WEBSTYLER Bucharest, ROMANIA
|
Credits
| Mihai Gongu |
GMP/Webstyler |
Executive Creative Director |
| Bogdan Nițu |
Webstyler |
Head of Digital Strategy |
| Sasha Tănase |
Webstyler |
Art Director |
| Andrei Bălan |
Webstyler |
Head of Communication Strategy |
| Ștefan Georgescu |
Webstyler |
Strategic Planner |
| Carmen Marinescu |
Webstyler |
Project Director |
| Mihai Gongu |
GMP/Webstyler |
Copywriter |
| Andreea Cristea |
Webstyler |
Junior Copywriter |
| Dan Neciu |
Webstyler |
Web Developer |
| Cosmin Panait |
Webstyler |
Web Programmer |
| Elena Cîrîc |
Webstyler |
Social Media Manager |
| Andreea Lazăr |
Webstyler |
QA Tester |
| Mihai Dumbrăvescu |
MotionLab |
Editor |
| Clarice Dinu |
Gândul |
Chief Editor |
The Campaign
Leading Romanian newspaper Gândul decided to fight the sudden spike in hostility with empathy and responded Monday June 28th, just 48 hours from the referendum result, by launching a tongue-in-cheek digital platform called RomaniansAdoptRemainians.eu. Via a playful mechanic, we invited Brits and Romanians to rediscover the unifying power of social media. Romanians volunteered to adopt randomly allocated Brits who applied for adoption on RomaniansAdoptRemainias.eu so they can continue to be European citizens. Thousands of virtual Romanian IDs, personalized with both the data of the British “parents” and the Romanian adopted “children”, were shared both in UK and Romania, spreading the unity message.
Execution
The website was designed with a mirroring structure welcoming both Romanian adopters and British adoptees and a clean, straightforward styling. The generated virtual IDs were personalized with both the data of the Romanian “parents” and the British “adoptees” and can be shared by both, further spreading the unity message. The British surnames of the users were Romanianized by adding the typical Romanian suffix “escu” to the actual British family name. After generating an ID by pairing random British and Romanians who volunteered in their respective sections, the website informed each parties so they can become friends on Facebook and chat more about Brexit, Europe or many other subjects. Over 5000 new friendships were thus forged.
The real-time response went quickly viral across the globe. Most major news and media outlets mentioned our initiative including CNN, BBC News, France 24, USA Today, Newsweek, Newsy, Russia Today, Slate.fr, The Economist, The Guardian or Huffington Post, totaling EUR 2.6m in earned media. Several British journalists applied to be adopted and generated virtual Romanian IDs. Most of them unearthed the deeper social and political message and called for a firmer response from the authorities against xenophobic acts. The website RomaniansAdoptRemainians.eu has over 214.000 page views and over 100.000 users, 47% were from the UK. 5566 virtual Romanian IDs were created and 90% were also proudly shared on Facebook. The positive brand perception of Gândul in social media increased by 38%. It’s worth mentioning that the campaign had no media budget whatsoever, not even sponsored posts.
The Situation
Immediately after the Referendum vote in the UK, hundreds of xenophobic attacks were witnessed in the street and in social media. Romanians immigrants were an important target of the hate speech promoted by tabloids and populist politicians. Leading Romanian newspaper Gândul decided to fight hostility with empathy and launched RomaniansAdoptRemainians.eu just 48 hours from the result. The real-time response went quickly viral across the globe. Major news outlets mentioned our initiative and several British journalists applied to be adopted and generated virtual Romanian IDs. Most unearthed the deeper social and political message calling for a firmer response against xenophobic acts.
The Strategy
The campaign had several target groups. Firstly, the Romanian readers at home, who had relatives abroad who were subject to the new hate speech (almost 1 in 3 Romanians has relatives who are living and working and paying taxes somewhere in the European Union). Secondly, the Romanian community in the UK and everywhere else in Europe affected by the new extremist rhetoric generated by Brexit. Thirdly, the British and international media who could spearhead the fight against xenophobia. And, last but not least, the British citizens who voted Remain and still believed in a united Europe. As the real-time factor was key, there was no time for a conventional media strategy. We invited Romanian readers to share the news about the new platform to their relatives abroad. They spread the link further to their British friends on Twitter and Facebook. And soon the media caught the word and it is