2016 Promo & Activation

CALL BRUSSELS

TitleCALL BRUSSELS
BrandVISIT BRUSSELS
Product/ServiceVISIT BRUSSELS
Category B05. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Entrant AIR PARTNER OF MCCANN Brussels, BELGIUM
Idea Creation AIR PARTNER OF MCCANN Brussels, BELGIUM
PR WHYTE CORPORATE AFFAIRS Brussels, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Eric Hollander Air Partner of McCann Executive Creative Director
Dieter De Ridder Air Partner of McCann Creative Director
Joeri Van Den Broeck Air Partner of McCann Creative Director
Julien Scouze Riviezzo Air Partner of McCann Creative
Sébastien Stronghead Verliefde Air Partner of McCann Creative
Greg Pin Air Partner of McCann Head of Digital Production
Maxime Van Santen Air Partner of McCann Digital Project Manager
Maxime Douillet Air Partner of McCann Graphic Designer
Daphné de le Vingne Air Partner of McCann Account Manager
Bérengère Lurquin Air Partner of McCann Agency Producer
Jan Boon Lovo Films Director
Juliette Stinglhamber Lovo Films Producer
Niki Michiels Lovo Films Producer
Zoé Hutchinson Visit Brussels Communication Manager
Globule Bleu Globule Bleu Web Agency
Whyte Whyte PR

The Campaign

The idea was to create a connection between people in Brussels and the people outside of Belgium. We gave people in Brussels the chance to express themselves and tell what life is really like in Brussels. Potential visitors had an opportunity to get unfiltered answers to any question related to the city. People from Brussels might pick up the phone and could rectify misconceptions about their city by giving their point of view.

Campaign Success

From 7 January to 11 January, we placed different billboards with integrated phones in Brussels: one at the Mont des Arts, one at Place Flagey, and one at the Place Communale in Molenbeek (where some of the Paris attackers lived, including Salah Abdeslam). A bannering campaign was launched on travel websites all over Europe. From a website people from abroad could choose one of the billboards and make free calls to ask people in Brussels an honest answer about what life was really like in the city. Via livestreams people could view the person answering the phone as well as the surrounding area.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In 5 days, 12,688 phone calls were made from 154 countries. The hashtag #CallBrussels was used all over the world. The campaign was massively spread by the press and social media (more than 32.8 million impressions) and was tested -and approved- by The Washington Post. In todays context, the movie became a statement against terrorism. Against the attacks on our values. Against the attack on our freedom.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

In November 2015, after Brussels was linked to the terrorist attacks in Paris, the international media portrayed Brussels as ‘the capital of terrorism’ and many tourists cancelled their trip. visit.brussels, the Brussels tourism board, wanted to change this negative perception. We activated locals to tell LIVE how life really was in the city at that time.

We targeted potential visitors with banners on travel websites in Europe, inviting them to call Brussels for free and ask locals in Brussels how life really is. The best people to accurately describe what a city is like and promote its qualities are the locals. How is life in Brussels? Ask someone in Brussels.