FREE FROM OCCUPIED

TitleFREE FROM OCCUPIED
BrandAMSTERDAM 4TH AND 5TH MAY COMMITTEE
Product/ServiceFREE FROM OCCUPIED
Category B08. Events & Stunts
Entrant LEMON SCENTED TEA Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation LEMON SCENTED TEA Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
PR LEMON SCENTED TEA Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production LEMON SCENTED TEA Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Credits
Name Company Position
Lemon Scented Tea Lemon Scented Tea Agency

The Campaign

With just 8 rolls of orange duct tape we sparked a national debat. We covered places with ‘occupied’ + ‘name’ with ‘free for’ + ‘name’ to emphasise freedom instead of occupation; a simple way to show how traditional things can be done differently, without being offensive to others. As expected, offering an alternative for a long lasting tradition led to a nationwide discussion. Orange is the national colour of the Netherlands. Using orange coloured duct tape added to the national sentiment, reinforcing the importance of the message and ensuring a recognisable, graphic visual language. Each ‘campaign execution’ directed people to the campaign website, which told the story in-depth. Since it was so easy to create a personal and powerful message, we inspired people to join the effort and share theirs.

Execution

The initiative was launched four days before Kingsday, just after the first Dutch had started reserving their spots in the city. Their ‘occupied’ spaces became our ‘campaign executions’. Photos of the ‘freed’ spaces were used as online campaign materials on the ‘Free from occupation’ social accounts including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. At the same time, we contacted both local and national press. The campaign platform explained why and how we wanted to keep the streets free of occupied. After Kingsday we offered a service: share locations of spaces that were still ‘occupied’, so we could remove the duct tape before 4 May. The campaign ran from 23 April to 5 May, a short amount of time but enough to make a huge impact, on the streets, on our own social media channels, in newspapers, TV, radio and online. We facilitated the national debate with #vrijvanbezet (‘free from occupied’).

Without spending any budget on paid media we managed to reach 1.9 million Dutch people with free publicity, because we sparked a national debate and managed to engage people on our website (average time spent: 6 minutes). The campaign initiated the beginnings of a new tradition: the first spontaneous, consumer-initiated ‘free for’ markings were already spotted during the campaign. This year our challenge is to further this new ‘free for’ tradition. Details Reach: 1,9 miljoen Nederlanders (total population: 17 million). Via publications on online newsplatforms; Het Parool, Algemeen Dagblad, AT5, Brabants Dagblad, BndeStem, Gelderlander, Stentor, Geenstijl, Omroep Zeeland, Post Online, Drimble, Headlines24, NieuwsNL, Vfonds, Powned, NewsJs and Stadindex. Via radioshows; EenVandaag, NPO Radio 1, Radio Noord-Holland. On the countries biggest public forum: Fok.nl. Via national television: Goedemorgen Nederland, Powned. And through an article in newspaper Het Parool. Vrij van bezet was even part of the National Newsquiz.

The Situation

With just 8 rolls of orange duct tape, we sparked a national debate. By offering an alternative for a long lasting tradition we unleashed an intense discussion, reaching 1.9 million Dutch people (out of the country’s total 17 million inhabitants) without spending a Euro on paid media. ‘Free for’ initiated the beginnings of a new tradition: the first spontaneous, consumer-initiated ‘free for’ markings were already spotted during the campaign.

The Strategy

After the unsuccessful announcement from the City of Amsterdam to avoid using ‘occupied’ on the streets, we decided to provoke the discussion to get ‘occupied’ on the public agenda. We knew that there would be opponents and supporters of replacing ‘occupied’ with ‘free for’. People would either regard it as a respectful homage or a patronising gesture. We approached media and influencers known for their strong opinions to get involved, in order to start a national debate on the issue. Without any budget available, we relied heavily on the press and the potential of the idea to catch the attention of the Netherlands. That’s why we started the initiative in the capital Amsterdam knowing that national press often picks up news from the capital. Target group: Everyone in the Netherlands, both young and old. Call-to-action: Write ‘vrij voor’ (‘free for’) instead of ‘bezet’ (or ‘occupied’).