Title	RAINBOW JERSEY
Brand	HUMMEL
Product/Service	HUMMEL
Category	B05. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Entrant	ENVISION Aarhus, DENMARK
Idea Creation	ENVISION Aarhus, DENMARK
Media Placement	ENVISION Aarhus, DENMARK
PR	HARBINGER PUBLIC RELATIONS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Production	ENVISION Aarhus, DENMARK

Name	Company	Position
Mads Engaard	envision	Art Director
Peter Boe	Envision	Creative Director
Rasmus Saaby Bentzen	envision	Art Director
Tomas Olesen	envision	Client Service Director
Jesper Herholt	envision	Chief Creative Officer
Rikke Mia Bach Maffait	envision	Project manager
Anders Christiansen	envision	Strategic Director
Rasmus Kristensen	Harbinger PR	Partner

Why is this work relevant for Media?

This case is relevant as it gets the message across with a giant installation in the shape of a rainbow-coloured football jersey composed of 160 normal-size jerseys – standing 13 metres tall – as a comment on the discrimination of LGBT+ persons in Russia, host of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The installation was mounted right across from the TV studio transmitting the World Cup from Russia to all of Denmark. This transmission was also a major event in itself as thousands of football fans gathered here for every game which gave the rainbow installation massive exposure, game after game.

Background

As proud sponsor of the national Danish football team, Danish sports brand hummel was going to be part of the World Cup in Russia. Being a socially conscious brand – with a mission to change the world through sport – we decided to use this occasion to communicate the brand values by taking a stand against one of the human rights issues in Russia: The widespread discrimination of LGBT+ persons. First of all to make an actual difference. Secondly, to create awareness of the brand.

Describe the creative idea/insights

The core of the idea was to show support utilizing one of the brands most basic products: A football shirt. So, we took more than 160 football shirts in all colours and pieced them together into a giant rainbow mosaic in the shape of a football shirt – standing 13 metres tall. The original idea was to set up the installation in Russia during the World Cup. However, we soon came to realize that this would be dangerous, not just for us but also for the Russian LGBT+ community. So we changed location to a harbour area in Denmark – right across from the television studio transmitting the World Cup from Russia. Then, we took to PR, influencers and social media to share the stunt with the world. Furthermore, a limited edition of the shirt was put up for sale and all profits donated to The Russian LGBT+ Sports Federation.

Describe the strategy

The strategy was very simple. As we could not set up the installation in Moscow, we changed location to the most relevant place we could find at a safe distance from Russia: A wall facing the outdoor World Cup studio where thousands of football fans gathered for every game. From here, the giant rainbow installation was guaranteed massive exposure. But we wanted to do more than make a statement – our ambition was to make an actual difference. So we designed a limited-edition shirt (similar to the ones used in the rainbow installation) and with “change the world” in Russian written on them. Then, we released these shirts to influencers and sold them in the brand’s official web shop so we could use the profits to support The Russian LGBT+ Sports Federation. On top of it all, we used PR, influencers and social media to make the message travel globally.

Describe the execution

With the giant rainbow jersey safely in place, the task was to spread the message. We did this using: PR – press releases were sent out to both LGBT+ niche media and broader media. Influencers – rainbow shirts were sent to Danish influencers. SoMe – an emotional video was made to create reach and shares. All communication led people to hummel.net where they could purchase a rainbow shirt – showing their support and donating to the cause. Meanwhile, the collaboration with The Russian LGBT+ Sports Federation expanded with a football tournament for the LGBT+ community in Russia during the World Cup. The campaign ended during the Gay Pride festival in Copenhagen with a visit from the president of The Russian LGBT+ Sports Federation. The president gave a speech and met with the Danish Prime Minister. And, of course, picked up the profits from the sale of the rainbow jerseys.

List the results

The campaign created global awareness of the brand and, not surprising, particularly in the LGBT+ community. Overall, we obtained an estimated reach of more than 100 million people. This equals an estimated PR value of more than 1,292,541 USD. And with a very low budget, the Media ROI was 21. And not least: The campaign generated a significant donation to The Russian LGBT+ Sports Federation.