HELP FOR HELP

TitleHELP FOR HELP
BrandSTIFTUNG MENSCHEN FÜR MENSCHEN
Product/ServiceETHIOPIAN AID
Category C06. Innovative Use of Social Media
Entrant BBDO Berlin, GERMANY
Idea Creation BBDO Berlin, GERMANY
Production LOVESTONE FILM Berlin, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Wolfgang Schneider BBDO Group Germany GmbH Chief Creative Officer
Till Diestel BBDO Berlin GmbH Creative Managing Director
Tobias Grimm BBDO Berlin GmbH Creative Managing Director
Michael Schachtner BBDO Berlin GmbH Executive Creative Director
Christofer Kümmerer BBDO Berlin GmbH Art Director
Angelo Maia BBDO Berlin GmbH Art Director
Elisa Heinrich BBDO Berlin GmbH Art Director
Fabio Straccia BBDO Berlin GmbH Copywriter
Dany Rothemund BBDO Berlin GmbH Copywriter
Franzis Heusel BBDO Berlin GmbH Managing Director
Jan Savelsberg BBDO Berlin GmbH Account Manager
Steffen Gentis BBDO Group Germany GmbH Chief Production Officer
Silke Rochow, Allison Markert, Alexander Geier BBDO Berlin GmbH Agency Producer
Johannes von Liebenstein, Sophie Karsten Lovestone Film Producer
Niklas Olscha Lovestone Film Music/Sound Design
- CraftWork - a brand of ad agencyservices GmbH Post-Production Company
- Studio Funk GmbH & Co. KG Audio Production House
Benjamin Kahlmeyer - Director / Director Of Photography
Jan Hartmann Lovestone Film Colorist
Anne Goldbaum Lovestone Film Editor
Till Markull CraftWork - a brand of ad agencyservices GmbH Editor
Abinet Shiferaw - Casting

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Most NGOs have a tendency to depict people in need as inferior, in order to create more empathy. This problem is aggravated in times when people in need are mainly being perceived as potential refugees, illegal immigrants or even as threats. In order to help and raise funds, we’ve reversed this perception. Ethiopians in need have become people just like us, thanks to communication on eye-level. More importanly, the campaign not only raised funds, it also raised awareness for a small NGO with very limited means and helped it become relevant again.

Background

The small German charity organization Menschen für Menschen, founded by German actor Karlheinz Böhm, focuses on development aid in rural Ethiopia. In the past, the organization was mainly known for its famous founder. Today, three years after his passing, the organization is increasingly falling into oblivion - especially with the younger target group. Therefore, we had to raise awareness for the charity independent from its founder - with a limited media and production budget. And what would be a better place to reach the younger target group than where they spend most of their time: online. Additionally, we had to make known that Menschen für Menschen isn’t just any charity organization, but distinguishes itself by communication on eye-level, as their name Menschen fuer Menschen (German for 'humans for humans') suggests. The secondary campaign objective was to increase online donations.

Describe the creative idea

Menschen für Menschen believe, as their name ‘humans for humans’ already suggests, that as equals we should all help each other more. To find and give help has never been easier - thanks to the internet. MfM uses this to turn the tables with a charity campaign that instead of just asking for help, offers it: Ethiopians in need help us with the everyday problems we search for on Youtube & Social Media. We identified users demographically most likely to donate: 25+, academic degree & urban. Then segmented these into affinities e.g. new parents etc. And researched topics these users search for the most. The results were crossed with topics Ethiopians could give advice on. The resulting topics: cooking, family, DIY, sports, life advice and beauty. In these categories in 30 'Helptorials' Ethiopians give personal advice & tips. At the end of each Helptorial viewers can help Ethiopians by donating.

Describe the strategy

In order for “Helptorials” to be truly helpful, they had to answer the right questions. So we tailored our content to our young target group, using their data. We identified the demographic most likely to donate: Age 25+, academic, and urban. We then researched topics they search for most and crossed them with areas Ethiopians could give advice on. The resulting 30 Helptorials were posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. We identified search behavior and device usage in relation to the Helptorial topics, in order to assign the right format to each video. Due to a lower attention-span on Facebook, e.g., cut-down versions were used. We also ensured highest content relevance for the user. E.g.: if you like soccer on Facebook, you’d see the Helptorial “How to make a soccer ball”. On YouTube we hijacked regular tutorials by using adwords to place Helptorials as pre-rolls.

Describe the execution

Our research yielded topics Germans searched online and Ethiopians could give advice on: Cooking, family, DIY, sports, life advice, and beauty. This resulted in 30 Helptorial-videos for the above listed categories (between 30 seconds and 1.35 minutes). Ethiopians, from shoeshiner Jonas to judge Abba Gadda, are talking to the camera, helping viewers with advice. On 16/03/2018 the Helptorials went live where users looked for help: on YouTube (regular & pre-rolls), Facebook (sponsored & regular) & Instagram-Stories. We identified search, browsing behavior & device usage in order to assign the right media format and platform to each Helptorial. Contextual interest-based targeting ensured highest content-user relevance. Celebrities already cooperating with the charity posted Helptorials most relevant for their followers on their social media accounts to further increase reach. E.g. model and influencer (& Ethiopian coffee entrepreneur) Sara Nuru with 100.000 FB-followers shared Helptorial “What to serve spontaneous guests”.

List the results

Business impact and achievement against the business target of reach (especially with the younger target group) & site traffic: -Donation-Site traffic increased by 1566% -Facebook Page Visits increased by 664% -Facebook Content Likes increased by 319% -Facebook Page Likes increased by 304% Reach: -864.000 FB impressions -595.000 total views which is an average view-increase on the “Menschen fuer Menschen” YouTube channel of 1075% when compared to previous digital campaign, making “Help for Help” the client’s most successful online campaign. -With a 44% view rate on YouTube -The best performing videos were watched until the end by 54% of the viewers.