Title	RECYCLED PROPAGANDA
Brand	VLUCHTELINGENWERK
Product/Service	REFUGEE HELP
Category	A07. Not-for-profit / Charity / Governemt
Entrant	MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Idea Creation	MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Media Placement	MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
PR	MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM
Production	MORTIERBRIGADE Brussels, BELGIUM

Name	Company	Position
Joost / Philippe / Jens Berends / De Ceuster / Mortier	mortierbrigade	creative directors
Frederic Zouag	mortierbrigade	art director
Nicolas Gaspart	mortierbrigade	copywriter

Why is this work relevant for PR?

The nature of this idea (repurposing political posters to send the exact opposite message of what they were meant to do) combined with the timing of this campaign (straight after Belgium’s regional elections) meant we managed to garner plenty of attention by the national press. So much in fact that one Belgium’s most far-right politicians felt obliged to react to our campaign.

Background

Vlaams Belang is the most far-right political party in Flanders. On October 14th they were declared the biggest victor in the Flemish elections with 18,5% of the votes. 18,5% of votes is a lot, but it still means over 80% of Flemish people did nòt vote for them. Even though that’s a lot of people you hardly ever hear their voices online, where the far-right’s presence is much more visible. We wanted to make sure the now silent majority would still be heard. Because they, and the refugees seeking help, had to be reminded of the hospitable side of Flanders. Our job was to come up with both the creative and the PR approach to counteract the tight media budget. “Our people too” should instigate a political debate. This meant we had to gain enough traction amongst a broad audience, but also trigger some of the politicians involved.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We collected the outdoor posters used by political party Vlaams Belang during the most recent elections and recycled them. We turned their negative and excluding message into a positive and welcoming one. By changing their slogan “Eerst onze mensen” (“Our people first”) into “Ook onze mensen” (“Our people too”) we showed the warm and hospitable side of Flanders. Each poster shows a single refugee whose story could be discovered via podcasts and on ourpeopletoo.be. We could have used any regular paper for this idea, but reusing the posters used by those who vehemently disagree with our message is what won the attention of both the public and the national press.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Talking about extreme-right can be very touchy, even more after the first national extreme-right party was one of the biggest winners of the elections. With “Ook onze mensen”, we wanted to reopen the debate through a strong insight: Flanders is not the exclusive community that the Vlaams Belang try to make people believe. We introduced the campaign to journalists with the message: “Extreme right posters turned recycled for refugees. Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen reveals the new face of Flanders.” We targeted Brussels local media, but also national news and journalists specialized in refugees’ topics and intern politics. We created a real storytelling around the posters. It wasn’t just a campaign for an NGO who fights for refugees’ rights, it was a real statement about the political situation in Belgium and it gave the voice to all the people who are not in favour of extreme-right.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

The timing and the place were carefully chosen, to make them real assets to spread our PR message. We decided to launch it on the Celebration Day of the Flemish Community, the 11th of July, to give our story more impact and an echo in press. And as the activities for the Celebration Day of the Flemish Community mainly took place in Brussels, we displayed the posters in front of one of the most multicultural building of the city: The Beursschouwburg. The campaign was first introduced under embargo the day before Flemish Community Day. So, radio and newspapers could publish it first thing in the next morning. Then, on the 11th of July in the early morning, we sent a press release to the national and local news, plus some specific

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign was relayed on all major national news media, resulting on 670.000 national impressions and a PR value of €1.366.223. But most importantly, our PR efforts sent a shockwave through the Belgian political landscape. We started a very positive conversation about refugees and the extreme right situation in Belgium. People who heard about the campaign through the news or by passing by the posters in the street shared it massively, making #ookonzemensen trending topic on Twitter.