VICTIM FASHION

TitleVICTIM FASHION
BrandPRORAIL
Product/ServiceDUTCH RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY
Category B02. Breakthrough on a Budget
Entrant OGILVY | SOCIAL LAB AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation OGILVY AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
PR OGILVY | SOCIAL LAB AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Production OGILVY AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Production 2 EDDO HARTMANN PHOTOGRAPHY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production 3 ROBIN PIJPERS VIDEOGRAPHY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Additional Company THE OVAL OFFICE Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Additional Company 2 LISE VAN DER LINDEN COSTUME DESIGN Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Credits
Name Company Position
Peter van Rij Ogilvy Social.Lab Executive Creative Director
Martijn van Marle Ogilvy Social.Lab Executive Creative Director
Michael Jansen Ogilvy Social.Lab Executive Creative Director
Tolga Büyükdoganay Ogilvy Social.Lab Executive Creative Director
Arnout Robbe Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Director
Paul Wagemaker Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Director
Marina le Roux Ogilvy Social.Lab Senior Digital Designer
Paul Duijser Ogilvy Social.Lab Senior Digital Designer
Ann Maes Ogilvy Social.Lab Head of Influence
Joost van Liemt Ogilvy Social.Lab Strategy Director
Tim van Aerschot Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Strategist
Mazdy Beynen Ogilvy Social.Lab Strategist
Pauline Landa Ogilvy Social.Lab Global Account Director
Myrte de Jonge Ogilvy Social.Lab Account Executive
Manja Schuurhof Ogilvy Social.Lab Account Manager Public Relations
Swantje Hoppe Ogilvy Social.Lab Head of Production
Carlijn Bijlsma Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Intern
Alice Isakson Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Intern
Julie van der Meiden Ogilvy Social.Lab Creative Intern
Vanessa Janssen Ogilvy Social.Lab Producer
Mariska Fransen Ogilvy Social.Lab Producer
Sanne Groot Ogilvy Social.Lab Producer
Eddo Hartmann Eddo Hartmann Photography Photographer
Lise van der Linden Lise van der Linden Costume Design Costume Designer
Robin Pijpers Robin Pijpers Videography Director, Camera, Edit
Obinna Mgbado Ogilvy Social.Lab Cameraman
Ruben Brama The Oval Office Project Manager
Thomas Peters Thomas Peters Music Composer
Karina Soeter Ogilvy Social.Lab Resource planner
Fraukje van der Leeden ProRail Campaign Manager
Jenny Hudepohl ProRail Campaign Manager
Andy Wiemer ProRail Spokesperson

Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

To get through to a young, hard to reach and diverse audience we chose for a trojan horse strategy. We used the biggest common denominator: fashion. We disguised a railway safety campaign as a fashion label. Prominent fashion influencers, popular with the target audience, hyped the brand and its launch on social. Resulting in a crowded show at an Amsterdam fashion event, where the true story behind the collection was revealed to attending audience, press and many influencers. An unorthodox but successful approach.

Background

Despite previous campaigns, the number of railway fatalities in The Netherlands tripled since 2016. Most victims being teenagers. Often, the result of reckless behaviour around railway tracks. To halt this dramatic rise, Dutch governmental railway company ProRail had to get through to a young, hard to reach and even harder to impress audience. So impact was needed. The objective was to reach at least 10% of the target audience.

Interpretation (30% of vote)

Teenagers are hard to reach and even harder to impress. To get through to them, we chose for the biggest common denominator: fashion. We disguised a safety campaign as the next fashion label. Carefully selected influencers hyped the brand through unboxing videos, vlogs, mentions. Once we had everyone’s attention, the shocking truth was revealed to the young audience, press and fashion community.

Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

We had to get through to a notoriously difficult to reach and even harder to impress teenage audience. So we analysed youth safety campaigns from other countries, read studies and consulted scientists and psychologists specialising in youth communication. The subsequent research we conducted with our Dutch target audience proofed very insightful. What we expected and learned was clear: Shock tactics were required to impress this audience. But shock tactics alone wouldn’t work. We needed to first reach them and get under their skin. We did so by emulating the experience of what careless behaviour could result in. To get their attention, we chose a subject we knew was important to them. Something they talk about and spend most of their money on. Something with a strong social component. We used the biggest common denominator within this scattered target audience: fashion. We disguised our campaign as their content of choice.

Creative Idea (20% of vote)

To warn teenagers to be safer around railway tracks, we launched ‘Victim Fashion, created by accident’: a youth safety campaign disguised as a fashion label. The collection is based on the clothing victims wore when the fatal accident happened. This was only revealed during the launch fashion show. Influencers, who were in on the project, hyped the ‘brand’, teasing the audience with close-ups of the clothing's ‘distressed look’ in unboxing videos. Followers (including secondary influencers) were invited to the launch event at an Amsterdam Fashion show. Hundreds of teenagers and influencers attended. In front of cameras, the press and key influencers, the shocking truth behind the collection was revealed by an exceptional survivor. The stories behind each item could subsequently be discovered in detail on the fashion label’s Instagram account and ‘web-store’.

Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

The message and impact of the show itself soon spread far beyond the target audience. Victim Fashion was debated around the world within days of the launch. Both on social and mainstream media. All the important Dutch news programs featured Victim Fashion prime time more than once. - >1.2 billion media impressions - Earned media (conservative estimated) worth: €14.5 M - Headlines across 20+ countries. - 74% of the entire Dutch teenage audience reached - 745.000 via influencers - RTV media: 6.070.000 viewers, 9.548.000 listeners - Online & print: > 20 M - Social: 7.7 M viewers - Own channels: 620.000 views - Paid online media: 1.053.162 views