Title	NOW'S THE TIME TO STARE
Brand	PARALYMPIC TEAM BELGIUM
Product/Service	ORGANISATION IN BELGIUM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Category	G04. Social Behaviour
Entrant	MUTANT Antwerp, BELGIUM
Idea Creation	MUTANT Antwerp, BELGIUM

Name	Company	Position
Odin Saillé	Mutant	Creative Director
Maarten De Cuyper	Mutant	Business Director
Johan Van Oeckel	Mutant	Art Director
Sven Van Hooydonck	Mutant	Copywriter
Olaf Meuleman	Mutant	Copywriter
Alex Noten	Mutant	Art Director
Auke Moonen	Mutant	Copywriter
Roxane Schneider	Mutant	Art Director
Usman Abdul	Mutant	Art Director
Axelle Delboo	Mutant	Creation
Mona Demyttenaere	Mutant	Creation
Emilie Kino	Mutant	Account Director
Innie Tran	Mutant	Account Manager
Sophie M'Sallem	Mutant	Client Manager
Gijs Polspoel	Roses are blue	Director
Robbe Demuynck	Roses are blue	Executive Producer
Maximiliaan Dierickx	Roses are blue	DOP & colour correction
Allard Zoetman	Roses are blue	Editor
Birger Platteeuw	Roses are blue	VFX
Gregory Caron	Roses are blue	Sound
Catherine Vaes	Roses are blue	Head of production
Jeroen Van de Broek	Roses are blue	Producer
Camille Cieters	Roses are blue	Producer

Why is this work relevant for PR?

We started our campaign with a hidden camera video that was designed to start a discussion: a video about a social issue that disabled people are confronted with every day: being stared at in the streets. And we counted on journalists to start this debate. The film featured our paralympic athletes. We seeded that video to journalists and invited them personally to talk about it with our disabled athletes. Our athletes were interviewed in digital and printed media, and got to talk about the issue on several national radio stations. This PR campaign was the starting point of our campaign.

Background

The Belgian Paralympian Team was in full preparation for the Paralympic Games which took place in the summer of 2021, in Tokyo. And while there was a lot of support for our Olympic athletes, there was much less anticipation for our Paralympic athletes. But these athletes deserve just as much support and encouragement. Our campaign had to draw attention to the fact that the Paralympic Games were coming, and that our athletes needed the public’s support during these games. That is why we launched 'Now is the time to stare', a call to stare at our athletes at their moment of glory, when they were trying to win gold.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Although there is a lot of respect and recognition for disabled people, many of us tend to stare at them. When we see someone with a prosthetic leg or one arm, we stare. This is a regrettable social issue that all people with disabilities are also confronted with. But when these same people perform in sports, even on the highest level, hardly anyone watches. We started with this simple, human insight and built our campaign around. With a thought-provoking social video where we showed how people stare at disabled people in the streets. To cover the faces of the staring people, we used the emoji eyes, which can be found on any smartphone. Then, we turned these eyes into a symbol of support. We invited everyone to stare along, and show their support using those same eyes on their own social media. And people did, massively.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

We started our campaign with a hidden camera video that was specifically designed to start a discussion. More than a promotional film, it was a film about a social issue that disabled people are confronted with every day: being stared at in the streets. And we counted on journalists to start this debate. The film featured our paralympic athletes walking around in the streets. We seeded that video to journalists and invited them to talk about it with our disabled athletes. Our athletes were interviewed in digital and printed media, and got to talk about the issue on several national radio stations. This PR campaign was the starting point of our campaign.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We started our campaign with a hidden camera video that was specifically designed to start a discussion: a film about a social issue that disabled people are confronted with every day: being stared at in the streets. It featured our paralympic athletes walking around in the streets. We seeded it to journalists and invited them to interview our disabled athletes. This was followed by a tv and print campaign. The third element was a digital activation: a call to action to stare along. We invited everyone to use the emoji eyes on their own pictures on social media, to show their support. Politicians, celebrities and other brands joined in massively.

List the results (30% of vote)

- The hidden camera video was picked and discussed by almost all major news outlets in Belgium, generating more than €1.375.000 worth of media. - Our athletes were invited to talk about the issue and the upcoming Paralympic games on 5 different national radio stations. - As a result, the campaign was spontaneously supported by numerous influencers, politicians and Olympic athletes, generating millions of impressions on social media like Facebook, Instagram, twitter, Linkedin… - The campaign tool, the emoji eyes, was also used by all sponsors of the paralympic team in their own communication, giving it an enormous national visibility. - Paralympic athletes claimed they have never felt so supported for a big tournament like for the 2021 Paralympic Games. - This year’s Paralympic games became the most viewed edition ever. +174% unique viewers vs Rio Paralympics 2016. - There was also a whole lot more press coverage about the Paralympics in general. +94% press coverage vs Rio Paralympics 2016. - Maybe the best result is the amazing result of our athletes: they won not less than 15 medals, five of them gold medals. It was our most successful paralympic games in 30 years. - Next to these fantastic results in sports, the campaign also created awareness for disabled people in general. They are capable of amazing things and deserve our admiration for it, just like any other person.

Please tell us about the social behaviour that inspired the work

In this case, the social behaviour is obvious. We stare. Although there is a lot of respect and recognition for disabled people, many of us tend to stare at them. When we see someone with a prosthetic leg or one arm, we just have to look at them. This is a regrettable social issue that all people with disabilities are confronted with every day. But when these same people perform in sports, even on the highest level, hardly anyone watches. We started with this simple, human insight and built our campaign around. To amplify our campaign, we turned to another typical social behavior. We all love to support good causes, and we love to share that in a fun way. By adding the emoji eyes to a profile picture, anyone could make a funny but much needed statement.