De Buurtfiksers

Background

Ethias is a national insurance company with very few offices, because it is a direct insurer. When it does open a new office, of course, the company wants the whole neighbourhood to know about it.

The challenge was, how could they turn a fairly boring announcement into a major event for the local community.

Idea

What most companies do when they set up in a new location is have a big reception and invite as many dignitaries as possible.

Ethias’s tagline, though, is “Ethias does what should be done.”

And what should be done is NOT to have a party but to spend the 5,000 Euros a party costs on something more meaningful to the local community.

A programme called ‘The Neighbourhood Fixers’ was established.

Phase One was to get local people aware of the initiative through direct mail, print ads, billboards and local TV and to invite them to go to the website and submit their ideas for a worthwhile community project. For example, a new hut for the scouts troupe, a sun-roof for the kindergarten.

Phase Two was to give people with ideas the tools to raise interest and get votes for their suggestions (online tools, personalised posters…) Amazingly, people also used their own creativity to drum up support, one person handing out sweets to people to get them to visit the website and vote.

Phase Three was to announce the winner, the idea with the most votes. Captured on local TV, Ethias was able to give a cheque for 5,000 Euros to the most deserving local cause. The scouts, as it happened.

Results

‘The Neighbourhood Fixers’ created a lot of buzz in the local community. 86 ideas for local projects were submitted. 28,897 people voted. And the website attracted more than 37,000 unique visitors. In addition, something of lasting benefit was created as well as a blueprint for future Ethias office openings.

These are enormous figures given the small region, representing 6% of the local population.

Our Thoughts

In adland we are often seduced by the big numbers. Saatchi & Saatchi’s T-Mobile Royal Wedding spoof, for instance, has been viewed 27 million times on Youtube by people in almost every country in the world. But the internet also has the power to be very local and to act as a binding agent for narrowly-defined communities. That’s what I admire about this idea. It’s not the first time anyone has invited Joe Public to upload their ideas and get others to vote for them but in this context the idea was of real relevance and of real benefit to smalltown Belgium.

Good stuff from Proximity BBDO in Brussels.