WHEN THE IDIOTS WON'T SAVE THEMSELVES, OTHERS HAVE TO DO IT
Sometimes the best strategy to target someone is not to target them. With a shift from targeting the ignorant guys handling fireworks unsafe to the people actual interested in saving these idiots, we helped the Danish Safety Authority promote responsible behaviour at New Years
THE CHALLENGE
Every New Year, many Danes are injured by fireworks. And if you take a closer look at the injury histories it becomes clear that it is the boys and men who get hurt. In the New Year 2021/2022, 85% of all injured were boys and men, and unfortunately men are often to blame for the women's injuries as well. That is why the Danish Safety Authority has been trying to create awareness among the target group for years. But they haven’t gotten any smarter, and they still behave like – excuse our language – idiots. So how did we get the attention of an ignorant target group?
THE SOLUTION
We had to change the strategy. If boys and men did not want to change their behavior themselves, then who could help them? Lovers, friends, siblings, children, and grandparents could. All those who want to save an idiot they love. So instead of continuously trying to teach the boys and men some common sense, we asked the girls and women for help.
Building on the strategy to activate the relations of the target group, we created the attentive concept: Save an Idiot. The message of saving an idiot was communicated through a humorous version of a typical relief campaign. On the surface the tone seemed serious, but this was deflated when the campaign presenter - Ellen Hillingsø - directed her gaze at the idiots on New Year's Eve.
Like any other relief campaign there should of course be an opportunity to sign up as a volunteer - or in this case as an "idiot saver". Therefore, an important part of the campaign was to get the audience onto the campaign site www.redenidiot.dk, where they could register as an idiot saver, receive a diploma, and ultimately win an idiot saver kit.
THE RESULTS
The campaign worked. Both the idiots and idiot savers watched the film with interest, discussed it, and changed their behavior.
Online:
Reach: 1,9m
Organic reach: 88 %
Engagement: 66,400
Visitors campaign site: 326,000
Sign-ups: 8,120
Campaign:
Recall: 44 %
Liking: 88 %
Message: 70 %
Relevance: 95 %
Interesting: 85 %
Credible: 89 %
PR and Influencers: Go' Morgen Danmark (Good Morning Denmark), Aftenshowet (The Evening Show), several news articles, and influencers, who voluntarily created content based on the campaign.
PR Value: DKK 1,95m
ROMI: 1,100 %
Behavioral effect: 45 % (675,000 Danes) answered that, as a direct result of the campaign, they had changed their own or others' behavior regarding the handling of fireworks on New Year's Eve.