Germaine's rule #07

Our work is line-proof. Online and offline are one world.
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  • MTV: 19:00

MTV: 19:00

MTV

Work

Problem:

- MTV Mobile is launching free calls after 7 p.m.
- Germaine's task: Get people to call after 7 p.m.

Solution:

- In the campaign 7 p.m. we set to work with a simple starting idea: "Calling after 7 p.m. is really handy". This is not because people call less anyway after 7 p.m., but rather because we know just how busy life can be after 7 p.m. and how many phone calls may be involved.
- We searched for a creative way to reach some goals:
• Online, a relevant, pleasing, approachable campaign needed to be created.
• The campaign needed to claim free calls after 7 p.m. The timing had to be inextricably linked to MTV Mobile.

Result:

- We came up with a short film. In this case, an ideal carrier for the story about how busy life is after 7 p.m.
- The short film told the story of a young man who (after 7 p.m.) goes grocery shopping in a late-night store. But he forgets one of the items on his girlfriend's shopping list. He is determined to get that item, even though the shop just closed. So he ends up in strange situations where his Generation MTV subscription really comes in handy.
- This short film went down well with the target audience and created many positive reactions. Nice, for an 8 minute long commercial message.

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  • StemJezelfWeg

StemJezelfWeg

Work

Problem:

- A while ago, Belgians had mixed feelings to say the least about the newly announced elections. Celebrities and other people had declared they wouldn't be voting. Disgruntled assessors didn't really want to go either. But would they really skip the elections?
- This gave us an opportunity to play into the situation in a fun way.

Solution:

- GERMAINE developed a "not so politically correct" online activation for Thomas Cook. Anyone belonging to the camp of the non-voters could campaign to earn a seat... in a Thomas Cook plane to Crete.
- By participating on the site www.stemjezelfweg.be (www.partipourleselections.be) you could be sitting in the sunny South on June 13, instead of in a voting booth. The campaign was launched through the Facebook fan page of Thomas Cook and went on to address latent and not so latent non-voters through WOM. No further media was used.

Result:

- The concept caught on and after only 10 days had already gathered 460 candidates. 460 people who were actually prepared to leave the country on election day.
- In those 10 days the site had 85,000 page views with 75% unique visitors and generated 12,000 new contacts for Thomas Cook, all through a simple Facebook connect mechanism. These contacts were later used by Thomas Cook in a commercial mailing.

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  • Rosy & Blue

Rosy & Blue

Work

Problem:

- Samsung Mobile!, the cell phone and smart phone manufacturer, has as one of its product lines a series of mobile phones with powerful cameras that can compete in quality with "normal" digital cameras. This case concerns the launch of one of those devices.
- Two issues needed to be addressed:
• Samsung is - as you know - a Korean brand, and therefore regularly receives TV commercials from Korea that they are supposed to use in the local markets for the launch of their devices. But Samsung also wanted to develop local communication, and asked GERMAINE for a local declination based on the international communication made by the agency CHEIL WorldWide.
• Samsung launches new models on a very regular basis. It didn't make sense to us to develop a campaign around a device with an 8 megapixel camera, when three months later another one could hit the market with a 10 or 12 megapixel camera. The market for mobile telephony is a rapidly evolving one.

Solution:

- In the international CHEIL campaign GERMAINE discovered two sympathetic characters and immediately saw them as the ideal spokespeople for a local online campaign.
- Furthermore, we thought that it would be more intelligent to position not just one Samsung device as the pinnacle of digital photography, but rather the whole brand Samsung Mobile!, inextricably associating it with mobile photography.
- And we would do this towards a limited but very relevant target audience: opinion leaders on photography and technology, people who frequently give their opinion on all kinds of devices and gadgets online through all sorts of social media and who are consulted and followed by many others.
- Hence we immediately and resolutely opted for a purely online campaign, albeit with a smart ATL push towards the social channels, Facebook and Flickr.

Result:

- On Facebook two profiles were created, one for Rosy, one for Blue. On their pages they show where they've been, what they've done, etc. They also make friends and give comments. Conversation management, which was executed by GERMAINE.
- In addition they appeared physically all over the place, both in locations around the world, as well as in physical form at various event. Also, flyering and wild postering linked back to their Facebook profile, gaining them even more friends.
- Gradually it became clear that Blue is a photographer, because he's always uploading new photos, that are "coincidentally" always taken using a Samsung mobile.
- At the same time GERMAINE contacted a number of young talented photographers and asked them to take pictures with the Samsung Ultratouch. Blue was the public face of this collective.
- Over time, Rosy and Blue had become popular enough, and the photographers had started working with the cameras, so it was time for the finale: the first museum exhibition of photos taken with a mobile phone, in the Antwerp Museum of Photography, sponsored and endorsed by Samsung. Invitations to the online techie world, technology opinion leaders, influential photography bloggers, BVs and other VIPs were distributed through social media. The exhibition ran three weeks at the Museum and around 1000 people - bang in the middle of our target audience - attended the opening event alone.
- We created positive talkability on photography for Samsung Mobile. And, equally important, we created relevant online advocates for Samsung Mobile who would confirm the photographic capabilities of the devices from then on.
- In the aftermath of the exhibition the work of Titus Simoens "Him and Her" was also selected for the Canvas Collection and hung in the Brussels Bozar Museum.

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  • IKEA: Leef Nu

IKEA: Leef Nu

Work

Problem:

- People preferred to save up and to buy more expensive products
- Germaine had to encourage people to visit IKEA (.be)
- Getting people to live now

Solution:

- "Live Now" was launched as a social movement, which affected both the choice of media and creative execution.
- The idea: use revolutionary slogans to make people think about their life. Get them to fill in a test evaluating their stress level. And then send them to IKEA, both off and online.
- The media choice was therefore also that of a "social movement": wild postering, beer mats, placemats, badges, tagging, blogging, etc. The only "commercial" media were Boomerang and Vespasius. Everything was made to draw traffic to the online platform.
- On the campaign website "leefnu.be" people could fill out a test that measured their stress level, and also indicated which sources of social pressure they were most sensitive to.
- The link to the IKEA philosophy was made through the IKEA manifest.

Result:
- The results of the campaign were overwhelming: more than 60,000 visitors after two weeks, more than 250,000 visitors after 3 months.
- 20,000 people filled in the 10-minute questionnaire, and left their address.
- A historic surge in visitor numbers on the "regular" IKEA site (ikea.be).
- And the best "catalog launch" ever, with historically high visitor numbers and sales in the IKEA stores.

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  • De Tijd: Tel mee

De Tijd: Tel mee

Work

Problem:

- De Tijd and L'Echo are newspapers with a clear focus on business and finance. Newspapers that are read by businesspeople. Or more specifically by business executives, decision makers, investors and bankers. In short, entrepreneurs in the broadest sense, people who in their daily lives are busy being entrepreneurial.
- In this daily life De Tijd and L'Echo are essential tools and a primary source of information. De Tijd and L'Echo keep them up to speed on business matters. A (fore)knowledge that leads to insights about the world around them and that in turn is what makes them successful in their professional lives.
- The core issue of De Tijd / L'Echo is that they are seen as purely functional providers of news and analysis. There is no emotional connection between reader and medium, or in any case not an emotional bond the reader is aware of.
- And yet that bond exists. Reader and medium belong to the same group of people. Enterprising, active, dynamic people. And the readers need to be made aware of that.

Solution:

- By using a baseline that doesn't just convey purely functional product characteristics such as "Foreknowledge of affairs", but a baseline that also highlights the reader's emotional attachment to the brand De Tijd and L'Echo.
- A baseline that, in one sentence, tells the reader and listener what it means to possess the insight De Tijd and L'Echo provide.
- A baseline that translates what it is to be successful, to be ahead and to belong. Finally, a baseline that reflects pride for the brands De Tijd and L'Echo.

Result:

- Baseline: "De Tijd. Be of those who count.", "L'Echo. Be of those who count."
- The play on words " Be of those who count." lends itself perfectly to a range of declinations in promotional marketing, be it for the newspaper itself, Netto / Mon Argent or Sabato
o Special Netto / Mon Argent files: "Be of those who count in real estate". "Calculate your tax advantage".
o Tijd Report: Private Banking file.
o Sabato
• Even special book deals, subscription actions to recruit new subscribers, and "privileged class" actions for existing subscribers, can fit under "Be of those who count".
• Savings actions with the newspaper
• Interactive section on the site
• Subscription recruitment
• Privilege Class
- Moreover, every B2B campaign, whether for Key Account subscriptions or for advertisers through Trustmedia, is on the right track with "Be of those who count".
o Testimonials Trustmedia: "Volvo Cars trusts De Tijd." can become "Marc Engelen counts. Volvo Cars trusts De Tijd ".
o Trustmedia Recruitment files: "Be of those who count in the HR special"
o Key Account communication: "The 800 employees of Agfa Gevaert count."

- By illustrating the image campaign from the launch of "Be of those who count." with a series of captains of industry and treating them like brand ambassadors, we set the bar high from the word go. A high standard that immediately illustrates the connection with the brand and the forward-thinking and success of the readers of De Tijd and L'Echo.

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  • Getting people to make excuses

Getting people to make excuses

Work

Problem:

- 6 mobility campaigns on different themes, dealing with behaving properly on the road on one hand and the right mobility choices on the other hand.

Solution:

Research suggests that bad behavior cannot or can hardly be affected by knowledge or information transfer.

Applied strategy:

Research suggests that bad behavior cannot or can hardly be affected by knowledge or information transfer. For example: people know that smoking is bad but do it anyway. Also, a good attitude or mentality does not always influence behavior: even if you're absolutely convinced that you should wear a seatbelt, and you are positive about doing it, it is still not certain that you will actually do it next time you go for a 3 km drive.

Given the slightly rebellious (you could also call it "couldn't care less") nature of the
Belgian / Flemish, a moralising campaign from the government is certainly not the best way to influence the behavior of road users.

Which is why we instroduced the Silent Third Party to this campaign: the other road user. This can be a family member or friend sitting next to you in the car, but it could just as easily be a noble stranger who happens to be on the road at the same time as you. In the campaign, the Silent Third Party suddenly stops being silent. The campaign gives a voice to the comments and accusations that he/she thinks of when improper mobility behavior occurs, but usually keeps to himself/herself.

To avoid aggressive reactions and increase the chance that the message would come across well, we chose to give the blame a funny, witty form.

And to help people feel involved in the campaign, we gave them the opportunity to see their own creative ideas appear along the roadside.

An overview of the creations for the different waves, both for signs along the road and for the "second media".

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  • Getting people pranked

Getting people pranked

Work

Problem:

- GERMAINE launched an online campaign for MTV with the new slogan "Get More MTV". An appeal for viewers to become more MTV in their mobile phone use.
- In other words, to increase their texting and (have to) make fewer annoying phone calls.

Solution:

- Get people pranking
- This was illustrated with a website where you could deliver your friends some such annoying phone conversation. On the website getmoremtv.be you could chose an annoying message and send it immediately (for free) to any phone number.

Result:

- Your friend was then called up, only to hear on the other side of the line an annoying homesick alien, tro-lo-lo-man or annoying orange. So it was a strange phone call. After that phone call they got a text message that said "Get less Homesick Alien, get more MTV", as well as commercial information on Generation MTV text messaging rates.

- The site was promoted with three spots that ran on MTV and circulated online at the same time.

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  • Branded entertainment

Branded entertainment

Chrysler

Work

Problem:

- In 2001, the Chrysler Voyager was launched as the best diesel minivan by Germaine.
- In 2002 there were no changes or innovations that could keep interest for the car going.
- The objective however remained unchanged: to generate showroom traffic and sell more cars. And this in a falling market.

Solution:

- True to the "Comfort, Space, Performance" positioning of the Chrysler Voyager, we wanted prospects to "experience" the Chrysler Voyager. But for this, of course, we first needed to attract them into the showroom.
- "The magic is in the product" is an old advertising truth. So we based an entire campaign on a single product feature.
- The Voyager is equipped with 10 premium loudspeakers that, thanks to the perfect sound, make the "space" experience even more intense.
- We wanted to give prospects a reason to come to the showroom and experience this unique sound.

Result:

- Germaine briefed not only a classic creative team, but also a songwriter, who wrote a song about "space" and the experience of it. The song, that you've undoubtedly heard, was "Breathing Room" by Sarah.
- Then we found a record company and a singer for the song and shot an accompanying video clip, including lots of product shots of the Chrysler Voyager.
- The song was first launched without any reference to Chrysler and was an incredible success. It even earned a gold record. It was only after this success that we recuperated the song for Chrysler's own communication.
- Additionally, a print and radio campaign was created and a mailing with the CD was sent to customers and prospects whom we invited to listen to the CD in the showroom. By doing so, they could win a trip to the United States. Naturally, the campaign was also translated in the showrooms.
- While overall vehicle sales declined, Chrysler was able to keep sales stable. An interesting detail: the strategic idea of creating a song and later using it for Chrysler was recuperated worldwide, but with Celine Dion in the main role.

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  • Dag Allemaal

Dag Allemaal

Dag Allemaal

Work

Achtergrond
Magnet Magazines (een door GERMAINE bedachte naam) is de magazine-uitgever van De Persgroep.. De titels die Magnet Magazines uitgeeft, zijn ronkende namen. Germaine beheerde tot begin 2006 het reclamebudget van 4 titels: Dag Allemaal (grootste weekblad van Vlaanderen), TV-Familie, Joepie en AutoWereld.

Hoe verschillend elk van deze bladen ook zijn, toch hebben ze iets gemeenschappelijks: het breed-populaire zonder populistisch te willen worden, het bezig zijn met wat de mensen bezighoudt, het geven van genuanceerde informatie in een eenvoudige taal.

Toen GERMAINE/Morael in 1999 voor Dag Allemaal begon te werken, verkocht het blad wekelijks 345.000 exemplaren. Eind 2005 was dat opgelopen tot 375.000 – en dat terwijl de totale magazinemarkt in die periode met 12% was gedaald.

Dag Allemaal is niet alleen het meest verkochte, het is vooral het meest complete televisie- en familieweekblad in Vlaanderen: uiteraard zijn de televisiegids en het tv-nieuws belangrijk, maar ook artikels over actualiteit en maatschappij, reportages over markante mensen uit binnen-en buitenland, interviews met personalities, updates over boeken, cd's, films etc. worden sterk geäpprecieerd door de Dag Allemaal lezer. Dag Allemaal benadert de wereld met respect voor zijn lezer én vanuit zijn perspectief. De brede aantrekkingskracht van het blad, de mix van entertainment en actualiteit én het feit dat Dag Allemaal onwaarschijnlijk trouwe lezers heeft, maken van het blad "het grootste clubblad" van Vlaanderen.

De uitdaging voor GERMAINE was die persoonlijkheid te ontwikkelen en uit te dragen, en dit aan de hand van zowel brede positionerende communicatie als een opeenvolging van (wekelijkse) promoties en acties.

Acties en promoties
In de hyperconcurrentiële markt van de weekbladen (zeker zij die het van de losse verkoop moeten hebben, zoals Dag Allemaal) zijn wekelijkse promoties een noodzaak. Bovendien moeten ze impactvol aangekondigd worden én moet tegelijkertijd een consistente merklijn bewaard worden doorheen soms waanzinnig diverse promoties, zoals
- een gratis Waldkorn brood bij elke Dag Allemaal
- een gratis single van Helmut Lotti (zie Visual uit de spot hieronder)
- vrijkaarten voor een Clouseau-concert te winnen
- wedstrijd om een villa aan de Costa Brava te winnen
- en vele andere

Niet enkel moest GERMAINE de merklijn van Dag Allemaal zien te bewaren, de facto moesten we het bureau er op zien te organiseren dat we, één week na de briefing, met een kant-en-klaar spotje on air konden zijn. Het spreekt vanzelf dat de creativiteit om met die (ook financiële) beperkingen om te gaan minstens even groot was als diegene die in de creatie zelf werd gestopt. Bovendien was een permanente strategische merkbewaking cruciaal.

Brede positionerende communicatie
In 2005/2006 zetten GERMAINE en Dag Allemaal een breed communicerende campagne op om de eigenheid van het blad te expliciteren. Het werd een multifunctioneel, multimediaal entertainment concept.

Uitgangspunt was een strategisch inzicht, losjes gebaseerd op "De Symbolische Samenleving" van Marc Elchardus. Daarin beweert de socioloog dat bevolkingssegmenten in de huidige samenleving niet langer te vatten zijn in sociodemografische breuklijnen zoals geslacht, leeftijd, opleiding of al dan niet stedelijke habitat, maar eerder gevolgen zijn van een symbolische en culturele breuklijn: het zijn culturele voorkeuren die bepalen tot welke groep men zich bekent, tot welk "eiland" men behoort. Een zeer pertinente theorie als je nagaat dat de lezersprofielen van Dag Allemaal en HUMO sociodemografisch niet wezenlijk van elkaar verschillen, terwijl ze semiometrisch en attitudinaal gesproken van elkaar verschillen als dag en nacht.

Het inzicht volgde logisch: als Dag Allemaal de bevolking van een bepaald "symbolisch eiland" aansprak, dan moest het, als grootste weekblad van Vlaanderen, trots die rol op zich nemen en, in onze woorden, "de vlag worden van ons eiland". Trots onze waarden en culturele referenties uitdragen. Waardoor we de trots en de betrokkenheid van "ons lezerspubliek" bij "hun" blad zouden verhogen – en zo de loyalty in de losse verkoop zouden ondersteunen.

We gingen dus op zoek naar een communicatieconcept dat aan de "typische Vlaming" duidelijk maakte dat wij hem begrepen, en tegelijkertijd aan adverteerders vertelde dat wij hun doelgroep kenden en begrepen.

Het concept kreeg als titel "Helemaal Dag Allemaal" en moest worden begrepen als "wat er ook van typische zaken gebeurden met een typische Vlaming, het was helemaal Dag Allemaal."

De communicatie moest een correcte afspiegeling zijn van de hedendaagse Vlaamse samenleving én een correct zicht geven op de typische inhoud van een Dag Allemaal magazine. Bovendien moest het entertainend zijn, gezien "entertainment" de kernbelofte van het blad was.

Multimediaal concept
Het uitgangspunt was verrassend: we gingen niet op zoek naar een klassieke above-campagne, maar naar een entertainment-concept. En dat vonden we in de muziek.

GERMAINE benaderde één van de finalisten van de zonet afgelopen eerste editie van het tv-programma "Idool" op VTM, nl. Wim Soetaer. Samen met hem schreven we een song die alle merkwaarden van Dag Allemaal netjes op een rijtje zette: het community-gevoel, de zorgen en vreugdes van het dagelijkse leven, typische zaken die in het blad aan de orde kwamen zoals kinderen, geboortes, huwelijken, jubilea, liefde, verdriet. De song werd opgenomen in twee versies: één met duidelijke branding van Dag Allemaal, één die anoniemer door het leven ging als "Allemaal".

Tegelijk werd ook een clip opgenomen. In die clip kwamen allerlei BV's aan bod, zoals Joke Vandevelde, Sam Gooris, Jean-Marie Pfaff, en vele anderen. Bovendien kwamen ook zaken als zwangerschappen, huwelijken verschillende generaties, sport, beauty, etc in de clip aan bod. De clip werd zo opgenomen dat er maar liefst 25 verschillende montages van 15 seconden konden worden uit gedistilleerd, die zouden kunnen fungeren als tv-spots voor Dag Allemaal. Bovendien werden enkele honderden trouwe Dag Allemaal lezers ingezet als figuranten in de clip, waardoor de betrokkenheid verhoogde.

In eerste instantie werden song en clip anoniem gelanceerd als "Allemaal". Wim Soetaer behaalde er prompt een gouden plaat en nationale bekendheid mee. En Dag Allemaal kreeg een zeer herkenbare auditieve jingle, 25 tv-spotjes over alle mogelijke onderwerpen, zeer brede media-coverage in De Rode Loper, De Laatste Show, Donna, Q-Music, Tien Om Te Zien, Mediamadammen en vele andere. Het geheel werd afgesloten met een groot feest ter ere van de twintigste verjaardag van Dag Allemaal, in het Antwerpse Sportpaleis.

Mensura

Work

Problem:

- In June 2006, 6 major players in the Belgian world of prevention, insurance and aftercare decided to join forces and proceed further under a single common flag, Mensura. From the start, Mensura was a large, if not the largest player in its market.
- Mensura operates in a legally highly regulated market, i.e. that of the External Services for Prevention and Protection at Work. These services consist of a series of equally legally defined practices, at a price that is also specified by law.
- Not only does this mean differentiation is particularly difficult, the main problem is that employers consider these services an annoying legal obligation that they don't (have to) think about any further.
- This is unfortunate, because these external medical services can be an integrated part of a comprehensive approach to Human Resources where the welfare and well-being of employees is central.

Solution:

- Employers, workers and opinion leaders alike need to replace their traditional perception with a new concept: the external service as HR tool.
- This was not just a logical task for the leader Mensura, but it would also play best to their advantage. That is why GERMAINE recommended an information campaign that wouldn't actually highlight the specific benefits of Mensura, but rather the benefits of safe and healthy working, both for employers and workers.
- It was intended to give mainly employers and opinion leaders a different view on External Services.
- We opted for a highly segmented approach towards business executives and opinion leaders, through specific media: segmented radio networks (Radio 1, RTBF1), newspapers (De Standaard, De Morgen, De Tijd, L'Echo), wide-reach magazines (Trends / Tendances ) and specialized magazines (e.g. HR Magazine).

Results:

- Despite the limited media budget, the campaign seemed to be omnipresent.
- Furthermore, the extremely simple creative concept created high visibility and recognition ("A green space? That must be Mensura").
- Market research before and after the campaign showed not only increased brand awareness for Mensura, but also a greater interest in the broader concept of "well-being at work" and its importance in good company management.

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  • Havendag 2008

Havendag 2008

Work

Problem:

- People had no idea of the role ports play in their daily lives and the activities that take place there.

Solution:

- In Flanders Port Area, the Flemish maritime ports, we started by developing a campaign towards the broad public that aimed at developing support for the port activities on the one hand, and also on attracting visitors to the first Flemish Port Day.
- To do this, we took a very broad audience approach, namely a consumer perspective ("the shops are full of stuff that entered the country through the ports").
- This didn't prevent us from organising two parallel paths for other target groups in a later stage, in collaboration with the people in charge in the Flemish Government:
o economic actors and other opinion leaders with an economic approach ("the ports are the basis of our prosperity")
o (potential) employees of (companies in) the port, via a "pride" campaign ("we are all a part of the port")

Result:

- No less than 65,000 visitors came to take a look in Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend and Zeebrugge.
- The strategic approach and creative output can be discovered in the case film.

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  • DO NOT DISTURB. I’M TAKING A PITSTOP.

DO NOT DISTURB. I’M TAKING A PITSTOP.

Work

Problem:

- Road safety campaign on the theme of fatigue.
- The theme is underestimated
- There are more accidents caused by fatigue than by alcohol.
- The devastation can be significant, since drivers do not brake or perform evasive maneuvers.
- A first peak between 3 and 6 at night, a second peak between 2 and 4 in the afternoon.

Solution:

- The objective consisted of making young drivers aware of the risks.
- People need to be able to recognize the signs of fatigue and react accordingly.
- This sub-target group is most prone to car accidents caused by "fatigue", especially because of their limited driving experience, their social life and limited awareness of danger.
- The right reaction is "the Pitstop". A break of 15 minutes to close your eyes, take a nap, then get back on the road feeling fresh and staying safe.

Result:

- Germaine developed a coherent campaign consisting of a campaign website, a billboard campaign, leaflets, radio spots and banners.
- As a continuation of the website we also developed an online game, where people could test their driving skills in a fatigued state. The point was to drive without an accident for as long as possible without falling asleep. After a certain time driving, the driver got tired, and he / she had to enter one of the pit stops. If they didn't do it or didn't do it quickly enough, the car became impossible to steer.
- Everything was presented to the press during an orchestrated press conference at a gas station, where a Pitstop parking space was inaugurated.

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  • Antwerp Military Hospital

Antwerp Military Hospital

Work

Enrolling the involvement of local residents is important when carrying out infrastructure works. The former Military Hospital in Antwerp will be transformed over the next few years into an open city park with housing that will be created in the old military buildings (and some new buildings).

Given that the site had been closed for decades (military domain!) and abandoned since the mid-90s by the military, but had remained inaccessible, it had become a strange place in the neighbourhood that neighbours didn't really know what to think of. On one hand they wanted to do something with the domain (decay was imminent), but on the other they didn't want to lose the relative calm of the past years.

In this context, the consortium Wilma / Vanhaerents won the architectural competition, and they asked GERMAINE to handle the development of the sales communication (coming up with a commercial name, logo, corporate identity, brochures, website and marketing campaign) as well as enrolling the support of the locals - important both in the construction phase (permits!) and in the following phase (a good integration of new residents in the old neighbourhood).

GERMAINE involved a partner, the PR agency Pleon, to help them set up an information and consultation process towards the neighbourhood. This included identifying the various players in the debate, organizing information evenings, preparing, producing and distributing newsletters to local residents, coaching the spokesmen of the consortium to answer the neighbours' questions, (co-)maintaining relationships with government officials (e.g. the city committee), making contact with the media and third parties (e.g. Open Monument Day), etc.

Apart from an isolated nucleus of opposition against the plans, the whole neighbourhood is now involved in, and even proud of, the project. Proof of this are some spontaneous shows of support and expressions of gratitude for the communication during the last neighbourhood information meeting.

Besides the neighbourhood story, GERMAINE also developed material for the commercialization of the housing units (brochure, sales sheets and sales site) and an ad.

GERMAINE imagined an original launch event: a pop-up restaurant.
The question was: how do you bring your audience in contact with your product in the most (cost-) efficient way possible, if you know your target group is composed of young double-income households, who are critical towards communication? And knowing that your product also currently only exists on paper (not a single housing unit has been started yet, let alone delivered), and that the location is, in effect, a construction site.

GERMAINE got the idea of setting up a pop-up restaurant in the empty chapel, with very trendy elements (artwork by Panamarenko, a top chef, funky music, a designer interior). That way, the desired audience came to the site and was immediately impressed by the beautiful aura of the place - even though it was only a construction site.

It was a huge success, both commercially and in terms of media attention and traffic. This temporary restaurant has since closed its doors again... but who knows what could happen in the next construction phase.

Germaine's rule #01

We create talkability, our clients create relevance.
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  • MTV Get More MTV

MTV Get More MTV

MTV

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  • Tele 2 Liberty

Tele 2 Liberty

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  • Voedselbanken

Voedselbanken

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Knorr

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  • Tele 2 Crisis

Tele 2 Crisis

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  • Puntavista

Puntavista

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  • VLAM Kalkoen

VLAM Kalkoen

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WWF

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BASE

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  • Autowereld

Autowereld

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  • WWF Climate Change

WWF Climate Change

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  • WWF Listen

WWF Listen

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  • IKEA Luxepaard

IKEA Luxepaard

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  • Toppits Tomatensoep

Toppits Tomatensoep

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Efteling

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  • IKEA Stoffen

IKEA Stoffen

Work

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  • Havendag 2011

Havendag 2011

Work

  • work
  • Obama De Tijd

Obama De Tijd

Work

  • work
  • Groenten en Fruit

Groenten en Fruit

Work

  • work
  • BMW Zomercondities

BMW Zomercondities

Work

  • work
  • Thomas Cook Oostenrijk

Thomas Cook Oostenrijk

Work

  • work
  • Rosy & Blue Samsung

Rosy & Blue Samsung

Work

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  • IKEA Leef Nu

IKEA Leef Nu

Work

  • work
  • Groene! Economie

Groene! Economie

Work

  • work
  • Groen! Big Bang

Groen! Big Bang

Work

  • work
  • Q8 Cavendish

Q8 Cavendish

Work

  • work
  • Thomas Cook Bikini

Thomas Cook Bikini

Work

  • work
  • Thomas Cook Turkije

Thomas Cook Turkije

Work

  • work
  • Corelio 3D

Corelio 3D

Work

  • work
  • Samsung STAR TxT

Samsung STAR TxT

Work

  • work
  • Samsung Omnia

Samsung Omnia

Work

  • work
  • The Love Buddha

The Love Buddha

Work

  • work
  • Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon

Work

  • work
  • Samsung LED TV

Samsung LED TV

Work

  • work
  • Samsung Diva

Samsung Diva

Work

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  • Vlaanderen in Actie

Vlaanderen in Actie

Work

Problem:

- ViA (Vlaanderen in Actie / Flanders in Action), is the Flemish Government's action plan to get Flanders in the top five European regions by the year 2020, based on various social and economic criteria.
- The briefing indicated that the objective was not only to inform the Flemish people about ViA, but specifically to get them involved. And make it clear to them that they too can and should play their part in meeting the ViA objectives.
- We identified two problems:
• The first was that the average citizen is less of an idealist than JFK would like. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". And in contrast to JFK's warm appeal we posed the, somewhat more cynical - albeit crucial - marketing question: "what's in it for me?"
• The second problem is that once a number of people have become interested in the story, they often don't know what they can and should do. We can't assume that people will ask "What can we do for our country?" We'll have to tell them.

Solution:

- We needed a simple "feel good" concept that people from all walks of the Flemish population could be enthusiastic about.
- We used the latent chauvinism of the Flemish people and the fact that we like to get our hands dirty as starting point. We addressed the Flemish people's simple doer mentality. The fact that they don't palaver for very long, don't theorize endlessly, but at some point just... do things!
- Do it! That was the key phrase in our concept. Because many Flemish people already do things that fit in with the ViA objectives. It's time for them to be proud of that fact. For us to make them proud of it.
- ViA. It exists, the plans are there. Now there's only one thing left... Just do it.

Result:

- Website (Google analytics):
• During the campaign we had over 6,000 active interactions on the site, including creating buttons, testimonials from real life, comments on the statements and signatures under the 2020 pact.
• During the campaign 48,122 visitors came to the website, of which + / - 80% were unique.
• 96,526 page views within the site
- Netlog (statistics):
• 3805 friends on Netlog. A target group that in the past had always been difficult to reach for the Flemish Government.
• Skin sharing / sharing of the background on Netlog: 2,500,000 impressions and on top of that 7,300 young people used the ViA background on their own profile page.
- Print campaign (Corelio Connect study):
• Recognition (Have you seen this ad?): score of 49% compared to the government benchmark (of previous campaigns) of 44% (so 11% above average)
• Attribution (Do you know which organization this ad is for): score of 66%, compared to the benchmark of 42%, so 57% above average
• This gives an efficiency score of 32% compared to the government benchmark of 23%, so 39% above average.
- Radio (DIVA results):
• The results of the brand screening were good. Up to 60% of young people adopted a positive attitude towards ViA, for elderly people this went up to 74%!
• The spot scored very well compared to the average results in the non-profit sector in terms of "likeability, clarity and persuasiveness".
- Posters:
• People spontaneously asked the Flemish government for leftover posters from the poster campaign. Ditto for the buttons that are still being requested.
- Free Publicity:
• Following the campaign, the theme of ViA was once again given a lot of attention in the written media, both online and offline.

Germaine's rule #03

Getting people to do things.

Some interesting news we'd like to share with you.

GERMAINE opent Coffee & Brand bar

Germaine opende op zondag 18 september een Coffee & Brand Bar. Daar biedt het Antwerpse bureau adverteerders, creatieven en andere merkenbouwers niet alleen koffie maar ook “een creatief communicatieplatform.” Het vat zijn koffiebar op als een ‘brand bar’. Merken kunnen er ter plaatse hun producten laten testen, proeven en evalueren bij een doelgroep. Dat moet doeltreffende feedback door consumenten opleveren. Germaine heeft nu al partnerships met merken afgesloten. Zo toont Samsung zijn nieuwe producten in de Coffee & Brand Bar.
Germaine opent zijn Coffee & Brand Bar op het hipste adres van de hipste buurt van Antwerpen: op het adres van de merkenwinkel Clinic op ’t Zuid. Het reclamebureau introduceert het concept heel toepasselijk met een Clinic Picnic om 16u. Voor de gelegenheid is de straat autovrij en zijn er live muziek, springkastelen, een afsluitende dj-set van Buscemi – en natuurlijk koffie.

Coup de théatre in de BMW-pitch

G&CO, uittredend bureau van BMW en reeds 14 jaar actief voor het merk, heeft met succes en met verve zijn positie verdedigd in de lopende BMW-pitch. Het bureau van Louis Gendebien haalde het zo van TBWA, DuvalGuillaume en Polygone, en mag de komende jaren ook weer de merk- en dealercommunicatie van de Duitse autobouwer verzorgen.

Louis Gendebien (CEO G&CO): Het is een onwaarschijnlijk plezier om het werk van de voorbije jaren voort te kunnen zetten voor BMW in België en Luxemburg. Het succes van BMW van de voorbije jaren en de grootse plannen voor de komende jaren zijn voor ons een echte drive om ons ook de volgende jaren samen met de teams in Bornem maximaal in te zetten voor dit prachtige merk.

 

Coup de foudre.

De eerlijkheid gebiedt ons om te vermelden dat G&CO deze keer de pitch niet alleen liep, maar ten volle ondersteund werd door het hele team van GERMAINE.

Fabrice Dekerf (COO GERMAINE): We werkten reeds voor BMW Jorssen (Antwerpen) en waren ook weerhouden voor de presentaties in de longlist. Dat was een zeer goede meeting, en we voelden een wederzijdse coup de foudre met BMW. Alleen was GERMAINE voor het totale budget net iets te klein en te Vlaams… Tegelijkertijd hadden we Louis Gendebien al gecontacteerd, omdat we er van uitgingen dat we een perfecte complementariteit konden bieden voor zijn team. Na de bekendmaking van de shortlist hebben we dan ook finaal besloten om onze krachten te bundelen.

De intense samenwerking van de voorbije maanden en de complementariteit van zowel creatie als strategie waren duidelijk voelbaar tijdens de finale pitchpresentatie.

Jean-Philippe Parain (Marketing Director BMW Belux): Het was indrukwekkend om te zien dat er voor ons een echt team stond te presenteren. We voelden wonderwel hoe de ervaring van G&CO en de verfrissende aanpak van het GERMAINE-team samenvloeiden tot een innovatieve en toch zeer solide aanpak. Dat gaf ons en het hele management echt vertrouwen voor de toekomst, ook al was de concurrentie van heel hoog niveau.

 

Coup d’envoi, aftrap naar een gezamenlijke toekomst.

Het blijft voor de beide bureaus echter niet bij een samenwerking op het BMW-merk. De beide CEO’s hebben immers beslist om te fusioneren tot één onafhankelijk Belgisch bureau, met twee operationele vestigingen in Brussel en Antwerpen.

Kristiaan Cloots (CEO GERMAINE): Voor mij als echte BMW-freak is dit een zeer leuk moment. Vooral ook omdat uit de ontmoeting met Louis gebleken is dat we meerdere passies delen. Allebei hebben we ons bureau bv. uit een internationaal netwerk verzelfstandigd tot lokaal verankerde spelers. Het is dan ook onze ambitie om onze ervaringen en mensen samen te voegen tot een krachtig geheel, waarmee we ook in de toekomst echt potten kunnen breken. Ik kijk daar in elk geval enorm naar uit.

Het laatste woord is, hoe kan het ook anders, voor Louis Gendebien:  “Geloof het of niet, maar ik beleef mijn tweede jeugd. De creatieve visie van Bart Klerckx (CD GERMAINE) scherpt mijn eigen creatieve strijdlust weer aan, en als ik dan vanuit mijn ervaring nog een steentje kan bijdragen, dan gaan we de volgende jaren samen nog grootse dingen doen. We zijn klaar voor de toekomst. Twice as nice.”

GERMAINE geeft de Hanswijkprocessie in Mechelen een nieuwe kernboodschap en facelift

Kunnen we een oeroude religieuze beleving een hedendaagse make-over geven? Met respect voor de traditie?

Op 29 mei 2011 trekt de Hanswijkprocessie door de straten van Mechelen. Dat doet ze elk jaar, al sinds 1273.

Op die dag is de oude Mechelse binnenstad het tafereel voor een uniek en kleurrijk spektakel waarin enthousiaste deelnemers tientallen historische en religieuze taferelen uitbeelden. Dit jaar starten bovendien de voorbereidingen voor het jubeljaar 2013 – een uniek feest dat maar eens om de vijfentwintig jaar plaatsvindt. Dan wordt er de Hanswijkcavalcade georganiseerd.

De vzw Hanswijkprocessie vroeg aan GERMAINE om een geïntegreerd communicatieplan op te stellen voor de edities 2011, 2012 en het Jubeljaar 2013.

Via FAITH (een strategisch brandmodel van GERMAINE) werd een nieuwe en relevante kernboodschap ontwikkeld, die zich in eerste instantie vertaalt in een hedendaagse identiteit.

Vervolgens werd deze omgezet in een volledig nieuwe website (www.hanswijkprocessie.be) die als noemer zal fungeren voor een stevige PR-campagne, inzet van 'social media' en 'event marketing'.

 

De Vlaamse Havens meren aan bij GERMAINE.

GERMAINE heeft, na een officiële aanbesteding en competitie, het budget gewonnen van de Tweede Vlaamse Havendag, die dit jaar doorgaat op 25 juni.

Deze campagne gaat uit van de Vlaamse Overheid, departement MOW, ter gezamenlijke promotie van het belang van de havens van Antwerpen, Gent, Zeebrugge en Oostende.

GERMAINE wist de klant te overtuigen met zijn frisse communicatie-insteek en een innovatieve campagne met ingebouwde technologische hoogstandjes.

De campagne met als thema 'Verruim je kijk op de Vlaamse Havens' heeft naast een activerende component voor de publieksdag, ook een algemener objectief, nl. het verhogen van het draagvlak van de havens m.b.t. het leven, wonen en werken in en rond de vier Vlaamse Havens.

De campagne begint te lopen vanaf mei 2011.

Germaine en Gonzales herstructureren

Om de groei bij Gonzales voldoende draag- en daadkracht te geven, verschuift creative director Dirk Domen van Germaine naar Gonzales waar hij de troepen van Sacha Krinstinsky zal versterken. Gonzales is gespecialiseerd in "online & mixed media". Het bestaat al zes jaar en werd in 2009 overgenomen door Germaine. Vanwege de toename van het aantal opdrachten, had het versterking nodig.

Germaine maakt van die verschuiving gebruik om Bart Klerckx terug aan boord te halen als nieuwe Creative Director én z'n huidig Hasselts bureau Mosterd mee te integreren. Bart zal in tandem werken met Strategic & Digital Planner Francesco Caccamese, die zich de voorbije jaren bewezen heeft in grondige en frisse on- en offline campagnestrategieën. Bedoeling is om meer dan ooit vanuit de "Getting People To Do Things" filosofie van Germaine, strategisch onderbouwde campagnes te realiseren voor merken die graag als challenger door het leven gaan.

Binnen de nieuwe structuur zal Fabrice Dekerf een sturende centrale functie innemen over Germaine en Gonzales heen en instaan voor een maximale complementariteit tussen beide entiteiten.

In de marge van deze nieuwe structuur heeft Germaine afscheid genomen van mede-oprichter Piet Wulleman die strategisch directeur wordt bij LDV United. We staan erop om Piet te danken voor de fijne samenwerking en hem succes te wensen bij LDV.

Germaine's rule #07

Our work is line-proof. Online and offline are one world.

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