Calling on a sense of collective responsibility to build a brighter future

 

The context: Tunisia had desposed its dictator and the mood was of jubilation and national pride. However, soon after the euphoria of the revolution dissipated and the entire country came to an economic standstill as people did not go back to work.  It was possible that the country would go bankrup.

The concept: People had to be mobilised to go back to work and restart the country that they had been fighting so hard for. The concept was for everyone collectively to imagine how bright Tunisia’s future could be if everyone starting building for it.  The concept was to imaging “16 June 2014″ and what possibilities Tunisians saw for themselves. The concept was to generate a national debate where people would contribute ideas and create a stake for themselves in getting back to work and getting Tunisia re-started.

The campaign: Six major Tunisian brands, along with 5 media outlets including 2 major newspapers, a TV station, a radio station and an online channel for a whole day acted as though it really was 16 June 2014, presenting Tunisia as a modern, prosperous, democratic country. A website 16juin2014.com was set up featuring the media content and also encouraging users to share their own ideas, even if they seemed wild and incredible. A hashtag was created, which rose to the number 1 trend on French Twitter. By 6pm, calls for action were gradually spreading and people saw that getting back to work was part of the political campaign they had already been participating in to build a better Tunisia.

What we liked: The campaign was directed at enhancing the sense of community, which in collectivist cultures is very high.  There was no advertising or promotions rather everyone was working together. Users could take a great deal of proactive measures themslves and essentially they were driving the debate. The idea of creating a vision and a better future, always striving to be better, were key components of the campaign. There was no preaching, rather people were supported and encouraged to make choices to deliver the kind of future that they wanted.

Images above from the campaign: Tunisia rises up; experts worry that the country will go bankrupt if people do not return to work; 16 June 2014 campaign launched; Newspapers and other media act as though it really is 16 June 2014; website and hashtag created; the Twitter conversation goes to number 1 on French Twitter; people put forward incredible scenarios for the future; people return to work