Death is not an accepted and familiar part of life for many people. We are afraid of death; we prefer to put death far away. SIRE wants to get people thinking by making "death" a topic of conversation.
Insight
Death will always be painful. But people may become more aware that it does not help to avoid death. That's why SIRE wants to make death a topic of conversation. By talking about death, people start thinking about it and are more engaged with it. Talking contributes to the acceptance of death and improves the quality of the dying process and of life.
Creative concept
There was an emotional appeal with the campaign theme:
Death. Talk about it, not over it.
In the campaign, we showed that we prefer to avoid death as a topic of conversation. That we use death tactics. Often out of discomfort and not realizing what we are saying, we use words that do not help the other person. In doing so, we avoid meaningful conversation.
The campaign holds up a mirror and offers an alternative. Three important building blocks have been chosen in an integral plan of approach.
1: the public campaign, 2: (editorial) collaborations and 3: PR.
Death must become a topic of conversation. Then it is not enough just to call for it in an advertising campaign. Through the use of branded content (the editorial collaborations) and PR, we were able to show how to have the conversation about death.
It stood out with honest and human situations, just before and after death, in image & sound. They are the most recognizable death scenes. Its discomfort is literally felt by the viewer on TV and audible by the listener on radio.
In outdoor, print, online and social, confrontation was chosen. Tombstones are used to write down the doomsayers. Also to make it clear that it is better to bury the doodlers.
Collaborations: influencers & branded content
To also reach the younger target group - for whom death is often still very far away - 3 influencers entered into a conversation about death with a loved one. This content was distributed through the own socials of Roué Verveer, Julia Mekkes and Tim Senders. And through SIRE's own social channels, of course. A content collaboration was developed with the magazine &C: 'Uit de Doofpot'. The editors made a series of videos in which they asked readers confrontational questions about death.
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Budget and media engagement
SIRE has no budget. The "con amore, free and gratis" principle has existed since its inception in 1967. Every campaign is the result of the selfless cooperation of all parties: advertising agencies, research agencies, PR agencies, digital agencies, media agencies, production companies, experts, scientists and, last but not least, media partners.
TV exposure has always been important to SIRE because of the power of emotion the medium can convey and its mass visibility. TV availability has fluctuated greatly over the years. For the campaign "Death. Talk about it. Don't talk about it." unfortunately, a limited amount of TV airtime was available, which is partly why the campaign, in collaboration with various media partners, was fully deployed in other channels such as Radio, Cinema, Digital Out of Home, Print and on various online platforms.
We also saw this reflected in the reach of the campaign. At the same time, we do see that once people have seen the campaign, the campaign is extremely effective.
Result
Talking about death proved to be an important and rewarding topic for the media to publish about. A total of 452 news items were published (for a target of 50!). On the day of launch, attention from the major news media: the NOS News, the NOS Youth News, NOS.nl, NPO Radio 5, AD (online and video). Pieces in Trouw, NRC, AD. Polls in the Telegraaf, the NOS-Jeugdjournaal and on NPO Radio1 Standpunt.nl.
The intention to talk about death has increased significantly. People are much more aware that by doing so they strengthen the bond with their loved ones. With which the fear of talking about death decreases.
Conclusion
The Death Eaters campaign has succeeded in making death a topic of conversation. The call not to talk about death is painfully recognizable. A sensitive chord is struck with the stories. After seeing the campaign, people are more aware that talking about death brings you closer together, they feel a deeper connection. The relationship with their loved ones becomes closer. Death has really come alive as a topic of conversation.
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