It’s December 2020 and the epidemic situation is setting in for the long haul. Vaccination against Covid-19 will be introduced in the next few months, but protective measures remain in force. The Brussels authorities, the SPW and the Walloon Agency for Quality of Life (AVIQ), have decided to launch an information and awareness campaign to encourage the population to maintain protective measures. To get this new message across, La niche has been mobilized for the deployment of a responsible campaign that will last until …. March 2022!
The Walloon Agency for Quality of Life (AVIQ) aims to provide each Walloon citizen with answers adapted to his or her needs in terms of assistance, support, well-being and health, to enable him or her to lead a quality life, while simplifying procedures and improving the quality of its services.
The challenge is great: to develop very quickly a communication campaign around protective actions, to find the right message and the right approach towards the population while it is going through an anxious and difficult period.
The niche had to implement this campaign in record time and work hand in hand with two regions with sometimes different sensitivities, reaching populations with different needs. The agency accepted the challenge and succeeded in setting up a large-scale campaign.
To find the right message, La niche chooses a starting point: BREATHING. Breathing is, on the one hand, when everything will be better and we will be able to breathe better again. On the other hand, it is the fact that people are holding their breath: because the situation is unprecedented, because Covid-19 has taken up residence in our lungs or those of a loved one, because visits to our elders are restricted, because our favorite restaurant has had to close, because we are afraid, because the mask prevents us from breathing… We are all affected and it is only collectively that we can contribute to change.
Thus, if everyone does their part and respects the barrier measures, we will breathe better tomorrow. It is collectively that we must continue to pursue these actions to breathe better tomorrow. The message of the campaign thus becomes : “Pour Mieux Respirer Demain”.
As you can see, the news and the epidemiological situation are always changing. The Niche is constantly adapting its communication strategy to the various target groups in order to ensure that hygiene measures and protective actions are sustainable. It is necessary to strengthen the support of the citizens for the global public health approach. A frantic pace, a team on the alert and highly motivated.
In constant consultation with the AVIQ, La niche is developing a global campaign that aims to reach the general public. Other actions are launched in parallel: Influence marketing, digital marketing, Serious Gaming, urban advertising.
A website was designed and produced by La niche: www.respirer.be. It echoes the strategy put in place and serves as a destination for the campaign. Its content will be updated regularly to keep up with the news.
La niche produces a spot and broadcasts it on TV and in several movie theaters. Its goal: to spread the message “to breathe better tomorrow” by bringing positive, constructive and living together. It will be visible during the Euro 2021, giving it a great visibility.
The agency uses Standard Liege soccer players as influencers. The moment is serious but the players play the game with good humor. Video sequences are shot in which they remind of the protective gestures. They are broadcasted on social networks and can be seen in another TV spot.
At the same time, to reach the youngest and convince them of the usefulness of protective actions, La Niche is developing a formidable activation tool: a serious game. “Covid Attacks” is based on the cult Space Invader. Each level you pass gives you a tip to protect yourself from Covid-19. The method is simple but effective: it transmits a message and information by putting it into practice in a playful and pleasant context. With this mechanism, we reach a younger audience. BIM, with this, we reach the youngest!
Urban advertising is deployed: on the street, on buses, in hospitals and in supermarkets. The niche also coordinates and writes inserts in the written press. Social network campaigns are launched continuously with adapted messages (Snapchat, Facebook, Insta, Youtube, Tinder, Happn…). The challenge is met with flying colors. Keeping up with the pace, maintaining a motivated team: our team worked closely with AVIQ and was in charge of the communication strategy, creating and publishing content, monitoring reactions and moderating them, and adapting the campaign as it went along.
To stage barrier gestures in order to raise awareness again and again, in a context as heavy as that of Covid and the multiplication of waves: this is the bet taken by La niche. With tact and reactivity, they were able to identify the stakes and problems and propose adapted strategies. Thank you for this great collaboration!
The campaign was able to adapt and address all citizens in a complicated context and a growing weariness. It was visible everywhere, via different channels and formats. It reached the general public with human and encouraging messages. We are proud to have accompanied the authorities in this approach for the common good, resolutely carrying courage and hope.
