Around 30 million volunteers significantly contribute to strengthening our community through their engagement. However, the topic of „volunteering“ lacked attractiveness in public perception. That’s why, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland Affairs (BMI), we have produced a nationwide crossmedia campaign for the second time, with a focus on video, TV, and social media. In the light of the current situation, two topics took center stage: „Ukraine aid“ and „civil protection and disaster relief.“
Campaign objectives
The campaign aimed to strengthen the awareness of volunteer work in the public consciousness and showcase that a community thrives on the active involvement of individuals. It particularly aimed to highlight the diversity of volunteer activities. Volunteers are not only engaged in sports clubs or emergency services but can be found everywhere in our society – whether it’s supporting war refugees, water rescue operations, or searching for missing persons. Volunteers are active where help is needed.
Strategy
Our strategy was to tell the diverse stories of volunteer work in emotional, authentic, and touching ways. Through our cross-media campaign, we aimed to reach a wide audience so that as many people as possible could relate to and connect with the concept of volunteering. By doing so, we demonstrated that everyone can contribute to the common good. We wanted to bring volunteer work out of the shadows and make it more visible to a larger audience, not only increasing recognition but also inspiring more people to get involved. And, of course, we wanted to say thank you. Thank you for the dedication and commitment to volunteer work!
Implementation
We created seven content packages containing quotes, photos, and videos of our contributions, which were then tailored for print, TV, online, and radio formats. These packages were distributed through our network to editorial and social media platforms for free use. Additionally, we produced numerous films for Instagram and TikTok using the content from this year and last year. In addition to utilizing the BMI’s own channels, we established editorial partnerships to ensure a reliable reach.
Results of the video campaign
Overall, the campaign reached over 151 million contacts. As a result, we were able to significantly increase awareness of the topic of volunteer work and showcase the importance of volunteer engagement on a large scale. By utilizing social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, we also reached a younger audience. Viewers consciously recognized the appreciative message conveyed in the videos. The authenticity of the contributions played a crucial role in generating interest in volunteering.
