WE HERE IN THE EAST – The energy revolution as a web series

Situation

Across much of Germany, the energy revolution is not considered a success story. It is perceived as complex, rushed, almost impossible to organize and very expensive. In the east at least, however, the reality is different. No one is driving this reality as successfully and eco-friendly as enviaM, the leading energy provider in former East Germany. But this goes practically unnoticed in the public debate. Here, the east is far ahead.

Goals

“We’d like to be closer to our customers – emotionally as well. What we’ve achieved is first-class. Here in the east we’re clearly mastering the energy revolution while the west is still far behind. And that’s just one of many positive themes.” This is pretty much how conversations sounded at the beginning. So...it’s a classic image campaign? No chance! The brand enviaM not only had to come alive, but above all find more of a human touch, for a broad target group (everyone 18-55): funny, competent, likable, but also down-to-earth – just like the east itself.

Strategy

The campaign idea for “WE HERE IN THE EAST” was born as a projector for the shared pride in a successful energy revolution along with many other exemplary accomplishments. And not by pointing the finger, but in a humorous and entertaining way. It was all digital, with lots of interaction and connected to an info portal in the background.

Implementation

Enter Martin and Paul: With Martin and Paul we created two sympathetic faces who use their web series to communicate complex energy-related topics in an understandable way. Viewers get to know and love the pair and so establish an emotional connection with the brand. “We Here in the East” provides a home for Martin and Paul. The two nice guys from the energy campaign are in the studio and on the road for the energy revolution – and we’re right there with them. Infotainment at its best. You can find Martin and Paul on YouTube and Facebook. Background info is available at www.wir-im-osten.info (currently available in German).

Outcome

Our campaign had over 19 million impressions and 7.3 million interactions on YouTube alone. Viewers spend an average of one minute and fifty-three seconds watching the videos – about 70% of the full length. On Facebook, we quadrupled our number of fans and our content achieved three million impressions and 850,000 interactions here.What about comments? A lot of positive ones. And let’s be honest – negative ones, too. Our topic moves people, so we answer them, collecting a lot of valuable ideas in the discussions. And we’ll keep doing this until the energy revolution is a complete success here, too. The project has been shortlisted for various prizes – internationally as well.