Context:

Despite Brexit and the rise of extreme right-wing parties, more than half of Germans don’t vote in the

European elections.

Brief:

Lufthansa’s brand values of an open and connected world are in danger if people don’t vote. Our task was to raise awareness of the 2019 European elections and motivate people to vote.

Objectives:

Raising election turnout and promoting Lufthansa as a guardian of cosmopolitanism and open-mindedness while creating an unforgettable brand experience.

Innovation:

We turned magical places into once-in-a-lifetime polling stations. Making the act of voting an unforgettable experience. The stage of the famous Elbphilharmonie concert hall, the changing room of Champion’s League club Borussia Dortmund and many others opened their doors to voters.

Idea:

With the #SayYesToEurope initiative, Lufthansa turned magical places into polling stations. Voting forms became entry tickets to locations that everyone always dreamed of visiting but never could.

Strategy:

One reason for the traditionally very low voter turnout in Germany is that the process of voting itself can be very dull. Normally, only state buildings are allowed to become a polling station, constraining the elections to old classrooms and run-down school gyms. Lufthansa decided to tackle this issue and address all Germans that are eligible to vote.

Execution:

Special locations all over Germany became once-in-a-lifetime polling stations: The locker room of Champions League club Borussia Dortmund, the stage of Elbphilharmonie concert hall, infamous boxing club Zur Ritze, the studio of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Lufthansa’s own high-security Aviation Training Centre and many more places opened their doors to everyone who brought their voting forms. In a real polling booth, they could then vote on site.

Results: 

The world’s most extraordinary polling stations created massive awareness for the European elections: 149.9 million people were reached, generating 11.4 million euros in earned media. More than 38,000 people signed up to vote at our locations. As a result, voter turnout was the highest it’s been in over 20 years.

Scalability:

The scale of the idea soon become bigger than expected as locations came to us and wanted to join in (i.e. major German magazine Stern turned their news room into a polling station). Later the idea was copied by other organizations for different elections, including German state governments (during elections in Hamburg in 2020 people could vote in different locations).

ROI: 11.4 million euros in earned media.