THE CHALLENGE

Obra Social ”la Caixa” is the third social institution in the world and the first one in its country by asset volume. It develops 50,000 social initiatives per year, 11 million people benefited from it and 500 million euro were raised. Despite these achievements, the social foundation failed to connect with the people.

It was searching for a new way of communications in that industry, being relevant for users, in a different and efficient way. How do you explain the work that is done by Obra Social ”la Caixa” and engage people? How could it raise millennials and younger generations’ (specially) interest on social issues?

IDEA AND FIRST RESULTS

The creative agency has launched for Obra Social ”la Caixa” ALMA (which means ‘soul’), known as “the social social network”. It consists of a new digital editorial of social topic, https://miradasconalma.org/and social media profiles (Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alma_laredsocialsocial/and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/laredsocialsocial/). 

It is a long-term project in charge of a special department of branded content inside the agency devoted to actualize the stories in order to waken a new look at social reality. The power doesn’t come from achievements or campaigns but from people themselves, the real protagonists. We can approach ideals and utopias to people through a new space for social inspiration and a new digital news source: ALMA.

ALMA wants to express reality through attitude, compromise and a diversified point of view, supporting a pluralistic vision, wakening social interest on the web, especially among the new generations. Some of the keys are special collaborations, digital contact, careful images and an optimistic code when talking about social issues; with an inspiration tone and a modern language, instead of the way of communicating be usually find in NGOs and third sector.

The language includes innovative audiovisual codes such as videos without music, without voice over, in vertical format, adapted for mobile and social networks.

ALMAjoins advertising to journalism writing not only about the advertiser but also about any relevant social issue and it counts on well-known people in some stories, such as the singer Shakira, FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué and national journalists like Iñaki Gabilondo and Josep Corbella. Even readers themselves can send their stories. 

By creating a new way of communication and new product they can not only avoid users’ rejection but also make them to search for the issue in a proactive way.

In a context where we hear a lot about branded content, but sometimes the word is overused without a real execution, the creative agency has come out with a project long-term thought and also executed by the agency.

After only ten months ALMA had reached 210 million views in social networks, 24 million video views and +200,000 followers.

FUTURE: NEXT BIG STEPS

The final goal of ALMA is in a few years to become a space of reference on the web where they not only communicate social initiatives of the brand but connect with other social projects in the world. In walking towards this utopia it becomes a reality.