Would Swedes Change their Name for a New Life?

According to the Swedish Patent and Trademark Office, Sweden is one of the countries where citizens change their names most frequently. At the same time, Berlin is the fastest growing city destination among Swedes based on popularity. Therefore Lufthansa and their agency DDB Stockholm wants to see if they can find a Swede who loves Berlin so much that he or she may consider changing name in order to start fresh in the city.  

 

In the same way that New York has been historically, Berlin has now become a pioneer city where people go to start over and to find success. Lufthansa wants to take a closer look at how it actually is to start a new life in Berlin. The person who first changes name to Klaus-Heidi and provides the jury with proof along with the best explanation wins everything needed to start a new life in Berlin, including an apartment with paid rent for a whole year. Lufthansa hopes that this will put some extra light on one of the airline’s most important destinations. 

“Swedes’ interest in Berlin has exploded during recent years, and we launch this activity to show that we recognise our customers’ love to the city, and to inspire to continued exploration off the beaten track in this exciting city. Our objective is to find a person who loves Berlin so much that he or she can consider a name change in order to move there. The unique feeling you get when being integrated in everyday life instead of just being a tourist, is a travel experience of a lifetime. This is something that we want to offer our customers,” says Magnus Engvall at Lufthansa’s Swedish office. 
 

The activity, entitled ”Are you Klaus-Heidi?”, can be found at Klaus-Heidi.se/en and will continue until the 28th November when the airline hopes to announce a winner who can verify the name change with a valid registration extract from the tax office. The name is a merge of two common German names, and signals that the competition is open for everyone, regardless of gender. 
 

A one-way ticket and a paid apartment in the Swedes’ new favourite city Just like when you book a flight with Lufthansa, all the extras are included in the price. The winner, Klaus-Heidi, flies direct with Lufthansa from Arlanda, Stockholm. At the airport in Berlin, Klaus-Heidi is picked up by a taxi and taken to the apartment where rent, insurance, electricity and water are paid for a full year. Furthermore, Klaus-Heidi gets a number of additional benefits that makes it easy to live the good life in Berlin, where more than 3,000 Swedes already are permanent residents. Also, an intensive course in German is included to give Klaus-Heidi a chance to master the local language. 

“It is not only tourists that discover Berlin and travel to the city in greater extent. During recent years Berlin, with its low cost of living, its vibrant culture and close ties with the surrounding world, has become something of a start-up mecca for young people with big dreams,” says Paul Alarcon, urban expert from the analysis company United Minds. 
 

Alternatives for the cautious At the site Klaus-Heidi.se/en Lufthansa will offer discount tickets to all destinations within Lufthansa’s global network. They also offer the opportunity for a name change on Facebook in order to get additional discount. 

The activity kicks off at the 11 October 2013 and continues until the 28 November 2013 when someone hopefully has shown a valid registration extract from the tax office with the first name Klaus-Heidi.