Cannes Lions
EF EDUCATION FIRST, Lucerne / EF EDUCATION FIRST / 2020
Overview
Entries
Credits
Background
This 360-campaign showcases the emotions each parent goes through when sending their child on a language course abroad by using authentic, aspirational creative (with a dash of humor), coupled with relatable testimonials from parents. By building an emotional bridge to one of our core audiences, the campaign drove deep engagement with our brand and high-quality conversions.
The objective was to increase brand awareness and create conversions among parents by using an emotive message about letting their children go abroad with us for the first time. The aim was also to increase our global reach. The main KPIs were Branding and Consideration.
Budget: Approximately 200 000 euros, including internal resources, agency fees, and media spend.
Idea
For generations, boys and men have been told not to cry and that their masculinity is somehow compromised by showing emotion. We’ve been programmed
to think that way about fathers too. We want to help challenge those beliefs in a humorous way and show that parenting is a deeply emotional journey, no matter who you are.
DADS DON'T CRY is an ironic twist on the ‘boys don’t cry’ phrase and on one of the hardest moments in any parent’s life: letting go of your child as they start exploring the world on their own. Every parent faces the universal rite of passage – the selfless act of letting their child go so they can realize their dreams.
Target audience: 35-65+-year-olds. Parents with: pre-teens (9-12), teenagers (13-17), and young adults (18-26).
Execution
The campaign was shaped by the simple idea that letting your child go is necessary, but hard. The creative team developed a hybrid campaign composed of a short film shot in one take, as well as a landing page showcasing real stories of transformation and growth.
The contrast between a beautifully designed landing page with custom typography and handwriting, the intimate feel of the film, and the use of raw UGC footage from parents and students created a compelling creative language.
Comparing this campaign to our competition in the world of language travel is easy; no one has ever done anything similar. This is an emotional, personal, and thought-provoking campaign, with a unique and bold approach to cinematography at its core.
While resonating with a large audience, it still manages to feel intimate and deeply relatable to each and every parent.
Outcome
The campaign was designed to speak to our audience in a way that resonated with a range of feelings that parents experience when sending their child on their first trip abroad. As a result, it increased our reach significantly and built trust and affinity with our brand.
The campaign ran in 15 countries for approximately one month and resulted in the following:
- Reached 4.5 million.
- Generated 11.2 million impressions.
- Delivered at a frequency of 2.5 (how many times on average a person is exposed to an ad).
- Brought 70 000 clicks on ads.
- Video was played 4.4 million times on social media (500 000 watched 50% of the video, 300 000 watched the entire video).
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