Situation:

2020 was tough for each and every one of us. But some people, who suffered the most during this crisis, often got forgotten: the homeless.

Brief:

PENNY briefed us a Christmas campaign from the initial idea to the final execution, that expresses and spreads solidarity.

Objective:

The goal was to spread Christmas spirit across Germany, while translating our film’s message into reality. Furthermore, we did not only want to touch people but to really make a change.

We sparked the community spirit with a unique story and a timeless message: Imagine if everyone did that.

This sentence is usually used by adults to advise children to avoid certain things.

By twisting the meaning of this phrase showing that everyone could do something good, we turned this disciplinary expression into a compassionate Christmas message.

This message was the main part of a cross-media donation campaign, that brought our idea into reality and straight into the hearts and minds.

We implemented a donation mechanism that enabled everyone to participate. The chocolate figure (the gift in our film) was sold in our stores all over Germany and the proceeds were donated to the homeless. Since it is a tradition to give chocolate figures during Christmas, people were able to do something good without an additional financial burden. Which is important since a lot of our customers are struggling financially themselves.

As a grocery store PENNY basically addresses all its shoppers. With our Christmas campaign, we wanted to strengthen the bond with our loyal customers, turn occasional customers into regular ones, and convince non-customers of the PENNY brand. In addition, because we feel like a part of the neighborhood, we are there for all neighbors - especially those who don't have it quite so easily.

On a daily average 2.2 million people are shopping at PENNY. A lot of our customers are called the “must-safer”, which means they have to count every penny. In Germany, 19.7 % of the population is affected by poverty, meanwhile, that describes 44 % of our customers.

We wanted to motivate and especially enable everyone to participate in our campaign.

For nine months we worked on the year’s biggest campaign for our client. We started with elaborating our animation film, which was a mix of 2D- and 3D. Meanwhile, we worked on how to bring our message to life: From the packaging of the chocolate figure, from the long film to an extra short-version of the film, out-of-home posters, radio spots, and of course our numerous classic owned media channels (POS, PRINT, DIGITAL). The heart of the Christmas campaign was our cooperation with the German Red Cross to support homeless people.

The campaign was aired on the 5th of November.

We had special best-minute-placements in numerous national TV stations on the 23rd and the 25th of December.

Our film was 2020’s most viewed Christmas film worldwide with 39 Mio. views and 137 Mio. impressions. But most importantly: PENNY was able to donate 524.000 € to the German Red Cross for homeless people in need.

In conclusion, we did not only raise awareness for the suffering of the homeless during the pandemic, but changed the conversation to the importance of solidarity especially in tough times and showed that every one of us can make a change.

Together, we initiated a “Christmas for everyone”.