In a world that has become increasingly digital and mobile, Metro needed to defend the relationship with its advertisers. Metro’s principal asset is the readers, but they are regarded by many as a heterogeneous and not particularly distinct target group.

To reinforce Metro’s value among advertisers, the mission was therefore to define and dramatise the paper’s readership.However, Metro’s readership is not necessarily of great interest outside of Metro and we thus had to contextualise it to attain broader relevance. We identified a trend that satisfied the need: urbanisation. With more than half of the world’s population living in cities, humanity turned decidedly urban in 2009. Yet, little was known about what characterises city dwellers on a global level.

Our solution: a report on the similarities in values and lifestyles of city dwellers globally. The Metropolitan Report revealed that being urban is as much about having a ‘Metropolitan’ mindset, as it is about your postcode. And this mindset adds value to Metro’s readership in advertisers’ eyes.

The campaign resulted in 1,000+ personal contacts with advertisers and media agencies. More than 70 full pages were published in Metro, creating 96m impacts.

Before campaign:• Extensive research, including a survey across 30 cities, and expert interviews were performed, all compiled in The Metropolitan Report.Campaign launch:• Communication tool kits sent to Metro’s markets: - The Metropolitan Report. - Video News Release to be used in seminars and on the web. - B2B presentation constructed in modules to be used in sales meetings and seminars.• 5 global spreads were created together with Metro World News to maximise editorial impact in Metro. Local Metro editors are not required to publish MWN material. Hence, publicity was not guaranteed.• Global and local press releases were sent primarily to trade press.

During Campaign:• B2B seminars and gatherings were held.• The Metropolitan Report was sent to targeted stakeholders.

• Ad hoc press releases were produced (e.g. during Pride Stockholm: ‘Most gay-friendly city in the world’).

Focus in the campaign was personal B2B contacts in seminars and gatherings, and editorial impact in Metro.Seminars and gatherings: • 1,000+ personal contacts with clients and prospects.Editorial impact in Metro;• A total of 96m impacts;• 70 full pages and 26 front page insertions;• Out of 15 participating markets, 11 published articles in print.The campaign further reached millions in external earned media and social media.