On 15 November 2014, we secretly turned the annual neo-Nazi march in Wunsiedel into something positive: Germany’s most involuntary charity walk. For every metre the neo-Nazis covered, €10 went to EXIT-Deutschland, an NGO that helps neo-Nazis leave the far-right scene.

Motivated by banners and bananas, the neo-Nazis went the full distance and raised €10,000 to help their own members leave the scene (the money was collected from citizens and regional companies beforehand). But that was just the start. Because, as the neo-Nazis set off, so did a meticulously planned PR campaign.

Via Twitter and Facebook, we activated carefully chosen and previously informed social media influencers. Even during the march, 21,000 people visited the microsite and helped us spread the word. Just three hours after the neo-Nazis crossed the finishing line, another element of the campaign went online: a documentary for the general public.

Almost immediately, the charity walk became a PR sensation and the media worldwide reported about the “Miracle of Wunsiedel”. And now all of Germany knows that there is an organisation using creative ideas to tackle the problem of right-wing extremism: EXIT-Deutschland.

As the neo-Nazis set off, so did a meticulously planned campaign. Via the microsite, Twitter, Facebook and carefully chosen social media influencers we started the live coverage. Even during the march, 21,000 people visited the microsite and helped us spread the word. But that was just the start. Because three hours after the neo-Nazis crossed the finishing line, another element of the campaign went online: a documentary. Thanks to its immediate release, the video became the campaign’s central communications tool, shown worldwide in its original version by many TV stations, in some cases even in full length.

24 million people were reached, worth a media equivalence of €1 million via national TV and print coverage alone

279 million impressions worldwide through social media

2.8 million YouTube views for the German and English versions of the video reportage

155,000 unique visitors on the microsite in just one week

21,000 visitors followed the march live on the microsite

4.7 million impressions on Facebook in one week

6,900 potential quitters clicked the EXIT button on the microsite

€10,000 in additional donations on top of the €10,000 raised by the neo-Nazis