How do you convince a cost cutting government that the Metropole Orchestra is a vital part of Dutch culture and possesses enough entrepreneurial spirit to stand on its own feet in the future? By showing the Dutch general public and the Dutch government that the Orchestra is alive, entrepreneurial and successful.

We came up with something the Orchestra, which has always been in the shadow of leading artists, had never done before: A number 1 hit in their own name. We got Holland’s most successful songwriter and composer and the biggest Dutch radio station on board. We recruited, live on radio, a dozen of our most famous artists. The single premiered live on national radio and TV on November 18th. Within 1 week the single became number 1.Using the natural allies of the Metropole Orchestra to get the ball rolling, an extensive PR campaign gave the Metropole Orchestra the opportunity to tell their story in almost every Dutch media. Days later the hit single received a Golden Record, which was presented to a prominent Member of Parliament. Then, just before the final government cuts debate we launched a Facebook-campaign: Win a Metropole Orchestra concert in your living room. The Metropole Orchestra was a topic of conversation throughout The Netherlands.

Finally, on December 12th, Parliament decided that the Orchestra had proved through public opinion to be an extremely important part of Dutch culture. And that independence was clearly possible. The Metropole Orchestra got what it needed: 4 years transitional subsidy.

A 50-day crash planning, from incubation to final result, evolved along the way:11 - 18 October Briefing agency, strategy & concept development19 - 31 October Recruit songwriter/composer, artists and recording single, 'Worldwide Orchestra'1 - 14 November Produce video clip, TV + radio commercials and press materials1 - 17 November Pre-empting danger for the Metropole Orchestra with interviews on Dutch radio18 November Launch single, 'Worldwide Orchestra', live on national Radio 53821 November Kick-off extensive consumer PR campaign (distribution 1st press release)6 December Launch Facebook campaign (distribution 2nd press release)7 December Offering Golden Record to key Dutch Parliament member8 - 9 December Last interviews before decision day in Parliament12 December D-DAY in Dutch Parliament (distribution final press release)

An official number 1 hit (2,500+ downloads via i-Tunes), a Golden Record, and impressed by the entrepreneurship of the Metropole Orchestra, the Dutch Government decided that the Metropole Orchestra had proved to be an extremely important part of Dutch culture and that independence, in time, was clearly possible. The Metropole Orchestra got what it needed: the opportunity to gradually grow towards its independence with an 11m euro transitional subsidy for 4 years.The consumer PR campaign (online & offline) secured 150+ qualitative publications, reaching 5m+ Dutch citizens with an estimated PR value of 3m+ euros. Publications included national TV shows (e.g. Pauw & Witteman, Paul de Leeuw, RTL Boulevard, Editie NL, NOS Jeugdjournaal, SBS Shownieuws), newspapers (e.g. De Telegraaf, Volkskrant, Trouw, NRC Handelsblad, Algemeen Dagblad, Dagblad de Pers), radio (e.g. Radio 538, Radio 1, BNR) and online (nu.nl, nos.nl, depers.nl, telegraaf.nl, volkskrant.nl and many more).