We came up with something the Orchestra - that has always been in the shadow of leading artists - had never done before: A #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, 'World Wide Orchestra' premiered live on Radio 538 on November 18th. Using the natural allies of the Orchestra (radio programs and TV-shows) to get the ball rolling, a PR campaign gave the Metropole Orchestra the opportunity to tell their story in every Dutch media. Days later the single received a Golden Record, which was presented to a prominent member of Parliament. Just before the final government cuts debate we launched the Facebook-campaign: Win a Metropole Orchestra concert in your living room. The Metropole Orchestra was topic of conversation throughout Holland.

An official #1 hit (2500+ downloads i-Tunes), a Golden Record, and: impressed by the entrepreneurship of the Orchestra, on December 12th Parliament decided that the Metropole 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: the opportunity to gradually grow towards its independence with an €11m transitional subsidy for 4 years.The PR campaign secured 150+ publications, reaching 5m+ Dutch citizens with an estimated PR value of €3m+. Publications included TV shows, newspapers, radio and online.