Last year, a record number of people died from drowning accidents in Sweden. Insurance company Trygg-Hansa, which has been working with water safety for 65 years, wanted to prevent future deaths through an educational initiative.?The brief was to come up with a new creative idea that could generate earned attention and educate the general public about water safety, raise knowledge of how drownings happen and save more lives.

Campaign-specific goals:

• 3 million reach in earned media

• 25 articles

• 7,000 campaign page visits

• 30,000 plays of the soundtrack

• 1,000,000 reach on social media.?

Insurance company Trygg-Hansa wanted to counter a dangerous misconception that drowning accidents involve splashing and cries for help. Contrary to popular belief, drownings often happen fast and quietly. So, we needed to educate the audience on this fact.

The creative solution was found in the global phenomenon of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). ASMR occurs from sounds generating a calm, pleasurable feeling, often accompanied by a tingling sensation. Sounds often include whispers, white noise, scratching, rustling, and crinkling, which are amplified to create an audio stimulus.

By simulating a drowning in ASMR, Trygg-Hansa demonstrated the stark contrast between the calm, relaxing sound and the horrible incident taking place. This innovative use of technology got media and the general public to listen. And by getting them to listen and learn the true sound of drowning, accidents can be prevented, and lives can be saved.

To save someone from drowning, you first need to realize when the person is in danger. A national survey found that almost half of the Swedish people incorrectly thought drowning involved splashing and cries for help. But actual drownings happen in silence. The key message was to call attention to this silence.

To highlight the silence of drowning, we used ASMR - a global trend that involves listening to sounds that are amplified to create an audio stimulus. By simulating a drowning in ASMR, we were able to educate the target audience, in this case the general public. The sound became the communicational tool needed to earn attention in both traditional and social media.?With this unique sound, we managed to capture the attention of the Swedish public, in order to teach them how to better detect a potential drowning accident, and by extension save more lives. ?

Brand relevance

Trygg-Hansa has been working with water safety for 65 years and has donated over 250,000 lifebuoys to public beaches and docks. In 2019, a record number of people died from drowning accidents in Sweden – increasing the relevance and importance for Trygg-Hansa to discuss water safety.

Execution/Timeline

1. Survey

Trygg-Hansa conducted a national survey, which found that almost half of Swedish people incorrectly thought drowning involved splashing and cries for help. But an actual drowning happens silently. The key message was to call attention to the silence of drowning – with an innovative use of technology.

2. ASMR-recording

A simulated drowning sound was recorded in collaboration with a drowning expert. The recording was made using equipment and techniques that would trigger the ASMR-response.

3. Content creation

The drowning sound was made available in both audio and video format, to be communicated in owned, earned, and social channels. The soundtrack and information were uploaded to a campaign website, alongside instructions on lifesaving.

4. Communication?

Distribution of press materials including the soundtrack. Trygg-Hansa spokespeople and Post Doc/Drowning expert Andreas Claesson were interviewed about the initiative in national news media and morning shows. The video version of the soundtrack was launched on Trygg-Hansa’s social media channels.

Materials

• Drowning sound in ASMR

• Information video

• Information website

• Press photos

• Press materials?

• Posts on social channels? ?

Timeline

13 May 2019 – Client approved idea and budget

4 June 2019 – The ASMR Sound of Drowning is recorded

5 June 2019 – The campaign assets are filmed and photographed

26 June 2019 – The campaign goes live

• 45,000,000 reach in earned media.?Target: 3,000,000 (Swedish population = 10 million).?Exceeding target by 1400%

• 106 articles/press clippings in both Swedish and international media.?Target: 25?articles/press clippings in Swedish media. Exceeding target by 324%

• 8,000,000 reach on social media.?Target: 1,000,000.?Exceeding target by 700%

• 266,209 plays of the soundtrack. Target: 30,000. Exceeding target by 787%

• 52,871 campaign?site?visits.??Target: 7,000.?Exceeding target by 655%

• To teach the Swedish public how a drowning happens. Now, 7 out of 10 Swedes know the signs of drowning they should keep an eye out for.??

• Number of drownings in Sweden decreased by 50 % during summer 2019 (21) compared to 2018 (53).

• The Sound of Drowning has become an annual news item in Sweden’s most watched morning show – to educate on water safety.