Cannes Lions

Truth Delivery

VML HUNGARY, Budapest / TRANSPARENT (ÁTLÁTSZÓ) / 2024

Presentation Image
Case Film

Overview

Entries

Credits

Overview

Background

Transparent wanted to reach beyond its regular readers: city people who read news online. Because all media, including all state TV channels, state radio channels, and all national and local newspapers are centralized under the government controlled body called KESMA, they only print government approved news.

Independent media was pushed into the online sphere. But that leaves out over 30% of the population, who don't read news online. This means that only government approved narratives reach them, and they're left completely without objective or independent information. Corruption, scandals, or long-researched uncovering work by journalists don't reach them. Transparent wanted to find a way to get the truth in front of this demographic.

Idea

We tapped into an existing delivery system: a network of moving stores that cover these towns. Here, people get their essential groceries from the moving stores. They have access to over half of the rural population that online news doesn’t reach. So we turned the packaging that the mobile stores use anyway into a medium of essential news: all sizes of paper bags, bread bags, and even the back of the receipt is home to a specially curated edition of Transparent's news.

Strategy

Written specifically for this format and demographic, by the journalists of Transparent, we summarized the 5 most important, current news items. Transparent partnered with the mobile store network that cover the most underserved counties with the least readers online, and turned their packaging and bag items into a medium for news.

Execution

Written specifically for this format and demographic, by the journalists of Transparent, our rural audience can read the 5 most important, current news items. The stories Truth Delivery made people aware would never have reached this demographic. Such as a pedophile scandal that shook trust in the government, or the news about the Czech Intelligence Office's finding that Hungarian politicians could have received funds from Russia in exchange for perpetuating Russian propaganda against Ukraine. The state media never talked about any of this.

Outcome

Truth Delivery reached households that make up over 15% of the complete population of the country altogether. Penetrating these homes where no online news platform has reached so far.

At the same time, thanks to earned media, Transparent's website reading time increased by 250%.