The Model-Makers Fair in Vienna is Austria’s biggest fair for true-scale model reproductions. Every year it attracts model-making fans not only in Austria but also from neighbouring Germany.

Unfortunately the fair’s media budget is just about as small as the exhibits themselves, so to raise awareness about the start of the Fair, we had to create something really big: We stole the peak of Germany’s highest mountain and brought it to Vienna.

There was uproar in Bavaria, indeed the whole of Germany, over the anonymous YouTube video showing 4 Austrians chiselling off the tip of Germany’s highest mountain. The beloved Zugspitze mountain (2,962m) was now apparently 30 cm shorter, measuring only 2,961m.

The response was obvious: Germany was in a rage.

2 days later when the outrage about the mountain summit theft was at its maximum, we addressed Germany via YouTube, claiming that Gemany´s highest mountain was now to be found in Austria and could be viewed at Vienna’s Model-Makers Fair in the scale of 1:1. Well, at least the peak of it.

Results:

Firstly: A charge of theft.

The Zugspitze mountain summit theft became one of the biggest no-budget campaigns that Austria had ever seen. The story generated millions of free media coverage in Germany and Austria. The action was discussed in endless blogs and forums, heated up by a traditionally sensitive love-hate relationship between the 2 countries. The action earned more than 211,000,000 media impressions and the Zugspitze mountain summit became the Model-Makers Fair’s most popular exhibit. Additionally, the Fair achieved record visitor numbers.

Paid media: None

Media impressions earned: 211,000,000

Visitors: 15% plus

Owned: A block of stone

Production costs including lawyers’ fees: 4,700 EUR

There is a traditionally sensitive love-hate relationship between the Germans and the Austrians, which we played upon to create awareness about the start of the Fair. The Zugspitze mountain summit theft quickly became a state affair and generated more awareness and response then a classic promotion could ever have dreamt of. Although some Germans got very heated in the process, the majority found the action very amusing. The campaign not only reminded us about the start of the Fair but also what the fair is all about: having fun.