Western Union: WORLD OF BETTERS

Credits & Description:

Category: Financial Services, incl. Investor Relations and Corporate Finance

Advertiser: WESTERN UNION

Product/Service: MONEY TRANSFER

Agency: 180 AMSTERDAM

Executive Creative Director: Al Moseley (180 Amsterdam)

Creative Director: Dean Maryon (180 Amsterdam)

Art Director: Edward Ryder (180 Amsterdam)

Copy Writer: Bryan Stewart (180 Amsterdam)

Digital Producer: Anna Stolyarova (180 Amsterdam)

Content Producer: Stephanie Oakley (180 Amsterdam)

Content Producer: Eline Bakker (180 Amsterdam)

Account Director: Cristiana Spataru (180 Amsterdam)

Account Manager: Jim O'regan (180 Amsterdam)

Account Manager: Alexandra Ronca (180 Amsterdam)

Project Manager: Lotte De Vroe (180 Amsterdam)

Business Affairs Manager: Chris Barrand (180 Amsterdam)

Digital Production: Hellohikimori (Hellohikimori)

Talent Broker: Stone Buddha Media (0 Stone Buddha Media)

Production Company: Cyclops (Cyclops)

Post Production: Ghost Town (Ghost Town)

Developer: iGeneration (iGeneration)

Media placement: Digital PR - Huffington Post, Forbes - 1st November 2011

Media placement: Consumer PR - ABC, NBC, Washinton Post, Trace TV, New Delhi TV - 1st November 2011



Summary of the Campaign

Facing fierce competition from exponential growth of new mobile & online money transfers, WU had to engage a new audience: digitally savvy ‘global citizens’. The barrier to consideration* among this audience was Western Union’s old-fashioned image.



We had to connect the brand with this audience, help them experience the true meaning of the brand’s purpose: making people’s days better. With no budget for a global media campaign, our only chance was to do something to get the world talking.



We partnered with 5 global music icons to create World of Betters, a series of worldwide events and an online competition that would move money for better.



Over 7 weeks we held 5 events in 5 communities around the world, hosted by Alicia Keys, Sunidhi Chauhan, K’naan, John Legend, Pitbull, who each activated their social media networks, their fan-networks and broader media PR-networks to spread World of Betters. Events were live-streamed on worldofbetters.com, engaging our audience through a simple question: "what would you do with $1,000 to make someone’s day better?" People submitted ideas and voted on their favourite. 100 winners received $1000 to make their ‘better’ come true.



The campaign reached more than 205 countries, got more than 1bn impressions in media that wouldn’t otherwise have talked about the brand and generated more than 1.5m views. It reached over 95m people via social media and 21m impressions through the artists’ social networks. Brand conversation started to evolve, from transactions to relationships.





*TNS - Global Repositioning Campaign Report (January 2011).



The Situation

Western Union is a 160-year-old brand that felt 160 years old. The brand had to reinvent itself at a time that saw a global backlash against financial institutions. Alongside this, the brand was facing fierce competition from the exponential growth of new channels (online and mobile), and the emergence of a new audience: the digitally savvy ‘global citizens’. The new brand platform, Moving Money for Better, had begun to give the brand its purpose: Western Union made people’s days better. But it hadn’t yet come to life for consumers.



The Goal

Research confirmed that one of the key barriers to consideration* among this new audience was Western Union’s old-fashioned image. Because we had zero budget for a global media campaign, we had to find solutions to get this message in as much earned media as possible. Our goal was to create an activation that would lift up the brand, connect it with a new ‘global citizen’ and get the world and media talking, to give the brand some cultural relevance at last.



*TNS - Global Repositioning Campaign Report (January 2011).



The Strategy

We wanted to create acts that showed the power of moving money for the better, acts that would be talked about.



So, with an understanding of how a network world works, we partnered with 5 global music artists known for their interest in making people’s days better to help create a programme called World of Betters. This programme would be a series of ‘Betters’; events that would make people’s days better, across the world, hosted by our artists. The events would be coupled with a global competition that engaged our audience through a simple question: "what would you do with $1,000 to make someone’s day better?" We would then utilise the artists’ own social media networks, their fan networks and broader media PR networks to spread the noise about World of Betters programme locally, regionally and globally.



Execution

A 7-week programme began in NY by Alicia Keys, who visited her old school to donate equipment to help the students perform better.



Indian superstar Sunidhi helped disadvantaged girls from Mumbai become Bollywood stars for the day.



K’Naan introduced the kids of Soweto to a special kinetic football that creates electricity to help power the community.



John Legend led the buskers of Paris in a Busking Orchestra in a special performance for the City.



Rounding it off, Latin R&B star Pitbull refurbished a community park in Miami.



Each event was live-streamed to a global audience on worldofbetters.com, while live tweets and Facebook posts drove people to the portal and local/global media got direct access to the event. Throughout people submitted their own ideas on worldofbetters.com and voted for their favourite.　After thousands of entries, 100 winners were selected to receive $1000 to make their idea come to life.



Documented Results

The campaign helped Western Union get more than 1bn impressions in media that wouldn’t otherwise have talked about the brand (Forbes' 'Alicia Keys in a Western Union State of mind', ABC, NBC, Huffington Post, Washington Post, Trace TV, New Delhi TV)



In spite of our zero media budget, the campaign spread globally, 205 countries partook in the campaign through visits or submissions and the videos garnered more than 1.5m views



The campaign reached over 95,601,570 people via Facebook 'shares', re-tweets and social media updates. (Source: Reputation Squad)



Through the artists social networks our message made 21,130,422 impressions. (Source: Reputation Squad)



Brand conversation started to change/evolve, from transactions to relationships source: Unruly.