Why wait until it’s too late?
Funeral Insurance Company DELA
Issue 28 | September 2013
Agency
Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director/Art Director: Darre van Dijk Creative Director/Copywriter: Piebe Piebenga
Production Team
Agency Producer: Brenda Bentz van den Berg Account Manager: Zilla Smith
Other Credits
Strategy Director: Hans Veldhorst Interactive Creative Director: Bart te Riele Designer: Bas Derks
Date
October 2012
Background
The Funeral Insurance Company DELA was a co-operative of three million mem- bers. Its heritage was as a company which not only believed in a dignified farewell for everyone but in people being there for each other.
Idea
All too often, the most beautiful words about a person are spoken after they have died. Most people regret that they never said the important things to their friends or relatives while they had the chance.
The idea, then, was to encourage people to tell each other how important they had been before it was too late.
A number of individuals were selected and filmed with hidden cameras expressing their love and gratitude to the people who meant most to them.
These were turned into commercials, which were supported by press ads starting with the single word ‘Dear,’ inviting readers to fill in the rest.
Their completed letters were turned into unique posters which were used in outdoor close to where the subject lived.
People could post up beautiful messages on Facebook and on DELA’s website.
Results
During the campaign, website traffic increased 66%. Facebook likes increased by 96%. Over 3,600 messages were tweeted about the DELA campaign.
Awareness of the company grew from 78% to 87% and the few negative associations with the brand went from 9% down to 3.5%. DELA became one of the top 10 best-known brands in the Netherlands.
The campaign had an outstanding effect on business, growing the amount of capital placed by 50%.
Our Thoughts
We usually try to publish case histories before the work goes on to win awards. This campaign, however, won the Grand Prix for Media at Cannes in June.
The reason we included it in Directory 28 is because it’s hard not to get misty-eyed when you watch the case movie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTwCDj3Ui24
In this issue there are many examples of cool ideas, ideas which exploit new technology in innovative and intriguing ways. But without warmth, however cool an idea may be it will come to nothing.
Cool gets you 100,000 views. Warmth gets you 10 million. Or more.
Behind this campaign is a simple human truth. We rarely do tell those we love that we love them and that’s what makes the sense of loss we experience all the more painful. Thanks to Ogilvy Amsterdam, I am telling everyone I know how much I love them, including you dear reader.