Connecting Euro
Serviceplan Group
Issue 27 | June 2013
Agency
plan.net/serviceplan
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Alexander Schill Executive Creative Directors Friedrich von Zitzewitz Markus Maczey Creative Director Cornelia Blasy-Steiner Copywriter Volker Heine Art Director Adrian Jaeschke
Production Team
Account Supervisor Annika Nagel Martin Bley Programmer Stefan Schrader Tobias Ripperger Markus Mrugalla
Date
December 2012
Background
On December 10th 2012, the European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was also tribute to the Euro because despite the financial crisis, the Euro is the symbol of the European idea. In itself it is the single most important link between all the people of Europe.
The question was, how could the occasion be marked with a reminder to the people of Europe that they are connected in one entity?
Idea
Every banknote in Europe was transformed into a communication medium by its serial number.
Via the smartphone app or at www.connecting-euro.org, users tapped in the serial number they found on any Euro note.
They could now leave a message and a photo and track the progress of the note around the entire region, sharing its journey in social media.
With Connecting Euro, people were able to feel a part of the vibrant European Community through their money. What they learned was the Euro is a great deal more than just a currency.
Results
Connecting Euro started at the end of 2012 and received wide media attention in major newspapers such as Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), El Pais” (Spain), The Guardian (UK), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), La Stampa (Italy) und Le Monde (France).
Our Thoughts
The mobile phone is a great way to fill time. Waiting for a train, on the bus, it allows you to play, learn, dream. That’s what I like about this app. It doesn’t ask you to do too much. But in return it gives you a moment of fascinated insight. Watching where your money goes, literally, is interesting. Personally, I’m not sure the desired take-out, that we are one people united by a common currency, is what they will be feeling in Greece or Cyprus right now.