NRJ & Desperados gets you in a summer mood while respecting health measures

The events that usually liven up the summer of young Belgians were cancelled as a result of the measures taken in the fight against Covid-19. RMB, The Story Lab and NRJ worked together to create a festive atmosphere during the summer holidays. That's how the "NRJ Extravadance in your living room" project was born. With Desperados, the flavoured beer from Alken Maes, optimism and fun remained constant despite the successive restrictions imposed on people gatherings.

The Desperados case, illustrates the extreme agility with which the various players, from production to media, including the advertiser and its agency, worked together and adapted to carry out a coherent project despite the changes in sequences imposed by tightening health measures.

A "turnkey" concept

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, summer mass events were cancelled until the end of August. NRJ, a faithful festival partner, nevertheless wanted to warm the listeners’ hearts in these difficult times. With the help and recommendations of F.L.A.S.H. as well as from the RMB sales team, the radio station embarked on the organisation of "NRJ Extravadance in your living room". The idea was to set up afternoons or evenings in the homes of the listeners while respecting safety, social distancing and public health measures. To have the pleasure of having a party at home, listeners first had to register for a contest and, of course, win it.

The initial concept was simple: NRJ takes care of everything! The teams arrived with a truck equipped with a "sound and light kit", goodies and drinks. A photographer and a videographer was on site to capture the best moments of the event. A DJ and the channel's hosts were also on site to provide the atmosphere! From the outset of the project, it was agreed that the maximum number of people would be defined as per the government's decisions were made and that the concept would be adapted accordingly.

A perfect choice for Desperados

The Story Lab (Dentsu Aegis Network), the agency that advises Desperados believed the "NRJ Extravadance in your living room" was an ideal opportunity for its client to reach its target group of 18-34-year olds in an original way.

Desperados wanted to remain the partner of young adults despite a summer without festivals. The proposal from RMB and NRJ was an exact response to the problem of the advertiser who had to give up "general public" field activation and be satisfied with a limited clientele in bars and restaurants.

The concept allowed the client to rely on proximity and shared experience while avoiding breaking health rules with gatherings that exceed the authorised bubble. The Story Lab strongly supported this offer, which allowed Desperados to keep its promise of "Release Your Vibe" and to make its sense of celebration come true.

In this complicated period full of pitfalls, flexibility, fast and efficient collaboration between all parties (production, media, agency and advertiser) made this project a great success.

A multi-phase campaign

The competition period for NRJ listeners ran from 22 June to 5 July. The call for participants, with which Desperados was associated from the outset, was made via NRJ's Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as via the channel's website. Radio trailers completed this first phase, at the end of which 6 winners were selected.

The activation period, initially scheduled from 18 July to 15 September, was extended until the end of October. Each of the 6 events organised was held in compliance with the health measures imposed by the National Security Council and adapted based on the new measures introduced. Desperados was able to associate itself with a series of diversified events, all scrupulously adapted to Covid circumstances, but also all full of pleasure, joy and optimism.

A Desperados spot campaign reinforced the sponsoring action throughout the summer.

Exceptional results despite the Covid-19 context

In radio, the recruitment and activation phases together generated more than 24% coverage among the 18-44-year-old target group and an opportunity to hear of 12.3.

Status and stories of events posted on Facebook and Instagram exceeded 144,000 impressions and 1,780 interactions.

Dimitri Lemmens – Head of Content & Creativity @ FLASH (RMB) commented:
“First of all, we must applaud the audacity of the marketers of Desperados/Aalken Maes and Dentsu/The Story Lab to have trusted us during a period when all creative projects were being questioned. Then, I would like to mention an original concept that was adapted many times due to the sanitary conditions, but which was still able to meet its audience. Indeed, NRJ was the perfect media during the summer to meet the demand of Desperados and the objective was achieved. In the end, it was a success and we have never been so close to the client that we would like to thank again.”

Marjolein Laekeman – Head of The Story Lab (Dentsu Aegis Network Belgium) commented:
‘’We found a perfect media partnership match between Desperados (and its baseline “Release your vibe” ) and NRJ’s summer campaign. Because of Covid circumstances, we needed to adapt the campaign from a big party to a smaller party concept which resulted in “NRJ Extravadance dans ton salon, powered by Desperados.” Thanks to the agility of the client and the sales house, we managed to create a successful partnership during a particular summer period.”