SITUATION/CONTEXT

Ahr Valley is one of the most distinguished red wine-growing region in Germany, called the "red wine paradise".

Due to catastrophic floods this region experienced a „living hell" in the summer of 2021. More than a month's rainfall within 24 hours devastated much of western Germany, and Ahr Valley suffered the hardest hit: homes, businesses, bridges, roads, entire communities were swept away. More than 46 wineries of the region lost their facilities, cellars, wine barrels, machinery and hectares of vineyards.

It was one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Germany.

BRIEF/OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to raise awareness of this economic devastation of the region, draw attention to the financial disaster that wine-makers of Ahr Valley, and reach out to potential supporters – ideally: to the whole Germany – to raise money, give financial support to the victims, and rebuild the region.

Despite the devastating loss of the wine-makers, some 200.000 bottles of wine – soiled with mud and dirt – survived the disaster. The bottles looked impossible to sell.

However, we created a special collection of these wines, and branded them as "flutwein" (flood wines). Since they were coated in the original mud, we labelled them „authentically muddied”, and started selling them on a crowd-funding platform, dedicated to the rebuilding of the wine region.

The bottles soon became the symbol of the disaster as much as the optimism, hope, solidarity and support of the wine-growers' community of Ahr Valley.

As an unusual, extraordinary natural event, the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley, Germany in 2021 cannot be compared to any competitive situations or brand's challenge. The only relevant context was the enormous, multi millions damage in the region.

And the only objective was clear and simple: to reach and activate as many people as possible to collect at least 1 million euros in donations. To rebuilding the region, Ahr needed help in strengthening its economic livelihood/wine-growing, by increasing awareness of the Ahr Valley as a wine region.

We had no time for research. No time for workshops. We had to act swiftly, and tackle the problem as quickly as possible.

The breakthrough moment was when we saw the destruction and devastation the flood caused – and the remaining, some 200.000 mud-covered bottles of wines that survived the flood. That view sparked our thinking.

We also realised the powerful insight: hope activates more than concern.

Suffering and compassion are touching – however, they can cause a feeling of helplessness and paralyse people. But when it comes to getting us to act, other emotions have a stronger effect: "hope is the only feeling that motivates people to really take action".

BACKGROUND/CONTEXT

The Ahrweiler region in Rhineland-Palatinate is the largest red wine-growing area in Germany, and it's well-known among connoisseurs for its hospitality. Wine culture is at heart of the Ahr valley, and the essence of many family businesses.

July 2021: Flood hell

On 14.07.2021, heavy and persistent rainfall resulted the highest water level ever measured – it was up to 700 cm. The flood destroyed entire villages, livelihoods

and lives.

In addition to the rebuilding of infrastructure, the main task now is to help family businesses in viticulture, gastronomy and tourism, which ensure the economic survival of the Ahr Valley through their existence. These local people have lost everything, and are facing the ruins and remains of their existence.

CREATIVE CHALLENGE

The only thing that survived the flood were some of the best bottles of the excellent and appreciated Ahr wines. These bottles were rescued from the cellars of the wineries. They were covered with mud and became no longer saleable. However, they were still good and enjoyable.

SOLUTION

We reframed the story, and created an advantage of the situation. We branded these characteristic mud coated bottles as "flutwein" (flood wine), staged them as key visual of the catastrophe, and sold them to raise donations.

The bottles became the symbol of the flood disaster – and a sign of optimism and hope for the whole wine region.

EXECUTION

The idea was implemented within a few days to grab public attention, and maximise it for the fundraising campaign.The newly created #flutwein brand unites the wines of more than 50 independent wineries from the Ahrweiler region under one single label.

Each bottle was original, and represented a piece of history. They were muddy, unique objects with symbolic value – and meant a positive way to give a hand, and help the region to recover financially.

The #flutwein bottles were offered for a donation on the crowdfunding platform Startnext from 24.07.2021. Through the crowdfunding mechanism, supporters not only helped financially, but also became an active part of a brand ambassador community.

The campaign, unlike typical fundraising campaigns, didn't stage suffering and destruction – but focused on the wine bottles, creates the attention with surprising and high-quality, iconic images and the creation of a new brand to catch attention in the flood of messages.

The classic campaign in TV and OOH advertising space provided by the media partners gave high visibility for the crowdfunding campaign from the very beginning.

On social media, influencers were involved in #fl utwein, and created additional reach and relevance among their followers.

PR-work and crowdfunding dynamics created relevance for press coverage and generate – without any media costs – additional awareness for the campaign and the region.

This interaction of the individual elements of #flutwein created the high cross-media visibility that is needed to reach many people, and activate them to donate.