During the construction period, everything went wrong with the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg: Construction glitches, years of delay, court trials and giant cost increases had led to immense public scepticism and rejection.

We had less than one year until the grand opening in January 2017 to turn the public mood around: from rejection to affection, from mockery to pride and from a history of criticism into a true love story, not only in Hamburg but all over Germany and in other designated target markets (China, Japan, the US, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland)

With only a very small media budget at hand, we needed to design experiences and content which not only positively amazed the people but also the international media. Therefore, everything needed to be PR-compatible. And we had to create content with a perfect fit for our owned digital and social media channels in order to create impact in our designated markets.

Accordingly, we looked at our content from a two-way perspective: from what happened in front the camera as an emotional experience as well as how to use this content for the media. With an individual PR network in 12 countries and a content hub in Hamburg, we were able to create, develop and deliver our content to every journalist, influencer and multiplier. With storytelling and live experiences at the core of the campaign, we got the media and the people involved and turned opinion around.