In 2012, Benetton wanted to make a statement about youth unemployment: a problem that affects more than 100 million people worldwide. Our strategic approach was to deliver a powerful message, supporting the struggle of an entire generation but, at the same time, give credibility and depth to our message by contributing even if minimally, to the solution of the problem. The answer was Unemployee of the Year, an integrated campaign at the core of which was an online contest open to young people, aged 18 to 30 who don’t have a job yet but have an idea for a socially relevant project they need financing for.

The contest allowed young aspiring entrepreneurs to join a community, submit a project (in line with Benetton’s Unhate Foundation’s principles) and finally vote for the ones they thought were more worthy of support. The 100 most voted projects would receive 5000 euro each.