The campaign reached 67% of Romanians and generated €300,000 of free publicity.

Online response was phenomenal: in six days, ROM’s website had 75,000 unique visitors; Facebook fans rose by 300%; supporters launched petitions and even organised a flash-mob in the capital.

All brand image indicators have exploded, especially ‘ROM is a brand for me’, which more than doubled, with a 124% increase. ROM outperformed the market, with a 20% growth (compared to 8.2% category growth) in the most relevant channel, hypermarkets.Most importantly, ROM ousted Snickers to become Romanians’ favourite chocolate bar, with a 79% increase of the indicator.

We replaced the Romanian ROM on the shelves with an 'American' one – same product, but branded with the US flag.TV and OOH ads launched the American ROM, boasting that the ‘cool’ new image will make Romanians feel prouder.

In-store ‘American’ brand ambassadors encouraged sampling among youngsters.We encouraged social media discussions about this ‘American takeover’ via the live forum on Rom’s website and Rom’s Facebook page. Twitter and blogs amplified the debate which was monitored and moderated via a 24/7 ‘War Room’ within the agency.

Seven days later, following massive patriotic resurgence, TV commercials announced the Romanian ROM’s comeback. All promotional material was changed overnight.The buzz spread into TV programmes and we rewarded Romanian Rom’s biggest online supporters inviting them to participate in TV debates.The final reward was an anthem dedicated to the Romanian ROM and its fans – sang by real supporters of the brand.

ROM is the Romanian traditional chocolate bar that we all grew up with. Launched in 1964, with the Romanian flag on its wrapper, it enjoys 95% brand awareness. Yet its share and volume were plummeting with only 14.5% of people listing it as their favourite brand.

ROM had an ageing consumer base feeling nostalgic and patriotic about the brand, but lacked new, younger fans. Young Romanians are disillusioned and cynical, only 12% describing themselves as patriots. They prefer ‘cool’ American confectionery brands like Snickers and Mars.How could ROM, a chocolate bar wrapped in the Romanian flag, gain appeal to youngsters so disengaged with national values?We knew that although Romanians tend to be negative about themselves and their country, their patriotism returns when challenged. This ‘reactive patriotism’ underpinned our groundbreaking campaign that challenged young people’s national ego in order to re-establish ROM as a cherished Romanian product and icon.