World Refugee Day coincided with the EURO 2016 tournament and because football is almost universally loved in Europe, we anchored our campaign to the sport.

We engaged two celebrity footballers: Belgium and Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini and female footballer Anja Mittag, of Germany and Paris Saint-Germain. Their message: “For millions of fans, football is their life. For millions of refugees, life is about survival.”

To counter their sometimes dark and scary characterization in the media, Fellani and Mittag showed how refugees are people just like everyone else, just in a desperate situation. They showed that refugees need Europe’s help, not a cold shoulder.

Although we called on the public to support World Refugee Day, the larger goal was to reach Europeans with a message of solidarity with the refugee cause, and give Europeans a reason to be proud of the €1 billion spent in EU humanitarian aid.

By partnering with UEFA and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRo), we secured two top players for free. With just eight weeks to deliver, we moved fast to secure their participation at the photo and video shoot, and then edit the clip into five languages.

We booked space in 17 well-known publications, rolled-out our social media campaign and delivered a social media toolkit to institutional partners and high-level NGOs.

We broadcast the video at the Antwerp Fan Village, airing 20-38 times to 15,000-65,000 people daily. We also broadcast at popular Brussels music venue, Ancienne Belgique, during a large public concert.

We closed the campaign at the prestigious Football for Good festival in Lyon, with an exclusive panel debate with EU officials and an exhibition match featuring ex-players and refugees.

Development began in April with kick-off on 10 June to close on 10 July with the EURO championship.

The European Commission opted to measure the campaign only by its views and reach. It did not measure changes in sentiment, perception or behavior over time relating to the target audience or institutional business. Using the EC’s standards, the campaign far exceeded expectations.

The campaign clip is the most watched EC video ever with over 10 million views. It had a conversion rate (CR) of 1.13 million on social media, which is 40% higher than average. It achieved an incredible 8.5 million views on Facebook with a potential Twitter reach of 10% of Europe’s population.

The print advert reached almost 40 million readers with ad buys in 14 tier-one media in the five target countries. Total circulation reached over 4 million with placements including in Der Spiegel (Germany), Le Monde (France), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), Der Standard (Austria), De Morgen (Belgium), POLITICO Europe (Belgium).

The exhibition match with football stars and refugees was a great success with over 1000 guests, including the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and the EURO 2016 President. Football stars at the match included:

• Sonny Anderson (Brazil, Barcelona & Olympique Lyonnais)

• Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (Cacau) – Germany & Stuttgart

• Mbo Mpenza (Belgium & Anderlecht)

• Patrick Müller (Switzerland & Olympique Lyonnais)

• Pierre Laigle (France & Sampdoria)

The Cannes Lions Public Affairs category celebrates creative campaigns that are a force for good. The #SupportRefugees campaign we directed and led for the European Commission more than met this requirement.

During a time of intense fear surrounding the refugee crisis, our campaign helped Europeans see refugees as people just like them, and gave citizens a reason to be proud of EU humanitarian aid. With over 10-million video views and millions more reached in print ads, the campaign effectively challenged dangerous narratives that threaten aid to refugees and the European project itself.

Collateral: A print advertisement and a short video featuring the footballers and two refugee children who delivered the campaign messages.

Audience: The European Commission wanted to reach citizens everywhere, but especially in five countries where the refugee crisis is particularly sensitive: Germany, France, Poland, Austria and Belgium. We needed to reach vast and broad demographics, ranging from millennials to families and retirees.

Target media: We targeted high-profile publications across Europe and widely circulated the short video on social media. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the footballers’ union, FIFPro and the European Journalism Centre were important multipliers.

PR planning: We collaborated with the UNHCR’s #WithRefugees campaign. In addition to cross-promoting each other’s content on social media, we invited a UNHCR spokesperson to speak at the Football for Good event. We ran press trips for 18 journalists to visit refugee camps in Turkey and Kenya.

The refugee crisis facing Europe has presented one of the greatest tests for European leaders and European solidarity. Where should refugees live? Who pays for their welfare? Are they a threat to security and jobs? The fear and dissent surrounding this crisis provoked the Brexit vote, and continues to empower a wave of divisive nationalist leaders across Europe.

In this sensitive context, the European Commission (EC) challenged us to develop a campaign to coincide with World Refugee Day that encouraged Europeans to (1) empathise with refugees and (2) appreciate the €1 billion spent in EU humanitarian aid worldwide.

Given the complexity of measuring changing sentiment on this topic, the EC was primarily concerned with measuring reach to assess the campaign’s effectiveness. The EC’s goal: reach 10 million people. And we kicked the ball squarely in.