Major blogs picked up the story and delivered 10 million posting views for free. Major print titles covered the story. While in Spain, the story made it to the prime time TV news! (Overall media value of free editorial coverage: €20m).45% of those who came into contact with the campaign were more likely to think about noise when they were next buying an appliance whilst 35% would consider AEG (Pan European monthly brand tracking). The only media cost to AEG was that of buying 5 posters across Europe locations for a month.

Armed with handheld decibel meters, we discovered the noisiest locations across Europe. We embedded the decibel meters into large posters and digital screens displayed the constant noise levels in real time. To fuel the noise argument, we live-streamed the noise data to our noise-awareness website where consumers could compare the different noise levels across the cities.To get the major media to take notice of the story during the European Union’s Noise Awareness Day we approached influential blogs with high quality videos and photos of the noise posters and interesting incidents caused by the interactive posters (i.e. London poster urged club owner and school kids to join forces against noise in Old St, London).To target major retailers at Eurocucina, Europe’s biggest appliance fair, we placed a decibel poster en route from their hotels to the fair, while also providing maps and info packages at their rooms.

Car alarms waking you in the middle of the night. Road-works and ring tones have become the soundtrack to your life, while when you get home your washing machine is so loud that you have to use your headphones to listen to the TV. With this in mind, AEG engineers built the Silent Laundry range.However, consumer research showed that noise is not such a crucial buying criterion until the moment people are reminded of the nuisance of noise in city living.

In response to this insight, the role of communications would be to amplify the issue of noise and to make it a subject of every day city conversations; in the taxi, by the water cooler or at the dinner party.