Below, above or maybe through?

So we landed another exciting contest for you: developing a below-the-line (BTL) idea for the Deutsche Bahn AG – if viral marketing, promotion activities, events or social media… you choose whatever you like, just keep in mind to refrain from classic communication channels.

But what’s so special about below-the-line initiatives?

First of all, while above-the-line (ATL) promotions aim at reaching the mass audience, BTL activities are targeted at individuals according to their needs or preferences. ATL promotions create brand awareness without demanding direct consumer involvement, and are realized by media such as television, cinema, radio, print, web banners and web search engines. BTL initiatives however use unconventional brand-building strategies and have become increasingly important in the communication mix for companies of all branches. One big advantage of BTL promotions is that they’re in general highly measurable (how many people saw the viral etc.), whereas ATL activities’ outcome is normally rather difficult to measure. And, to complete this little lecture, a combination of both below and above-the-line promotions is called through-the-line (TTL).

Apart from that, it is undeniably lots of fun to create below-the-line-activities: Unleash your creativity and think of the craziest thing to pique your target group’s curiosity – just keep in mind to stick to the message (and the budget, of course).

A very nice example (even though a little old school already) is the funtheory by DDB Stockholm for Volkswagen. It’s based upon a simple idea – can fun change behaviour for the better? – and ultimately aims at making people think about driving environmentally friendly cars by recognizing the fun side of acting responsibly.

The series of little experiments kicked off with the “Piano Stairs”: a stairway next to an escalator was rebuilt into a giant piano which started to play a note once people stepped on it. The intention was to test how many people would take the stairs instead of the escalator if the stairs were more fun – and it turned out that 66% more people chose the stairs over the escalator than on an average day. In a second test, a bottle recycling station was converted into an arcade game, awarding points when people tossed bottles into the correct hole – as a result nearly hundred people used the machine on that evening, whereas the normal nearby recycling station was used by only two people.

The campaign also demonstrates how to connect different types of BTL activities: first an event, or rather real life experience, which is filmed and afterwards spread throughout the internet.







This viral achieved more than 12 million clicks, whereas the bottle recycling station still reached more than 1,3 million people.

Subsequently, they initiated a contest to find new funtheory-based ideas, and thus accomplished an even greater involvement.

More outstanding ideas how to involve people

1) Unicef – be a mom for a moment

Unicef Finland’s intention was to raise awareness for childrens’ rights and funds with a minimum cost. To provoke and create discussion they mounted sound-equipped (heartbreakingly crying) baby strollers (in Unicef CD blue) in 14 cities at crowded places; for the caring pedestrians they left a note inside the stroller saying: “Thank you for caring, we hope there is more people like you. Unicef Be a mom for a moment”.







The reaction from media and public was immane, all the major TV, radio and web news was flooded – estimated media reach was more than 80% of Finnish population within 2 days.

2) Fitness First – bus stop bench as weighing device

Another winking idea comes from N=5 for Fitness First whose intention was to drive membership in the Netherlands. They came up with the idea to transform a bus stop bench into a weighing device. The minute someone sat down on the bench, the billboard on the right would display their weight.







This idea presents not only a funny and surprising approach (and a little mean for us ladies, too), but also one that’s perfectly implemented in the situation: The respective persons chooses to take the bus instead of walking – the weighing device kind of drives their bad conscience for not exercising – the plain logo “Fitness First” points towards a solution.

3) Frontline Flea and Tick Spray – human beings as fleas

And the last one (this blogpost is already getting huuuuge) is another simple, but charming example for ambient media by Saatchi & Saatchi Jakarta for Frontline Flea and Tick Spray – self-explanatory, I assume…

But are there any rules how to create outstanding BLT-content?

In a nutshell, the human brain responds to emotions – like parody, humor, absurdity, shock, intrigue, surprise etc. Moreover, the content shouldn’t be “perfect” – ambiguity and speculation lead to engagement, and by that create a strengthened bond with your audience. That’s what’s most important: Engage your audience, give them a role to play, make them part of the experience – only then they will spread your message!

So now it’s on you : Stick to the message, tonality as well as the target group and come up with something unexpected, dazzling, smart and easy-to-implement – engage us, amaze us, convince us!