Ball Packaging - A true Hybrid Event

Patterns of communication have changed. By now people do not communicate on just one platform with one another like they used to earlier. Nowadays we use a whole set of different communication and media platforms to gather information as well as spread valuable experiences to kindred spirits in our environment. This set of platforms consists of the ones with a long reach like social media and the ones that deliver an intense and emotional attachment.

Every person that experienced any kind of event knows that there is no similar platform that creates strong emotional attachments like the one during a live experience. Now, imagine adapting the benefits of social media’s long reach and the intensity of live experiences in one single communication tool. That is what Hybrid Events are all about.

Instead of events being limited not only by their number of participants but also by their reach, Hybrid Events take advantage of the benefits of social media and start a strategically planned communication concept that includes pre- and post-communication in the digital world before and after the event. Furthermore so called Hybrid Tools enable the link to all social networks from the event itself. This way all the memorable moments of an event are multiplied by the enlarged community of the digital world.

A successful example of a Hybrid event is the ‘Dosionair’ project of Ball Packaging Europe

Bell Packaging Europe required a multi-channel marketing campaign, highlighting the superior recycling ability of aluminium cans, aimed at teenagers and young adults.

The campaign objective was to increase the awareness of the importance of recycling for the environment within the target group and highlighting the high level of recyclability of beverage cans.

To reach your target group you need to be there where they are and where they would most probably use your product. In the case of the Bell target group (young adults, aged between 12 and 22) this meant a focus on online media and an emphasis on live events and active participation.

The “language” we choose was one of ‘creativity’. We urged our target group to be creative with beverage cans, no limits, no rules. We challenged them to become can visionaries. Or in German: Dosionaire (‘Dose’ is German for can).

Online we invited the target group to share their visions on Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Flickr and a dedicated dosionair website.

Live we met our target group at their preferred events. We were part of the smart beach tour – a beach volleyball tournament all over Germany – with our “Fresh-Up Kiosk by dosionair.de” and rickshaws as mobile sampling stations where we cooperated with brands like Coke, Warsteiner and Mixery.

The campaign started off with making surprising content related to beverage cans available online for opinion leaders to pick up organically. On www.dosionair.de the target group could find music, sports and art related applications.

The Dosionair campaign connected digital with real life action in an engaging and attractive fashion. It connected with the key target group on their turf and on their terms. It made a common utility item and recycling cool and created fans.