visit.brussels / VISIT brUSsels
(2020)
In June of 2020, visit.brussels issued a pitch in order to find a creative agency that could help them to revive the city of Brussels post-covid among “Brusseleirs”, as well as Belgian and foreign tourists. Furthermore, the campaign needed to ‘rebrand’ the city as a desirable holiday destination among the many Brussels haters, who believe the city is grey and dull and reduce it to its corporate EU role. Being a true Brusseleir myself, this brief was challenging yet exciting, to say the least.
There’s no Br__sels without us.
We launched a manifesto video to install the campaign and to make it part of popular culture.
The briefing line was used as a creative line, as it explained perfectly what the campaign was trying to convey: the best part about Brussels, are its people.
Brussels is ballsy. Like us.
BRIEF
visit.brussels challenged us to do two things.
To revive the city post-covid by engaging local citizens, as well as by recruiting national and international visitors.
To relaunch the city in a relevant and refreshing way.
CHALLENGE
With Brussels, the thing is: everyone claims to ‘know’ it, yet no one understands it.
Non-Brussels residents are quick to reduce Brussels to one thing. Belgians reduce it to ‘multicultural, dangerous and bad traffic’. International audiences reduce it to ‘dull, grey and the EU’. How could we make them reconsider?
STRATEGY
With a divide this big, we knew the truth lied somewhere in the middle.
As an answer to our challenge, we decided to let its residents do the talking. Because as every Brusseleir would say: the best part about the city, is its people. The city is a reflection of those who create the city dynamic each day: ballsy, dynamic, colourful, … There’s no Br__sels without us.
Furthermore, we realised that - post quarantine - people would be looking for something that felt like it had been taken away from them: human connections.
