Ogilvy Social Lab Belgium is the most successful agency in Europe this year!

On 16 October 2018, Ogilvy Social.Lab set itself apart during the EACA Euro Effie Awards having taken home the title of the Euro Effie Effectiveness Agency of the year in addition to 5 other awards. This included winning the Grand Prix and 2 Gold prizes in the category Brand Experience and Small budget for the Mud Soldier campaign created for Visit Flanders. Ogilvy Social.Lab also won 1 Bronze prize in the Government, Institutional & Recruitment category and 1 Silver in the category Leisure & Entertainment for the Belgium Uniquely Phenomenal Campaign created for the Belgian Federal Authorities.

The Euro Effies Award Ceremony is the most prestigious pan-European Effectiveness competition. The  annual contest awards the most effective communication campaigns in Europe. This year, 38 pan-European campaigns were selected for the EACA Euro-Effie Awards and Ogilvy Social.Lab was one of the only Belgian agencies that qualified.

Ogilvy Social. Lab’s winning campaigns were created for two different clients but they both shared one goal: promoting Belgium. The Mud Soldier campaign played up on the emotional aspect of the First World War and its relation to Flanders Fields. The other winning campaign called ‘Belgium Uniquely Phenomenal’, touched the lives of millions and contributed to a revamped image of Belgium that impressed tourists and investors.

The Mud Soldier campaign encouraged tourists to visit Passchendaele where more than 500.000 victims died in the course of three months in 1917 during the first World War. To commemorate this tragedy and mark the 100 year anniversary of the battle, Ogilvy Social.Lab created the Mud Soldier, an installation made out of mud from Flanders Fields which was placed in Trafalgar Square in London. As rain hit the installation, it disintegrated and disappeared. This resonated with people that passed by the installation as it highlighted the importance of honouring those that lost their lives in Flanders Fields.

Belgium Uniquely Phenomenal made a splash since it launched in 2017. The campaign contributed to an increase of visitors to Belgium from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Japan, China and India. Humour, modesty and a play on Belgian surrealism is what seduced the international press and created visibility around 99 reasons why Belgium is uniquely phenomenal.