06. February 2023, 01.17 AM. An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale shakes Turkey and Syria. More than 50,000 people lose their lives, over 100,000 people are severely injured. Additionally, millions of people lose their homes.
Commemoration campaign for earthquake disaster aims to awaken people
One year later, around 20 million people continue to suffer from the aftermath of the earthquake, living in emergency shelters. Help is urgently needed, but is becoming increasingly rare. Additional problems for the helpers are caused by inflation and the shortage of professionals and materials on-site.
This is what “Aktion Deutschland Hilft” aims to change. Together with the creative agency Havas Germany and the Creative House, they are launching “The big awakening quake”. The campaign is intended to draw attention to the suffering in Turkey and call for donations. “We want to shake people awake with the campaign and remind them of the earthquake,” explains Dr. Thilo Reichenbach, Head of Brand & Online at “Aktion Deutschland Hilft,” in a press release.
The alliance of more than 20 aid organizations also showcases its previous successes. In the initial weeks, the focus was mainly on emergency relief. By now, the aid workers are concentrating on rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure, aiming to improve the lives of the population in the long term.
Campaign makes German advertising landscape “quake”
For the campaign, the initiators have come up with a special initiative: Digital advertising spaces in public areas, websites, streaming providers, and well-known TV programs are literally made to quake through simulated content tremors. Social media users can support the campaign with the hashtag #AwakeningQuake and the specially developed filter.
“From the outset, we worked closely with our Turkish colleagues, who were close to the events and knew someone affected by the earthquake – and still are,” says Eric Schoeffler, CCO Havas Germany and ECD Europe about the initiative. “It is high time to awaken the public’s attention so that they can refocus on those who need our help.”
The campaign is supported by various companies and cities. Reckitt Germany, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG, DWS Investment GmbH, Justdiggit, and the state capital Düsseldorf are among the participants. Donations can be made through the following link: https://www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de/wachbeben
