Celebrating 20 years of Hungary’s membership in the EU

On May 1, 2004, Hungary—together with nine other countries—joined the European Union. In dynamic times marked by global uncertainties, political shifts, and economic fluctuations, celebrating this significant milestone is a chance to reflect on what Europeans have achieved together.

Challenge

The EC Representation in Hungary asked ICF Next to craft and deliver a broad-reach integrated communication campaign celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hungary’s accession to the EU. The campaign needed to showcase the benefits of membership, both for Hungary and the EU Member States. Its objective was to boost a positive sense of EU identity among Hungarians by highlighting the benefits of the 2004 enlargement, demonstrating the EU’s added value and positive impact on citizens’ lives, and showing how the past 20 years have benefited individual EU Member States and strengthened the EU.

Solution

Leveraging our extensive experience in developing integrated communication campaigns across various Member States and beyond Europe, combined with the expertise of our local partner Avantgarde, we enhanced the campaign strategy and creative concept proposed by the EC Representation.

Our approach included a customized paid media strategy featuring key messages centered on pride, integrity, and freedom. This resulted in a highly impactful and cost-efficient awareness campaign tailored for the Hungarian audience.

We carefully considered the political, cultural, and social nuances of Hungary to ensure the campaign resonated deeply with the local audience. The creative concept focused on authentic human stories and connections, showcasing real-life experiences and success stories of Hungarian people. These narratives highlighted the benefits of EU accession and were disseminated through a mix of paid, earned, and owned media channels.

Results

For the duration of the three-month campaign, we reached 5.9 million Hungarians through our communication efforts on paid, earned, and owned media. We ran a social media paid campaign on META, YouTube, and online video platforms that generated 279,000 impressions, 8 million completed views, and 41,000 clicks. By running our clip and radio spot as public service announcements, we reached 1.8 million on local radio and 2.5 million people on TV stations.

In Budapest and the surrounding region, as well as in the countryside, our print and digital out-of-home campaign reached more than 3.9 million people nationwide. Our successful collaborations with different content creators and influencers in Hungary generated 400,000 impressions and reached a total of 290,000 people. Our earned media efforts ensured that the campaign was covered nationally and regionally by the press, with a positive tone, generating 52 clippings and a national reach of 1.6 million readers. Through the owned social media channels of the EC Representation in Hungary, we generated 21,000 impressions and 13,000 visits to the campaign landing page.