Do you have what it takes to go to jail? Even on the right side of the bars?

The prison system is essential for society, whether you like it to be or not. In Denmark, however, the system faces some major challenges. Legislation calls for longer sentences and the limited prison staff are being pushed to the limit. That makes for a bad combination for the Danish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalforsorgen), which therefore needs more prison guards. And people must be fit for the challenge.

Kriminalforsorgen, digital agency Signifly and Ekstra Bladet Brand Stories teamed up to find these people who are ready to make a difference. In our search, we gave Danes a chance to experience life on the good side of the prison bars. Kriminalforsorgen was ready to tell an honest and true story — including displaying the current challenges they face.

Campaign objectives

Ekstrabladet.dk has grown massively as a digital platform in recent years with “true crime” being one of the most requested topics. With the simultaneous success of Ekstra Bladet’s own true crime podcast, “Bandeland,” where the Danes can get a unique peek into the Danish criminal underworld, the opportunity to explore the other side of the prison bars had never been bigger.

In pursuit of meeting the goal of gaining critical mass exposure, the native partnership was based on the following KPIs:

1. Achieve innovative but effective campaign exposure, along with raising awareness and interest in Danish prison guards.
2. Drive traffic to the exciting online Kriminalforsorgen-universe, including the game.
3. Recruit suitable applicants for the prison guard education.
4. Create a positive vibe around the Danish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalforsorgen).

Execution

The objective was to use both a classical and innovative native advertising strategy to meet the KPIs of the campaign. We had a lot of ground to cover, with content ranging from written articles with interviews to influencer videos and gamification as part of the content mix.

By combining the online platform of ekstrabladet.dk and the digital universe created by Signifly and Kriminalforsorgen, we decided to take full advantage of the possibilities of the ekstrabladet.dk-platform across four formats. Four articles containing and promoting text articles, video, and even a game aimed to display the life of prison guards during and after their education — on good as well as bad days.

An advertorial promoted a game created and developed by Signifly, in which one could take on some of the realistic challenges that prison guards might encounter on a day-to-day basis. This was a unique opportunity to actively engage the ekstrabladet.dk users in the campaign and the day-to-day life of Danish prison guards, giving them the chance to test their own abilities under pressure.

Three “native premium” articles told real stories of real people. First was an honest interview with Sabrina, a female Danish guard, who knows what it takes to take the job, for better or worse.

Secondly, four Danish celebrities challenged themselves to a day of prison guard training. We followed and interviewed them on the day and published an exciting Signifly-produced video from their prison adventures.

Last, but not least, we performed an interview with Jesper, an aspiring prison guard still in training. We shared his story of finding his true calling in life and his experiences in the classrooms and the prisons, respectively.

Sabrina, Jesper, and the four celebrities gave us a unique chance to tell the true and honest story of Danish prison guards. From the tough and draining work hours to how a single positive encounter with an inmate can make the job worth the difficult times.

Campaign results

The campaign took full advantage of the Ekstra Bladet online platform. And it worked.

More than 89,000 Danes read the articles, and 17,000 clicked through to the exciting Kriminalforsorgen-universe, including 9,000 to the game alone.

We managed to take full advantage of the ekstrabladet.dk-platform, and the Danes were more than happy to engage with the various types of online content. And most importantly, Kriminalforsorgen saw an increase in both the number of applicants and the number of suitable applicants. 

Banner photo by Signifly.

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