This has turned out to be an unusual year, different from all others and changing all our daily lives. The novel coronavirus is challenging all of us and the way we work, live, and how we celebrate events.

Have you ever thought about Easter in quarantine? Not being able to spend time with your family and loved ones? Without going to church, although it is one of the most important events in the Christian calendar?

This was what Easter 2020 was going to look like, but we at BILD — one of Europe’s biggest media brands — refused to accept a completely failed Easter. We asked ourselves: “How can we bring families closer together while staying at a distance? How can we surprise separated people and those who fight for our society every day?” We wanted to use our size, prominence, and reach to spread hope and a smile. That’s how Germany’s biggest Easter event, BILD saves your Easter, was born.

Together with different partners, the everyday heroes of the crisis and their families were celebrated. Readers could tune in on various channels (print, online, and digital live TV), and many more surprises awaited them.

Delivering Easter joy

One of the highlights was a two-hour-long Easter Sunday live broadcast on BILD.de, where the editorial team visited families all over Germany, recorded their personal stories, and allowed them to broadcast their greetings during the show and give an update on their current situation.

The show also included (digital) visits from German celebrities and a personal message from the German federal minister of health.  

In addition, the public could participate in different competitions to win great prizes that included everything from electric cars, free Internet, and telephone contracts to grocery shopping coupons. The cooperating partners provided prizes worth over € 260,000 to give joy and surprise the people.

Another huge surprise was dedicated to the people of Heinsberg, one of Germany’s coronavirus hotspots. There, 100,000 households received free newspapers of BILD and BILD am SONNTAG, together with a big Haribo Easter egg filled with gummy bears that was left on their doorstep.

Bringing Germany together —  safely

Within just 48 hours, BILD created a cross-media event of a magnitude that Germany had never seen before. Readers from all over applied and were thankful for the possibility to greet their families and friends via the show. Many more looked forward to participating in the prize competition, and people from Heinsberg were pleased to receive their little Easter gift.

Overall, it felt like we were able to bring Germany closer together while staying at a safe distance apart.

By presenting the event across three media channels, BILD managed to reach users across all age groups. This, of course, was also a huge advantage for all cooperation partners involved.

It felt great to give something back to the people, to provide them with joy and be part of something great. Coronavirus is a challenge that we at BILD accepted!

Banner image by NickyPe from Pixabay.

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