The aim of the “Our firefighter heroes in Vorarlberg” VN special section was to shine a spotlight on the voluntary fire brigades, the youth fire brigades in Vorarlberg, and the jobs they do — underpinned by powerful data and facts.

The main objective was to demonstrate the importance of the fire brigade as it is essential for protecting the population in the event of a fire, natural catastrophes, accidents, building collapses, and emergencies. But it’s not only people who benefit from the fire brigade’s efforts; animals are also evacuated and brought to safety.

Our campaign was designed to get new readers interested in the fire brigade’s work and ultimately convince them of the significance of the work it does. We also wanted to reach the right target group and expand their outreach.

We highlighted each of the 32 local fire brigades, using a group photo, the chief, some statistics, and individual special features, equipment, and contact details. In the future, the channel aspires to establish more contact and interaction with fire brigades. The aim is to take away the emphasis on the dangerous element of firefighting and place greater emphasis on the proximity to people and the incredible commitment of the individuals.

Recruiting volunteer firefighters has become increasingly challenging, and the VN special was intended to help with recruitment in particular.

Creating additional touchpoints

To reaffirm the importance and varied projects of the fire brigades in Vorarlberg, additional informative editorial content was created. The topics specifically focused on the youth fire brigade, the only female chief fire officer in Vorarlberg, and reports by the state fire inspectors. Readers were also informed about how to protect the respiratory tract, electric cars as a fire hazard, and the production of a fire engine.

Lastly, readers were given a glimpse into the fire brigade control centre (coordination of deployment), the Lustenau fire station, and the fire brigade museum.

Success in numbers

The success of the campaign with the extra “Our fire departments. Heroes in Vorarlberg” was shown by the positive feedback from the firefighters themselves and readers on the print product as well as the online campaign. Decisive for this are contents over the tasks of the fire-brigade service and the activities of the respective firefighters, the importance of youth fire department groups as well as the increasing portion of women in the active fire department service.

“Our fire departments. Heroes in Vorarlberg” was published in an extra large format with a print run of 63,000 copies — 100,000 of which were digital subscriptions. Online, not only the fire departments and firefighters themselves benefited from an increased presence, but also the advertising customers. The daily online range was 200,000 users, and it generated 1,442,522 page views. The campaign also generated US$21,878 in sales. 

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