NINA KIRST CAMPAIGN
Through a nighttime guerrilla campaign in Berlin and Marseille, Qonto and the Berlin-based agency The Goodwins are shining a spotlight on small businesses and paying tribute to people who work while others sleep. After all, they are the business account provider’s target audience.
Qonto wants to connect more closely with a demographic that is often hailed as the “backbone of the economy” but rarely receives much attention in everyday life: small business owners and entrepreneurs. In collaboration with the Berlin-based creative agency The Goodwins, the French fintech scale-up has launched a campaign that, for once, doesn’t vie for reach during the day but instead offers recognition at night.
The stunt is called “Night Praise” and was carried out simultaneously in Berlin and Marseille. The concept: A strikingly designed Litomobil—a small truck equipped with large-format LED screens—drove through the cities at night, surprising people at work—that is, at times when people typically don’t see advertisements, let alone receive praise. The accompanying videos are now available on social media and YouTube in Germany and France.
The campaign features, for example, a baker who is surprised by the message “Respect to all who bake what others are just dreaming of,” and a bartender who expresses her gratitude for the slogan “Here’s to the last ones at the bar: the bartenders.”
With this campaign, Qonto specifically targets small businesses that, while bearing a lot of responsibility, often face worse conditions than larger companies. Through its business accounts and financial tools, Qonto promises them less bureaucracy and less administrative hassle, so they can focus more on their actual business again.
“So many entrepreneurs work behind the scenes. Now we’re bringing them into the spotlight, giving them the recognition they’ve long deserved, and making it easier for them to manage their finances and paperwork every day with our services,” says Laura Gründer, Head of Marketing for Central Europe at Qonto.
For The Goodwins, the campaign demonstrates how creative and flexible production enables tailored solutions for different markets. The campaign was initially rolled out locally in Berlin and Marseille, adapted to the local language and environment. Production was coordinated by a small team led by freelance art director Renée Gebhardt. Another stunt is scheduled to follow in Spain at the end of the month.