Director, Kevork Aslanyan, has taken on the challenge of a political campaign to motivate the younger generation to vote in Sofia, Bulgaria. He worked with a non-profit organisation, the Sofia team, also formed from the younger generation (age 35-45). Their approach is interesting, tapping into things that their audience care about and avoiding things they reject – like being told what to do.
Here is the background. Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria is being run poorly. The mayor has made terrible decisions during a very long career. At present, a general lack of apathy within the population is allowing things to remain stagnant.
But recently a group of experts decided to do something about it. They formed the Sofia team and are proposing an approach in which citizens and experts, data and dialogue take a key role in the governance of Sofia, instead of the current chaotic work of pieces and patches, leading to the loss of money, time and image of the city.
“These very clever and talented mean and women have really great ideas. And have ideas on how to finance all those great ideas. They are willing to work with the next mayor in any capacity if the municipality is open about it,” explained Kevork Aslanyan.
But is needed now is for a new mayor. And to achieve that, people – especially younger people – must turn up to vote in the upcoming election. Aslanyan, creative agency NEXT DC, and the Sofia Team have created a unique call to action top achieve that.
“We are not endorsing specific candidates; rather, we’re urging young people in Sofia to use their vote to make a positive impact,” Aslanyan stated.
“So all depends now on people and their vote,” Aslanyan continued. “There are a lot of really nice candidates. The idea is that people have to vote. And generally the millennials don’t… the younger ones don’t even consider doing that. So here comes our film, which says, yes you live in the city. Yes, you have to make an effort and decide the next four years. Because Sofia could be a greater place. Not what it is right now.
“This campaign was very much done with passion, and YES, passion means zero to negative budget all-around. If you’re familiar with Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote, you’ll understand that we were in a similar situation throughout the whole process.”
