Powering the ‘Right to rest’ for Publicis Groupe Belgium

Inspiring change through PR

To eliminate the stigma and negative connotations around rest in the advertising sector, where working hard and resting little are still seen as a sign of productivity and success, the Belgian branch of Publicis Groupe launched ‘Right to rest’: a campaign encouraging employees to take paid rest breaks during working hours. Because just like athletes need lots of rest to perform at the top level physically, anyone wanting to be in shape creatively and mentally too must take sufficient rest.

With this initiative, Publicis aims to be a pioneer for change: within its own ranks first and foremost, but also in the creative and advertising sector in general and, by extension, even the work world in its entirety.

Amplifying the message

To turn the perception of rest into a positive one, a coordinated internal campaign was set up with workshops, posters, dedicated resting areas and a specific job number for people to register their paid rest moments. However, if Publicis really is to inspire a mindshift within the sector, more was needed.

Hence, they called upon us to amplify their message through a classic PR campaign.

Maximum impact

And so we started pitching, to great result: interviews were conducted with just about every HR media in the country as well as several other trade magazines, a major national newspaper and - cherry on the cake - a televised report for the evening news on Belgium’s biggest commercial broadcaster. As such, a combined pr value of over 180k was realised, making for a ROI of over 3500%: maximal impact for a minimal budget, and a great start to this ongoing campaign.

Even better: at the 2023 BORA Awards - Belgian PR prizes - this campaign won the award for ‘Best Internal and Change communication’.