Project: Startup Ostfriesland (Germany)

Date: Apr – May 2018

Location: Berlin, Germany

Client: Startup Germany

WYE Services:
– Community Development / Outreach
– Communications Plan

Description:
– THE WYE was retained to generate a story to peek interest in attending an innovation initiative (Startup Weekend Emden) for Ostfriesland, Germany – an area struggling to find placement within a changing world. 

THE WYE developed and executed a communication plan for the modernizing event including generating campaign strategy, narrative, and texts playing on / head-on addressing with humor and wit the traditional stereotypes Ostfriesland is widely identified with.   

To implement communications, THE WYE built a process and network from scratch – building a community by identifying, contacting, and uniting “Doers” across target audiences in (or bordering) Ostfriesland.

THE WYE was asked to additionally attend the event as a mentor.

Highlights: 

To spark and support new ideas in Ostfriesland with the Startup Weekend initiative – local stakeholders including Stadtwerke Emden, dena, Volkswagen, and elbstack among others mentored and awarded young entrepreneurs prizes from VON DER SEE, Zukunft Emden, Volkswagen, NBank, AGV, Sparkasse, Start-up Zentrum Oldenburg, and sharemagazines. 

Olaf Lies (Lower Saxony Minister for Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection) served as Patron of the event, releasing a public statement: “Young people with fresh ideas are exactly the driving force that our state of Lower Saxony needs. After all, we must and want to continue to meet the ever-changing challenges of our time…”