#TheUnityWave

#TheUnityWave is an Instagram flash mob that united Ukrainians and the British on the eve of the Eurovision 2023 final in Liverpool, Great Britain. The activation was the culmination of the communication campaign #OpenYourHeartForUkraine (read more about it in another case)

Goal

The key objective of #TheUnityWave was to demonstrate solidarity and unity between Ukraine and the UK during the Eurovision week, which became another example of a close and successful partnership between countries and peoples. In addition, the partners and participants of the flash mob called to open their hearts to Ukraine and continue to support it, which became an important reminder, considering this year's contest held by the UK on behalf of Ukraine and in view of the continuation of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Insight

Eurovision is one of the most popular music events in the world with an annual audience of about 200 million people. Traditionally, during the weeks of the song contest, social media users create a huge amount of content, making the topic trending. Given its relevance (and its ever-increasing growth in the lead-up to the finals of the contest), it was a good opportunity to offer digital tools that would engage the audience in a digital campaign.

Concept

Before the start of #TheUnityWave, its key audiences — Ukrainians and the British — had already actively demonstrated their support (through combined Ukrainian-British flags, blue-yellow lighting of famous buildings in Liverpool, etc.), while the flash mob allowed to show unity in the digital dimension as well — with joint posts on Instagram and stories using an AR-mask full of Ukrainian-British hearts.

Implementation

#TheUnityWave flash mob started on May 10, the last week of Eurovision, as part of the #OpenYourHeartForUkraine communication campaign. More than 30 UK and Ukrainian partners took part, including state leaders, governments, cultural institutions, celebrities and even animals.

#TheUnityWave started with a joint publication by @ukraine.ua and @lovegreatbritain (the official Instagram profiles of the respective countries). This wave became a special and symbolic moment of the campaign, as its format opened the opportunity for partners from Ukraine and the UK to share a common message and emphasize the importance of solidarity before the Eurovision final.

Visual materials (videos and pictures) and texts were developed for each pair of partners who joined the wave. For example, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak in a joint post shared a specially created video about unity between the countries in various spheres. In just a few days of the flash mob, the partners published 18 joint posts on Instagram:

To support the wave of unity on social networks and encourage even more users to join the campaign and interact with its content, @ukraine.ua, the official Instagram profile of Ukraine, also launched an AR filter for stories with British-Ukrainian flags and hearts as the main symbol of the #OpenYourHeartForUkraine campaign.