A Wren Says

Zimbabwe had a problem. A corrupt government. Monumental levels of inflation. Add to that a president who actively worked to silence his foes, especially the print media. Journalists were forced outside of the country. Newspapers could only be sold with a luxury tax, making them out of budget for most citizens. Okay, that is more than one problem, but The Zimbabwean, a local newspaper, sought to send a powerful message. That took money, but not in the way you would think.

Due to the level of inflation, the Mugabe regime had resorted printing 100 trillion dollar notes. It’s not a typo. It’s not hyperbole. 1 trillion Zimbawean dollars. Rather than implementing measures to reduce inflation, they just started printing higher and higher denominations. And even with a large sum of money in their pockets, Zimbabwean people had basically nothing to show for it. And that is the angle that The Zimbabwean took in their campaign. The money was essentially worthless. And that was the message the paper went with.

“It’s cheaper to print this on money than on paper.”  a worthless sum in their wallets.

It was simple message, using actual dollars on billboards, murals, and canvassing. The campaign was an international sensation, that spread notice of the problems far and wide and grew awareness of their paper. It spoke to corruption of the regime, the impact of the inflation, and the power that their news outlet held to educate the masses. Because of the innovation, they won a 2009 Cannes prize. But more importantly they got the message out.

The problem was the message.