| Philosophy | Portugal is facing major social challenges. It is the fastest aging country in the European Union1, with 1.7m elderly people living or feeling alone2. At the same time, rents have recently tripled, pricing young people out of the market. Unable to afford accommodation of their own, 95% of young Portuguese people live with their parents3. Many are leaving Portugal entirely. This Christmas, MEO, Portugal’s leading telecom and a purpose-driven company, is diverting most of its marketing budget to address this issue. Conceived and created by Dentsu Creative Portugal, Share Home (Partilha Casa) is a three-year national initiative, to bring together high school and university students looking for accommodation far from home, with older people who live alone and would like some company. Partnering the councils of Portugal’s three largest cities, Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, and a number of organisations working in this space, Dentsu Creative Portugal and MEO, with aggregator lojacasa.pt, have built a digital platform to connect anyone interested in participating in the program – whether they’re looking for somewhere to live or can offer a welcoming home, allowing a greater quality of life and comfort for both, or an institution wanting to get involved. The goal is to find shared accommodation for 20% of the 120,000 students seeking homes by the end of the first year, but also to promote greater prevalence of such initiatives country-wide, increasing the potential for candidates. The initiative is supported by an integrated ad campaign, spearheaded by an emotional film, running on TV, cinema, digital and social. Directed by one of Portugal’s finest directors, Oscar-nominated Marco Martins, it tells the story of a student who travels far from home to go to university in Lisbon and shares a house with an elderly woman. Set to Sia’s ‘Angel by the wings”, we see their relationship evolve from the purely practical, into a strong friendship, supporting each other through life and study. Discovering her host’s past as a celebrated figure skater, the student is inspired to give back and bring joy to her new friend and on Christmas Eve, helps her take to the ice once more. A story of two generations coming together to build a better future, it ends with the line: “When a door opens, a heart opens too.” With people, communications and home at its core, MEO is also providing participants in the program with communication solutions under preferential conditions to ensure shared accommodation has the necessary connectivity and access to information. |