A play to discover the decisions that mark a home at different stages of life. This is what “Bravery Lives Here” proposes, the new Allianz brand experience with which the insurance company continues to vindicate everyday bravery and celebrate people who dare to enjoy the moment and move forward without fear.

To achieve this, it has once again counted on the creative agency VML, as well as the filmmaker and actor Daniel Guzmán, who writes and directs this immersive theater experience, free and available for two days – four showings in total – at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara, in the central Madrid square of Alonso Martínez.

The emblematic building thus hosts an activation that invites the public to experience three realistic stories performed by six actors in a unique tour of the different rooms. The “Bravery Lives Here” stage recreates three independent, living homes, and attendees will witness, just inches away, the key decisions, concerns and motivations that bring decisive moments to life.

The work represents a commitment by the brand to live branded entertainment and the reinforcement of the bond with people from a human and empathetic experience. “Home is the place where everyday but important decisions occur“explains María Luisa de la Peña, Chief Marketing Officer of Allianz, in statements to reason.Why. “We are in charge of ensuring that space and we wanted to offer a lived experience that makes our purpose tangible, that brings the brand closer and pays tribute to the courage of everyday life.“.

Choosing theater as a format is an innovative move on the brand’s part, but it fits naturally with the message of everyday bravery that Allianz has been building over the last two years. “This work, set in the characters’ homes, distances us from the epic and grandiloquence with which bravery is often spoken of.“, tells us Lorena Pedre, Creative Director at VML. “Attendees immerse themselves in homes, contemplating and interacting with situations with which they identify. There is a real and authentic intimacy that connects in a way that an advertisement or a short film does not.”.

Original post from Allianz on Instagram

Spectators move from one room of the palace to another in a physical and emotional journey that lasts approximately one hour and in which the actors break the fourth wall to immerse the audience in three different stories.
In them we discover the dilemma of the future of Lucas, a teenager who wants to escape from everything until his grandmother makes him question what it really means to grow up. There is also a journey towards parenthood, that of Raquel, Juanma and their illusions, doubts and contradictions before the arrival of a child. And finally, the complex and mature decisions to take care of the family in the chaos of everyday life.

Daniel Guzmán was recognized with the Goya award for best new director for the film “In exchange for nothing” in February 2016. The actors in the play are Rakel González-Huedo, Juan Vinuesa, María Teresa Altés, Lorenzo Espiga, Eduardo Rejón and Agustín Otón.

All this under the humanist gaze of Daniel Guzmán. The director puts his particular vision of reality at the service of an experience that seeks, in line with Allianz’s positioning, to make people reflect on what really matters. As the brand and the agency explain, Guzmán has been involved in the process from the first moment with total creative freedom, and his imprint has been reflected in the script, casting, set design and even the lighting.

For Guzmán, that freedom has been precisely one of the keys to the project. “It has been a unique creative process, with absolute freedom on the part of the brand and the agency. I have been able to intervene in everything I wanted and work from a place of great proximity to the social and, above all, the human”explained the director. “It has been a pleasure and also a wonderful initiative due to the possibility of linking a brand with culture. During the process a family has been created and I think something very special has happened.” The filmmaker also considers that the proposal has the potential to go beyond these first screenings. “It is a new format and I think it can have a long way to go. This is there to grow, to continue working on it and, above all, to enjoy it”he points out.

The choice of Daniel Guzmán, as explained to us by Allianz, fits naturally with the brand’s approach and way of telling stories. “He has a very real and authentic way of portraying life and is also a legitimized figure in the cultural sphere. This allows us to rely on it to explore the theater format“, says Elena Colás, Senior Brand Expert at Allianz, in conversation with this medium. “He loved the project from the first moment and we have worked closely to co-create it”.

The company has publicized the initiative with various communication actions, including outdoor advertising or social media activations, which culminated in an exclusive premiere on September 10 for the press, opinion leaders and prescribers of the advertising and entertainment sector. The work is being offered to the general public on September 11 and 12.

Courage as a territory of communication

This Allianz initiative is part of the company’s advertising campaign launched last February to publicize the differential advantages of its home insurance, which is also articulated under the claim “Courage lives here.” With it, it has unveiled features such as its urgent repair service or coverage for damage due to theft or accidental water damage.

As part of the campaign, the play is understood as a more emotional and aspirational way to communicate Allianz’s strategic message; while the rest of the activations carried out in recent months pursue more tactical objectives. “The work is not just another impact, it is a direct connection that generates a close relationship and that will put the brand in people’s minds in a different way.“, says Lorena Pedre. “We make Allianz’s positioning around bravery and the human point tangible in a unique experience”.

The activation also strengthens the positioning that the brand has been developing for more than a year about how, in a context of complexity and uncertainty, each small decision, such as becoming a mother, starting a business or purchasing a home, can be an act of courage. The slogan “And to live” invites people to take steps in life with the confidence of having an insurance company to accompany them.

With this, the company has opted for a communication tone far from the messages of uncertainty and fear that have traditionally characterized the sector, and has chosen to claim security, optimism and a realistic vision close to the daily lives of consumers. This allows Allianz to work on two territories simultaneously: on the one hand, the emotional one, which is courage and trust; and, on the other, the rational, which is its promise of fulfillment.

“At Allianz we are not alone when an accident occurs, we accompany you on a day-to-day basis. This allows us to speak from bravery, which is an original territory within the category, which has usually opted for the angle of fear.“, Elena Colás explains to us. “This play helps us continue to differentiate ourselves both in what we tell and in the way we tell it.”

The production of the play is a new reflection of innovation and exploration of communication formats by Allianz and expands its commitment to creating experiences that materialize and give life to its discourse of support and accompaniment. “Creating experiences is going beyond telling stories, it is inviting people to live them, move them“, comments María Luisa de la Peña in statements to reason.Why. “The intention is to get out of conventional media, take the brand to the streets and be closer to the people.”.

More info: Courage lives here

Technical sheet

• Campaign: Courage lives here
• Advertiser: Allianz Spain
• Advertiser team: Luisa de la Peña, Anna Lladó, Marta Sánchez-Hidalgo, Aleix Zorrilla, Ana Salazar, Elena Colás, Verónica Martinez, Kornelija Steponaviciute, Gema Lekue and Aleyda Abellán.
• Agency: VML
  • Creative General Director: David Caballero
  • Executive Creative Director: Gloria Hernández
  • Creative Director: Lorena Pedre
  • Art directors: Alba Lavorato, Mariana Miranda, Óscar Marchal
  • Copy: Marina Badenes
  • Director of strategic planning: Martín Pietragalla
  • Head of Creative Content: Auxi Barea
  • Social Media & Content Manager: Paula Carbonell
  • Community Manager: Marina Delgado
  • Director of customer services: Lluïsa Aguado
  • Account Director: Mar Miró
  • Account Executive: Núria Quintana
• Production: WPP Production and Bijoux Content
• Media Agency: WPP Media