We decided for a recognizable logo and name:
Category: Say Hey
Our concept in the making
We knew that the most important part for recognition and brand identity will be our logo. We decided for it to be on stickers, posters, branded equipment, etc. The name was clear very soon: SAY HEY. It should stand shortly and easy to remember for the moment when newbies and locals get in contact – also it implies an action, invitation and challenge at the same time.
We tried around, made drafts and showed it to colleagues, people on the street. (spoiler: none of the following made it to the final round ;-))
Plauderpicknick with strangers
We decided for a qualitative research model in which the participants would have no face to face meeting but rather a round of people chatting about questions we would throw in from time to time. We asked about their feelings when coming to Germany, how easy it was to integrate, how they had progressed with learning German, what did help them in better learning about language and culture.
This was our facebook invite to friends and friends of friends:
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Do you speak german? Sprachpicknick
YES? NO?
We would like to invite both to a chilly picnic at the river to chat, get to know new people and have some drinks together.
WHY?
Well, we first of all believe that Non-German-speakers should meet up more with German-speakers. And who doesn’t love selfmade food, good weather (yes we will do the sundance tonight…), and to talk to a bunch of really cool folks?
And then we would like to film some of your reactions, ask you some questions and take this nice experience back home to work on a solution for Berliners to meet each other more often, in order to learn German, have fun, and inspire each other.
So do us a favor and start in German.
Don’t be shy – perfect German never existed…
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At the event itself only people who wanted to learn German came. From which we assumed that our instinct after first researches was right: It is much harder to convince locals to take part in such events than newcomers. The event was a success though, because we could interact directly with the participants and ask a lot of our questions.
SAY HEY backgrounds and research
People say the are willing to help, but they don´t want to feel obligated!
There are two parties: the NEWBIES on the one hand and the Germans, or LOCALS on the other hand.
Both of them are having different needs because they are in different situations.
We were doing surveys with both groups:
-NEWBIES:
We went to a Language school at Berlin where people take German lessons and asked them following questions.
-NEWBIES are looking so badly for LOCALS who would like to spend just a little time with them!
-NEWBIES are afraid of doing the first step towards LOCALS.
-NEWBIES are afraid of being rejected.
-LOCALS:
-LOCALS are willing to help.
-But they say they don´t have that much time and don’t want to have more appointments.
-LOCALS don’t want to be responsible.
-They want to stay spontaneous.
How can we balance those two perspectives?
SAY HEY on Startnext
https://www.startnext.com/sayhey
Let’s imagine you are new to the city of Berlin. How do you decide where to hang out? How do you meet new people? The SAY HEY tag will help you to orientate and find new spots, activities together with others. And they could become your new friends.
We are convinced that also people who now the city but want to attend new kinds of meetups or learn about something new will love this easy way of connecting spontaneously.
It’s about having fun, being spontaneous and being surprised by how well interaction works – even if people never met before.
We would like to see as many SAY HEY tags as possible in Berlin, to really show the openness and kindness which is leading this international scene. People should have the freedom to decide when they are ready for new things.
But see for yourself:
Language Barrier – How can we build a Bridge?
Non-Germans want to learn German and want to take part in social life.
Germans are not as enthusiastic yet. They don`t want to feel obligated.
How can we still create social interaction?
That´s what we already tried out;)
IDEA AFTER RESEARCH:
Giving German people a SIGN which could be a print on a shirt, sticker, bag, what ever that says: “Hey, join us!”/”Don´t be shy!”/”Take part!”…
They´ll have the opportunity to put it on in a situation where they want foreign people to participate – Non-Germans wouldn´t have a as hard time to bring oneselfes to do the first step.