ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO THAT?

Gaining attention in the village of Thusis, with you and the locals, where the "STORY" is created!
In the Südostschweiz edition of Wednesday, November 16, 2022, a report about our advertising campaign was published.

We sprayed the sentence "What's your Story?" with a stencil and chalk paint in several places on the sidewalk of Neudorfstrasse in a cloak-and-dagger operation...

You can find out exactly what's behind it and what the Südostschweiz newspaper thinks about it in the report from November 16, 2022. You can also find the link to the article here.

Thanks to Silvia Kessler for the report.

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Report from the Bündner Zeitung from Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Advertising with question marks puzzles people in Thusis

A question, painted with white paint on asphalt-gray ground, has been found throughout Thusis for about two weeks. Behind the action is a local company with a flair for surprises.

by Silvia Kessler

They were suddenly there, out of nowhere. "What's your Story?" shines towards the pedestrian from the sidewalk on Neudorfstrasse in white paint on asphalt-gray ground. The matter would probably be quickly forgotten, but the same question reappears after just a few steps. The same lettering even accompanies you through the entire Neudorf, on the sidewalks on both sides of the street, from Migros down to the "Bernina" restaurant. Even at the train station square, train and post bus travelers literally run into this one question. Many look around in amazement, looking for a clue that could explain the meaning of the question, but there is nothing far and wide.

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"Action in the Gray Area"

The solution to the riddle leads via the word "Story" to a current construction project in Thusis. On the Rosenbühl at the entrance to the Viamala Gorge, a three-story building is being constructed that will combine sports and co-working, as well as various courses and events, under one roof and is intended to become the new meeting place for locals and guests (edition of May 7). The project is being realized by the Viamala Sportwerkstatt team, who are also behind the mysterious advertising campaign.

On November 5, the team around Johannes Nidecker launched the newly designed website, which is all about renaming Viamala Sportwerkstatt to "Story". In the search for ways to make the news visible in Thusis, the idea with the message on the sidewalks and squares came up. It became an "action in a gray area" because the advertising campaign is not approved. "Because probably nobody would have approved it," says Nidecker frankly. "We had discussed internally for a long time what we are legally allowed to do and what not, and ultimately decided on this campaign."

The lettering was finally put up in the village in stages and "at night and in fog". But if the campaign were to disturb anyone, it would quickly disappear again, as Nidecker emphasizes. "A bucket of water and a brush would be enough, because we used ordinary street chalk, like children use."

Fleeting Appearance

According to Nidecker, there are some people who are catching on to the originators of the advertising campaign. He and the other members of the team are repeatedly approached by people who want to know whether the Sportwerkstatt is behind the lettering and what the meaning is behind it. "A question that almost always comes up is the one about the approval," Nidecker continues. But in his opinion, advertising can also take unusual paths. He considers it pretty impossible that the sidewalks of Thusis could now suddenly be used by other organizations or companies for advertising messages. "Unusual advertising campaigns only work once," Nidecker is convinced. The "Story" campaign surprised as desired, and the goal of arousing curiosity has been achieved. With the next rain or snowfall, the lettering will disappear as it appeared. And the question of legitimacy will also dissolve into thin air.

You can find the link to the article here.