At the beginning of August, NN’s Facebook page changed from a pretty corporate page with all kind of statistics and product driven information, to a very casual account of daily aha! moments, narrated by one person.
One day, you see him visiting a cave, on another, making a DIY bird feeder with his son, on another, trying and failing to make sourdough bread. He trains for the marathon, looks for a four-leafed clover, or talks about places he discovered in the city, like a social cafe, a painted street, or an old house in a charming neighbourhood. He makes lots of stuff, like piggy banks, elderflower cordial, or some amazing concoctions for huge soap balloons. And he always has a story to tell about these moments: it could be a reminiscence of his youth days selling instant coffee in Obor Market, of his father sculpting an engagement ring out of a peach pit to propose to his mother, or of an elderly neighbour who brought him a photo of his old motorcycle so they can bond over their shared love of bikes. All stories carry the same #25haday (#25hpezi) hashtag.
Whatever he says, he says it in a way that doesn’t make any of these moments seem spectacular. Rather, all the stories sound like the regular moments out of a regular life, illustrated with selfies, phone shots of landscapes, and closeups of handmade stuff. Pretty much like a regular person’s Instagram feed.
The regular person in question, Augustin Radu, 39, a former blogger who is now an entrepreneur who makes bags, is what he advertises. Married, with a son and a busy life, Augustin is trying constantly to find one moment each day when he lives his life to the fullest, whether that is the moment he cleans his car, walks his son in the park, or cooks dinner for the family. And everytime he finds that moment – and he will keep looking for it for the next year – he shares it with the followers.
His stories, as regular as they seem, are what NN was looking for as part of the new brand, says Carmen Soare, Chief Marketing Officer with the company. “Starting from the idea that when you live more meaningful experiences, your life seems to be longer, we try to inspire our fans to discover and enrich their own way. We want to encourage them to live the lives they want, the way they want, and to let them know that we are always there to protect them.”
The best way to convey that message was to find a role model who can show that by doing more mindful things in a day, you live more, you have more memories, you feel you’ve achieved more. Augustin was proposed by the digital agency Webstyler, and his personality and lifestyle matched: he was natural, looked for personal experiences that seemed relatable, and actually had the ability to find joy everyday – and not in an obnoxious, tree-hugger way. People responded right away, commenting, asking for more details, giving advice when he appears in need of it.
Augustin accepted to display his little private moments because he didn’t have to make any extra-effort. “This offer came soon after I was hit with the middle-age crisis”, he says half-jokingly, “and had decided to start doing things I haven’t done before, or haven’t done in a long time.”
This task disciplined him to appreciate at least one thing daily, to stop complaining and to “escape the mundane, by doing mundane things.” His life philosophy is rather blunt: “I believe many of us should’ve been fired from life, because that is where we perform the least, where we procrastinate, where we abandon our plans and promises. So I hope my stories inspire people to try to be better at their personal lives.”
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