I continue in Washington with my partners from Belgium.

It was the ultimate culmination of a triumph that began in 2015 when the campaign 'Open Your Eyes And Your Hearts' won Gold at the Creative Belgium Awards. Even during the gala, Chairman Jens Mortier couldn't quiet the notoriously raucous CB crowd. Harry Demey (CEO of LDV United) remarked: "Instead of the traditional half of the agency, only one of our 'Special' Athletes took the stage. Suddenly, it was very quiet. That moment is etched in my memory forever; it was epic. It also demonstrates what communication professionals are capable of: not only building brands but also creating waves that change society."

That small woman is Zehra Sayin. In 2014, with the help of Demey, who contributed to the dossier as a favour, she brought the European Special Olympics to Antwerp as the marketing manager. In 2015, she became the CEO for Belgium. But the real conversion work was yet to come. Zehra doesn't take a step unless it comes from lived inclusion. It's not 'the' or 'those' athletes; it only works for her when they are also 'our athletes.' First, it was LDV, then it was companies that could sponsor, and finally, it was all of us. Alongside Dennis Vandewalle, LDV's Managing and Strategy Director, Zehra reminisces about a decade of collaboration via a Zoom call from Washington. Because that's what this is about. Since 2022, she has worked as Chief Marketing Communications & Development Officer at the global organization, which still operates under the Kennedy's wing. How does that work? Visit Wikipedia: Special Olympics.

Zehra: "LDV was good at strategy, good at creative; they came up with crazy ideas and big ambitions and translated our business call into something 'Wow.' But: people with intellectual disabilities and zero marketing and media budget pushed them far out of their comfort zone. For what became the 'Dare to Play' and 'Dare to Sponsor' campaign in 2016, we had meetings where we had to say: 'No guys, you're off. This is too commercial.' We are looking for our stories. First come my athletes; first, they must be respected, them and their pace. That insight is the key to all campaigns, particularly the approach to our athletes as people." Dennis: "When you said, 'Is this going to help our people,' we said: she's got a point, and we were right on target. We're addressing people with disabilities who can be challenged as full-fledged athletes. That was the turning point. Since then, we've been able to collaborate very successfully and inclusively. All we had to do was say Special Olympics, and everyone was motivated to roll up their sleeves. We did a lot of photoshopping, and if we had to go to the studio, we did it in one day which normally would take five days. I also remember when we needed footage of the Red Devils and didn't have the right contacts. Zehra just pushed a door open and said: go on in."
Zehra: "We hardly had any meetings; we just called each other. Constantly. Especially when I knew they were picking up the kids from school or in the evenings. Because LDV no longer kept timesheets." (Both chuckle). Dennis: "Did we invest time in this? Yes, of course, because it had become our project too. We had that special relationship, and everyone with us knew we were committed. That was never questioned."

Zehra: "It wasn't easy, putting athletes first. While we still had to find the money. So we took our time and arrived at the strategy: first, the shift in people's minds, first, the idea of inclusive sports. And only when minds are ripe can we ask them to open their wallets."

Dennis: "For me, it was during that inclusive basketball match, right Zehra? I didn't dare to look at you because you would have seen tears in my eyes. The human aspect makes it magical: taking the athletes completely seriously." Zehra: "At first, Dennis had to get used to it. And when I saw him like that, I thought: this is it. Now LDV knows what it's all about, for the rest of their lives. From then on, they naturally said: our athletes. Then came that beautiful creative aspect, which even won over our people at the global level: that our athletes were proud."

Dennis: "We became one team. We even went to board meetings of potential sponsors together. We didn't just accept anyone as a sponsor, right Zehra? If we felt it wasn't for the right reasons if a company said: we have this much budget, and it goes to Special Olympics, and the rest to advertising and marketing to explain what we do, then we looked at each other and said: we think something's not right. We explained that too. And if paths diverged, we didn't continue. If we've been working with partners for years, it's because it was right from the start. Inclusive, that is. Mind you, that's not so easy."

Zehra: "It was no longer about a sponsor budget to support us: we came with marketing opportunities. And our choice to be strict in who we accepted as a partner was ultimately the right one. I had to be patient, not easy. Because the 'Dare to...' campaign was a hit. But we all knew that the point was for our people to be respected, that we weren't begging... This morning (the day of the Zoom), LDV showed us a pitch for the global campaign. My global CEO said last week: 'Let's also talk to LDV, they'll put on the best presentation. And their approach and tone of voice are right.' And so I took LDV with me across the ocean. Because inclusion is still a global issue. People with intellectual disabilities are kept hidden. How do we 'destroy' this? Because if it's not first destructive, it can't become inclusive."

So Belgium and the Special Olympics worldwide are asking for genuine, heartfelt respect first. Only then do they acknowledge that they need money, but for a noble cause: more athletes who can train, participate in competitions... Zehra: "The world needs these athletes to be inclusive, which is different from being integrated. And I think we've handled it really well with LDV. With companies, we also asked about their corporate culture and how they treated employees with mental disabilities. We just dared, and it miraculously worked out. We were disruptive in everything and completely turned the usual discourse around. LDV might have known more than my chairman who I had to deal with and became a true leadership partner."

Dennis: "I'm still proud of what we built together because it was so unique and still is. We are already like that as an agency, and this was very special."

Zehra: "I'm continuing with my partners from Belgium. Our whole team now wants to work with LDV, even in the US. They've followed me. Because we need to bring this whole inclusive story globally now. Again, finding the right words first for a meaningful approach, so it remains disruptive. And every time I say that, I get very good responses: the agency understands what it's really about, and I don't waste time explaining it over and over again. That's why my global CEO wants to continue working with LDV from an effectiveness perspective."