Tony’s Chocolonely big mission is to make all chocolate 100% slave-free. A bold mission that the company keeps raising awareness of through an annual event. Known as the “coolest and most inspiring annual stakeholder (yep, not shareholder) meeting in the world,” Tony’s FAIR‘s 8th edition was different this year. While sticking to its mission, the brand also tackled one of this year’s challenges: Working on a live event online and make it highly interactive so that every participant can feel the FAIR’s experience.

For the last seven years, the city of Amsterdam hosted Tony’s event. However, because of the pandemic, this year’s FAIR was reimagined to fit the lockdown era. Behind the virtual experience stands digital studio Resn, which created a digital playground for the attendees. Visitors were able to directly ask the speakers questions and, even though the event is now over, they can still be part of a lot of activities, which can be unlocked with a simple click.

The experience is circular and revolves around chocolate enthusiasts, who are invited to access the website and enjoy the sweet moment. The first step of the “game” allows you to create your own avatar. You can choose the color and message on your T-shirt or your hairstyle. Once you select your avatar, you need to add your name and email address so that the party can start. You land in Tony’s FAIR experience, where you can choose what to do next: Find out what’s on, see the stage, go to choco club or shop, discover the brand’s mission, or sign the petition to make all chocolate 100% slave-free. You can even “interact” with the other attendees — well, a primitive interaction so to speak, as their only possible reaction is a body move.

There’s also “the world’s smallest speakers booth,” where you can “meet” the speakers, amongst which Pharrell Williams and Idris Elba. The self-service chocolate shop allows you to place an order, but first, you need to sanitize your hands! Now that you have sweetened up your soul and your hands are perfectly clean, don’t forget to sign the petition!

“After a very challenging 2020, we wanted to use Tony’s FAIR, our annual stakeholder event, to spark hope for a better tomorrow while raising the bar for social change. Resn has helped us reimagine what’s possible in the digital sphere, and created an online platform, our FAIRground, that’s not just a reflection of our values — our fun and outspoken attitude — but an experience that ignited genuine connection and conversation about Tony’s mission,” Sabrina Spong, Movement Lead at Tony’s Chocolonely, said.

“Tony’s Chocolonely is a truly magical brand — and one with a higher purpose. Their commitment to impact really shines through in everything that they say and do. To bring this all to life by creating the FAIRground digital experience is one of the highlights of 2020. It shows that even in lockdown creativity and imagination can be applied to bring people together and rally around something good. Now, sign the petition to make chocolate 100% slavery-free by law,” Matthijs Horsman, General Manager, Resn, adds.

This year’s theme was in line with 2020’s global challenges: “Let’s raise the bar for social change.” During the 1.5-hour-long live session, attendees were able to explore the venue and take part in lots of activities, like listening to music and talks, getting a chance to be featured in the show, and be a witness to the global “raise the bar” moment with its live Q&A.

A few months back, the company, in collaboration with one of the speakers at its event, Idris Elba, and HERC Agency, launched an ad to tackle the problems of slavery and child labor within the industry. The video puts the spotlight on this issue in a very emotional way showing that it is time to shout really loud about it. And what better way to do this than with a powerful voice?

Credits:

Client: Tony’s Chocolonely

Agency: Resn

Tony’s Chocolonely Manifesto Film

Agency: HERC Agency