Turn Out the Lights
Leo Burnett an advertising agency in Chicago is trying to promote an event entitled "Earth Hour 2008" to build awareness for the World Wildlife Fund, a client. Although Chicago is the front runner city in the US, other major cities are trying to join in on this international effort. Some of the other cities that are willing to turn off their lights for the cause, include Bangkok, Copenhagen, Manila, Tel Aviv, and Toronto. All of the cities are required to turn their light switches off between 8 pm and 9 pm local time on March 29.
Mr. Bernardin, the CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide said that $1 million worth of free media was donated to help promote the event. The agency has already gotten in touch with the city's power company Commonwealth Edison, police and fire departments, public schools, and the Building Owners and Managers Assocation of Chicago are all involved. Popular attractions in the city such as the Sears Tower and Hancock Building have signed up and more are on their way.
Commonwealth Edison said that there might be an issue in making sure all the lights come back on and making sure that the transitions are managed safely. Leo Burnett has been involved in an event like this before but in Sydney. The event gained a lot of support because of the positive message it sent out. 2.2 million people ended up turning out their lights.
The event will show people that if they act individually that they can create a significant influence on energy saving. It also shows how these individual cities can work together to take a huge stance on one of the greatest threats in our planet, which is global warming. I think that the event will do well because it is calling for individuals' direct help. Leo Burnett is getting their audience involved. Leo Burnett is asking for your help. The message is that if YOU do something as small as turning off the lights for one hour YOU can help save the world. Hopefully Leo Burnett will find some way of getting the message out to everyone in the cities involved. I don't know what I would be thinking was happening if I had no idea about what was going on.
http://adage.com/article?article_id=125129
posted by Michelle Lee @ 10:21 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I always like to see events like this happen because it is for a good cause. Leo Burnett came up with an event that will get many people to take notice of this energy problem that is a major concern of their client, and it won't cost the agency anything. I believe this media strategy is very effective in promoting an idea and getting widespread attention. Hopefully other causes can take notice of this creative way of getting support and use it to help for themselves.
Our planet is indeed in danger of global warming, and having the "Earth Hour 2008" event seems like a great way to raise the level of awareness in our society. To just turn off the lights for an hour seems like a very straightforward and effective way for everyday people to get involve in this attempt to save our earth. With other cities willing to participate in this effort, Leo Burnett will be more successful in conveying their media message and strategy. I also agree with Danielle when she mentioned that this was a very effective promoting strategy to gain awareness across the world. I feel as though this was a well thought out plan that can work successfully. I would like to see this event turn into a national campaign, with Leo Burnett using the best media selections. Why settle for just one year, what about making this a yearly event and conserving our energy for at-least two hours?
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