HANA WATER BILLBOARD

TitleHANA WATER BILLBOARD
BrandPEERLESS LION
Product / ServiceSHOKUBUTSU HANA PERSONAL CARE
CategoryA02. Corporate Responsibility
EntrantTBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Entrant Company TBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Advertising Agency TBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
PR Agency KEREN PASCUAL PUBLIC RELATIONS Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES

Credits

Name Company Position
Melvin M. Mangada TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Chief Creative Officer
Ali Silao TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Creative Director
Chino Jayme TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Associate Creative Director/Copywriter
Nolan Fabular TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Associate Creative Director/Art Director
Cj De Silva TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Art Director
Kathy Cosico TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Account Director
Rj Paculan TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Planner
Dennis Carlos TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Print Prod.
Abi Ramos TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Jr. Print Producer
Emilie Batard TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Agency Producer
Francis Allan De Dios TBWA/SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Editor/Animator
Teresa Composana Production Designer
John Chua Ad Photo Photographer

The Campaign

Pasig River, Manila's main waterway, was transformed into a huge sewer system through the years. During the 90's, it was considered biologically dead. Shokubutsu HANA, a personal care brand that believes in the restorative powers of nature, wanted to join the movement to restore the river. For people to take notice, the brand's message had to be more than just another large tarp lined up along hundreds more. It had to send a powerful message while also setting an example for the rest of the country. The first water-cleaning billboard was created. Powered entirely by nature, the billboard is designed to float on the river itself. It is made of vetiver--perennial, non-invasive grass that absorbs pollutants in wastewater. The vetiver in the billboard could clean up to 94% of nitrates, phosphates and heavy metals in the wastewater only four days after planting. It also serves as a reminder for thousands to think twice before throwing garbage into the river. A PR campaign was launched, and news about the billboard quickly spread through social media, sties, blogs and even on national news. More importantly, it helped clean the most polluted river in the country.

The Brief

To create even the slightest change in the river, the issue needed to be spread to Filipinos of all kinds and make them aware of the problem once again. Such attention would convince more local government units to increase their efforts ion cleaning the river and for citizens to refrain from throwing garbage into the river.

Results

The billboard was all over social media, blogs, sites and even on national news. Notable media that picked up the campaign: Saksi Feature (Philippine Primetime TV) ANC Feature (Philippine News) Net25 Feature (Philippine News) Yahoo.com Upworthy Co.Create, NY Creativity Online (Pick of the Day) TrendHunter.com, Toronto Design Taxi AdWeek, NY Advertolog, Cologne Campaign Brief Asia, Perth Ad Age, NY Outdoor Media Association, Sydney Branding Magazine, London Thousands of passers-by and residents have refrained from dumping garbage into the river as it spoke directly to them. HANA became a major player among brands that care for the environment. As the billboard helped clean the most polluted river in the country, the success and attention of the campaign has prompted the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission to offer more locations for more water billboards to be constructed, while they themselves have increased efforts in restoring the river back to the way it was.

Execution

Placement of the billboard was important as the river spoke directly to people that looked at it, compared to a billboard placed around the area. The vetiver grass in the billboard contained a high filtering effect but was easy to maintain, ensuring longevity of the installation. Once was launched, the billboard was picked up by thousands of passers-by and the media. This translated into hundreds of posts in social media, blogs, articles and news, both local and international. It was also installed just in time for the government's relaunch of the estuary the billboard placed on. This also helped spread the news.

The Situation

Shokubutsu HANA, a personal care brand that creates products with natural ingredients has a philosophy of taking care of nature as nature takes care of people. It felt the need to give back to nature and raise awareness in the process, beginning with Pasig River. The river's polluted state had been a long standing problem. Most Filipinos have given up on any solutions. Efforts have been made by the government to restore the river, but as citizens continue to throw waste into river, no substantial improvements have happened. A PR campaign was launched to raise awareness across the country.

The Strategy

To demonstrate HANA's natural cleaning promise and express its values, the brand needed to not just talk about the advocacy but to actually demonstrate it. This was done by creating a billboard and placing it away from the clutter and right on the river itself. On top of that, the billboard could actually clean the wastewater it was floating on. A message this clear and this impactful from a brand that advocates nature was the base of the strategy. If done right, the campaign would reach one of the spaces where Filipinos would dwell most: the internet and social media.