Brief Explanation

The Pasig River, Manila's main waterway, was transformed into a 25-kilometer sewer system. In 1990, ecologists considered it biologically dead. Shokubutsu HANA, a personal care brand that manufactures products made from 100% natural cleansing ingredients, believes in the restorative powers of nature. The brand wanted to join the movement that is led by PRRC (Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission) to revive the most polluted river in the country. They created the world’s first Water-Cleaning Billboards, made entirely of nature. Together, PRRC, HANA and local communities worked together and re-launched a much cleaner and more beautiful group of estuaries. The launch also went digital through a PR campaign that reached environmental groups and social media.

The Brief

As an advocate of clean and natural living, HANA wanted help out existing projects of nature conservation, starting with the PRRC. The brand knew that most of the people that surround the river are students, residents and office workers. It also knew that the Philippines is the social media capital of the world, with a big chunk occupied by the youth. Using this information, they wanted to create more than just an ad with a message. A Digital/PR plan was also needed to help amplify this unique message through the target market, especially those who use social media.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The environmental sites and organizations that picked up the campaign praised it and helped spread the message online with articles. Soon, all kinds of other sites began reposting. Then, students and the general youth started sharing, sending the billboards all over social media, eventually reaching the national news. From local primetime news alone, the billboard earned roughly USD 28,000 of free media mileage. Globally, both the creative and environment-related publications featured the effort (AdAge Editor’s Pick of the Day, Yahoo News, Sustainable Brands, Campaign Brief Asia and Fast Co.Create to name a few), and from it the brand received roughly 13M impressions. The brand earned a seat in last year’s annual Sustainable Brands Conference in London amongst 400 advanced executives in Corporate Sustainability, Marketing, Brand Strategy and Product Innovation. It was a testament to how this small effort to save the Pasig River has inspired many the world over.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Hana mounted the first ever Water-Cleaning Billboards for the the re-launch of the Santibañez Estuary. Powered by nature, they are floating systems placed on the river and made of vetiver – grass that can absorb pollutants in wastewater. More than a message that advocated nature, the billboards were actually cleaning the river itself. As the local government worked to remove the solid garbage, the billboards purified the water. Because of the success of the estuary launch, two more billboards were constructed and placed on Pasig River, sending a message while purifying the water to this day.