WWF HK launches digital-led campaign for Earth Hour 2013

The campaign is centred around a countdown website designed by Fluid and developed by Smartdrop. The site will be promoted by print and outdoor also designed by Fluid with media work handled by Starcom Mediavest. Public relations will be managed by GHC Asia.  

"The most effective channels for us will always be the digital space," commented WWF communications director Alastair Bullock. "The website's aim is to collect pledges and signatures and also to obtain contact information so we can keep Earth Hour going year after year." He added that the organisation was hoping for more than 1,000 pledges. 

The microsite was designed to encourage user participation and support, explained Sarah Farnham, brand director at Fluid. "The home page focuses on the map and the pinning concept. However we have created a scrolling experience for the user so they can continue to scroll and learn more about the campaign on the homepage."

The site also features a countdown to Earth Hour, and the campaign will culminate with a celebrity-studded VIP party at Sky100. The event is aimed at awareness building with media, sponsors and celebrities and gaining sustained support for the event. There will be opportunities for Earth Hour school ambassadors to gain invites to the party. 

So far the confirmed celebrity line-up includes Kay Tse, Eason Chan, G.E.M. (Gloria Tang), Karen Mok, Sugar Club, model Jocelyn and Anthony.

Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 and went global in 2008. Hong Kong joined in 2009 and has been holding Earth Hour annually ever since. Last year, the event was successful at reducing electricity consumption in Hong Kong by 4.3 per cent during the hour, a number Bullock hopes to raise substantially this year. 

Bullock, who left his post as global digital and social media marketing manager with Cathay Pacific in September last year to take up his role with WWF, has invested his time in building the NGO's online presence. 

"We've managed to grow that fan base from 10,000 fans to 15 thousand in about four months and we've also built our communications team from about five people to nine," said Bullock. The numbers though, he said, are nothing without engagement. "WWF is in such a great position to connect, we started posting about Pandas on Fridays and immediately got a thousand likes," he said. "Cathay Pacific has 200,000 fans—if we got 1,000 likes, it was a good number."

The interactive site is the first stage in Bullock's long-term strategy for WWF Hong Kong. "We need to get a good basic foundation going, then next year we can start to look at mobile and in 2015 we can do even more."