Insight
One of the most significant energy challenges the world faces is that by 2050, the world’s population will grow to 9 billion and 75% of those people will be living in cities. This is an issue of global significance but particularly affects emerging markets, which are experiencing rapid growth and urgently need to devise smarter energy solutions that will positively impact their communities.
Shell wanted to help meet the future energy demands of a growing world population, while also reminding people that Shell is committed to shaping neighbourhoods, building partnerships and ultimately, transforming the world – now and for generations to come.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio presented the ideal platform to engage the world with this message - especially its youth.
In a city like Rio, where the community spirit is strong and close knit, football is the best way to keep local children entertained and off the streets; their parents know where they are and that they are safe. However lack of access to energy can be a big barrier to this universal demand. When it gets dark, most children have nowhere to play safely due to Rio’s energy limitations.
Shell – which has made significant investments in addressing future energy needs – had the power to make a real difference. Demonstrating to the world how innovative energy solutions could help a local community in Rio would position Shell as a vital, innovative and inspiring contributor to solving the world’s energy challenge.
Strategy
Energy engaged citizens have grown to be wary, if not cynical of corporate spin and can identify empty promises. Shell had to come up with something revolutionary and tangible to grab their attention and overcome their natural resistance to corporate messages.
Mediacom’s solution was the “Power of Sport” project, which would harness energy from an unexpected source: the passion and movement of people who play football. The idea was to create the first-ever renewable energy football pitch, equipped with floodlights powered by the kinetic energy generated by the players that would give the children of Rio a safe haven to play after sundown.
Mediacom leveraged kinetic tiles created by Pavegen, a start-up and winner of Shell’s LiveWire funding initiative. Pavegen’s revolutionary technology works on the simple premise that movement generates energy. This meant when children played on the field, the energy from their movement is harnessed to power the floodlights on the stadium.
The project provided an innovative solution for the local Rio community, delivering an inspiring story to a global audience and demonstrating Shell’s commitment to solving energy challenges more vividly than any corporate campaign.
This strategy helped Shell achieve its objectives in three key areas: Shell established a commitment to a smarter energy future, provided a long-term benefit for the community of Rio, and helped position Shell as an innovative energy company (rather than just a 20th century oil company) by connecting the idea with its #makethefuture platform.
Execution
Mediacom identified a neglected community football pitch in Morro da Mineira, a Rio de Janeiro favela that had become almost unusable. Shell worked with the local community to renovate it, laying kinetic tiles under the pitch surface to capture the energy from football players’ movement.
The pitch and surrounding environment were branded with Shell #makethefuture iconography, placing the positive vision of the brand at the heart of this Rio community.
To launch the project on September 10th, the agency invited a Brazilian national hero – Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. Not only would he connect with the local audience – he had grown up in a similar environment – but his global profile would send the message far beyond Rio.
The project unveiling was a global media moment, creating news for consumers around the world. It followed with a global, integrated media campaign, creating cinematic short-film content that could be used online and distributed via social media. Videos were hosted in Shell’s Let’s Go YouTube channel and showcased in an interactive iframe, offering related content.
The message thrived on digital and social platforms and PR, and directed the global audience to Shell’s #makethefuture social properties. It even negotiated the rights to promote Pele’s tweets as well as putting paid for promotion behind Shell posts and tweets.
The campaign was further supported by a partnership with Condé Nast, delivering an integrated programme across multiple channels and supported by media partnerships and real-time newsworthy PR content.
Results
Not only did it inspire the local community – with the refurbished field in Rio still in continuous use – but the impact was felt around the world.
The first 48 hours following the launch event saw 114 pieces of media coverage globally, ultimately totalling 320 placements in more than 20 countries in six weeks, with global media continuing to request content.
The 38 different pieces of content created and posted across Shell’s owned media and Pelé’s channels reached more than 35.2m people.
The Shell Facebook post featuring a video from the event was the most successful post in 2014 for Shell, with 47 million impressions and an engagement rate of 18.9%.
The lead Pelé video has received almost 56,000 likes. It saw content engagement rates that beat benchmarks by 4-5x ahead of Shell’s top competitors.
Most importantly, it got people thinking about Shell differently. A brand study showed significant increases in brand familiarity (+12.8 points) as well as those describing Shell as “working to provide a sustainable energy future” (+8.0), “a leader in providing innovative energy solutions” (+8.1) and “working to provide a future of cleaner fossil fuels” (+7.1).