Earth Hour

The heat is on! It's just March 1st today and it is damn hot. The weather last week has been pretty bad. The blanket on my bed has now disappeared. And my fan speed has gone from 2 to 5.  I bet I won't be able to survive this summer without an A/C. Winter, O Winter.! I miss you so much! Hmm.. But I guess winter wasn't any kind. It was too harsh and I remember how I caught cold when I went out for a jog. That's the effect of Global Warming for you.

      I was wondering if there could be something that we can do to fight the Global Warming phenomenon. I googled and came across this Earth Hour initiative. On Earth Hour millions of people around the world turn off their lights for one hour to  call for action on global warming  and climate change.

    For a moment I thought if  a solitary hour would make any difference to combat Global warming. But then I guess it will ensure that more people are aware about Global warming and at least some of them start taking measures to prevent it.

     Earth Hour 2009 was a pretty big success and I believe it will only get better in the years to come. I am planning to turn off mt lights for an hour on March 27th, 2010. I think everyone who reads this should.  I have copy+pasted some text about 'Earth hour' for the uninitiated.

You can also visit their site http://earthhour.in/

Earth Hour is a WWF initiative which sends across an inspiring message of hope and action for Climate Change. At 8.30pm on 27th March 2010, cities, towns and municipalities across the world will turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – sending a powerful global message that it’s possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, where more than 2.2 million households and turned off their lights for one hour. Just a year later, Earth Hour reached 370 cities and towns in more than 35 countries across 18 time zones, and the campaign shifted from a ‘Sydney Event’ to a ‘Global Sustainability Movement’. International landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Rome’s Coliseum, the Coke billboard in Times Square and Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai, switched off for one hour to show their commitment to the cause.   

In 2009, India joined the Earth Hour movement.  Over 5 million Indians and 56 Indian cities showed their support by switching off, saving approximately 1000 MW of power in that one hour and making the first ever Earth Hour in India a huge success!

Earth Hour also received unprecedented media coverage with over 100 stories that were filed the next morning.  Aamir Khan, the nation's popular youth icon was the Brand Ambassador for Earth Hour 2009.Also several celebrities associated themselves with the campaign including cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble.

 

Jaago Re!

It all started with the advertisement that was on TV around a year ago. A young man asks a politician about his qualification to contest for the elections. It was an interesting advertisement where a brand integrated a powerful social message into its campaign. 

The name itself ‘Jaago Re’ is quite apt- it works for the product ‘Tea’ as well for its social message of awakening people and making them socially conscious.




 Last year, the Jaago Re team came up with an amazing campaign asking people to vote. The campaign, launched in September last year, created a platform which facilitates citizens’ entry into the electoral process. The campaign was quite a hit with the website getting 28 lakh registrations, and 6 lakh first-time voters. Out of the 28 lakh registrations, one-fourth converted into final voting.

I happened to visit the website recently and found many such social initiatives. All these initiatives are under the ‘Jaago’ vertical. In case one wants to be a part of any social initiative then there is another vertical called ‘Jagaao’ (wake up others ) where one can find groups, NGOs, articles on the various social initiative.

There are around 6 social initiatives that one can take part in- corruption, education, global warming, voting, children rights, and women rights. 

Each of these has a flash animation that draws your attention to the issue explaining what the problem is all about. Then there are causes, effects and the more importantly the solutions, through which one can contribute and make a difference. 

Some of these have interesting advertisements. I never saw the anti corruption on TV but I instantly liked it when I saw the video. With young models being used in the advertisement, the idea is to send a strong message to the youth and make them conscious about prevalent corruption in our country.



The ‘Aaj Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru’ campaign urges people to stop giving bribes to get things done and thus stand  up against corruption. The idea in the campaign is that a bribe happens because there is someone ready to give the bribe. If you don’t give the bribe then there wouldn’t be any taking and thus the bribe will never happen.

I also thought the site was well researched with facts presented to draw a first timer’s attention to the problem. 

For example, the animation on the site that follows the ‘Aaj Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru’ video is full of facts that would inspire the reader to do something and be a part of the solution.

I wonder if these kind of social initiatives popularly known as CSR (Corporate Social responsibility) benefit the brands.  Do their sales grow because of their involvement in these activities that benefit the society? 

I believe more than the sales or any other kinds of numbers, CSR helps creating a feel good factor for the brand. Whenever I think of Tata Tea, I am reminded of all the Jaago re the social initiatives which create a very positive image of the brand in my mind.  And this I believe will help the brand in the long run.