The Telescope

Background

Climate change is now a fact of life and time to do something about it is running out. Unfortunately, many people still think that the consequences are too distant to be of concern to them now.

ENTEGA wanted to change attitudes and encourage consumers to consider switching to their renewable energies not just to help sustain the planet but because it makes economic sense too.

Idea

Telescopes were installed at various picturesque locations such as the summit of the Feldberg in the Black Forest. However, when tourists looked through the viewfinder they did not see the rolling, verdant landscape they could see with the naked eye. Now they saw that vista but transformed into a barren region of dead forests.

Move the telescope, and the grim view changes.

Beside the installation, a postcard told the full story of why the world needs renewable energy. The postcard led readers on to a website which gave more information as well as the mechanism by which they could switch their electricity supplier to ENTEGA.

The postcard also invited the reader to send greetings to their friends from the future, showing how things might look one-day if people don’t act now.

Results

The ambition of the campaign was to generate an additional 5% of traffic to the website and to ENTEGA shops but, in fact, visitor numbers soared by 25% compared to the months before the campaign. As the agency say, a sensational result given the competition in the energy market.

Our Thoughts

What we liked about this at Directory was that the message is both surprising but relevant. In showing people with their own eyes what climate change means, in a way that allows the contrast between ‘now’ and ‘then’ become stark, it would be almost impossible not to take notice and to want to read the post-card. We also liked how the post-card didn’t just amplify the story but then allowed the reader to send it on, thus showing how good old mail can work as social media too.