The Kansai Electric Power Company: SAVE ELECTRICITY TO SAVE JAPAN!

Credits & Description:

Category: Environmental PR

Advertiser: DENTSO DESIGN NINJA

Product/Service: ENERGY SAVING CAMPAIGN

Agency: DENTSU KANSAI

Art Director: Kana Nakao (Dentsu Kansai)

Copywritter: Ryo Makishima (Dentsu Kansai)

Copywriter: Aiko Ishimoto (Dentsu Kansai)

Designer: Ryoichi Karasuno (Dentsu Creative X)

Designer: Saori Kawakami (Dentsu Creative X)

Account Manager: Yasuo Goto (Dentsu Kansai)

Senior Creative Director: Tatsuya Tsujinaka (Dentsu Kansai)

Media placement: Distribution - Elementary School - 20 December 2011

Media placement: Giveaway Promotion - Web - 20 December 2011



Summary of the Campaign

On March 11, 2011, a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

All nuclear power stations were forced to down.

“Saving electricity” became a major issue in the country.

To bring more fun to the bothersome task of saving energy, we created SWITCHEES – super hero stickers that fit perfectly on the light switches of every home.

As a result, SWITCHEES have exploded in popularity especially among children.

Their roles have helped save Japan from any unwanted blackouts and power shortages.



The Situation

The catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, forced a shutdown of all of the country’s nuclear power stations. Thus, Kansai Electric Power Co. had to make certain that electricity was being saved. However, despite the Japanese people’s intentions to save electricity, in truth, most actually didn’t.



The Goal

The goal of this campaign was to get people to proactively save electricity by making electricity-saving more fun and by doing so, avoiding any unwanted blackouts and power shortages.



The Strategy

We created SWITCHEES – new super hero stickers that perfectly fit the light switches of every home. Using nearby light switches as the medium, they called upon everyone to save electricity by glowing in the dark when switching off the light. This brings more fun to the once mundane and bothersome task of saving electricity.



Execution

Switchees have been adopted as the official characters for the city of Osaka - Japan’s second largest city - and are used for its 1.2m households.



We distributed the stickers to elementary school children through a public organisation.



We have also sent the stickers to families who have expressed their interest in saving electricity.



Documented Results

Switchees have exploded in popularity, especially among children. Thus, many children are now proactively saving electricity.



Switchees have been used in 1.2m households, helping to successfully save electricity by 8.4% from the previous year, and prevent large-scale blackouts.