Award-winning campaign
There’s nothing more essential to life on Earth than water. Yet, from Tunis to Cape Town and from rural, sub-Saharan Africa to Asia’s teeming megacities, there’s a global water crisis. People are struggling to access the quantity and quality of water they need.
Globally, 844 million people lack access to clean water. Without clean, easily accessible water, families and communities are locked into a cycle of poverty for generations, as fetching water takes time. Children drop out of school, and parents struggle to make a living.
Creative Idea
We created "The Well of Hope” an installation that is fun and straightforward. People use the pump and as much water they virtually pump, the MBRGl Initiatives will give to the one in need.
People are aware of water scarcity but unaware of the real issue—getting the water. To create empathy, we educate people about it and enable them to feel the effort needed to fetch water.
They also can’t witness the impact of their contribution to the change. We show people how every litter pumped will impact communities, from a small effort to the biggest one.
The Well of Hope empowers them to donate their time and energy to give water to those in need.
Strategy
The "Well of Hope" campaign strategy was plotted in two stages.
Stage one was to start seeding the news of the installation to various media in the MENA region by installing it in Cairo and Dubai at high-footfall locations. Letting the public use it and inviting the national media to report and broadcast about the “Well of Hope”.
Stage one was to start seeding the news of the installation to various media in the MENA region by installing it in Cairo and Dubai at high-footfall locations. Letting the public use it and inviting the national media to report and broadcast about the “Well of Hope”.
Stage two, during Ramadan, we invited brands to participate in a competition. To use the power of their employees to pump, and the power of their brand to push a message about water scarcity, out to their own audiences. The 20-day humanitarian competition, the first of its kind in the region, was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. 70 brands responded and the 21 with the biggest potential were selected.
Execution
We have created a "virtual pump" as an installation that could be toured in various locations for participation. The pump feels very much like pumping water for real, as on a large display users can see a synchronized water flow filling a bottle as well as water scarcity knowledge, and motivation.
For each filled bottle, information about what the pumped water will achieve is displayed. And the more significant the amount pumped is, the higher the achievement, from saving a child for a day to an entire village for a month. People felt compelled to continue using the pump as they directly saw what their contribution would enable. And when their effort was slowing down, our on-screen host gave them encouragement.
Upon completion, each participant could enter their name and see it on a sticker stuck to the bottles they had pumped. Bottles sent for relief do have the participants' names on them. It helps MBRGI humanize its mission by telling the story behind the bottle, so it becomes more than water, but love and compassion as well.
Results
Enough water is pumped for over 1 Million people.
Brands pledged to dig 150 wells, an equivalent to 3 Million USD.
459 Million people reached with a 13k USD media spend.
Water scarcity awareness increased by 845% in the Middle East during the campaign.
The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation topped the “Well of Hope” competition by establishing a lifelong endowment to provide clean water to 600,000 beneficiaries annually.
Brands pledged to dig 150 wells, an equivalent to 3 Million USD.
459 Million people reached with a 13k USD media spend.
Water scarcity awareness increased by 845% in the Middle East during the campaign.
The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation topped the “Well of Hope” competition by establishing a lifelong endowment to provide clean water to 600,000 beneficiaries annually.
The Well of Hope not only educated people about the water crisis but made them experience how hard it is to fetch water. Made them feel empathy toward the millions suffering from this issue. And made them feel joy and accomplishment by being able to do something about it.
