Brand Experience and Activation > Touchpoints & Technology

SOLAR FOREST

INNOCEAN WORLDWIDE, Seoul / HANWHA / 2021

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Overview

Credits

OVERVIEW

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Hanwha, the solar panel manufacturer, developed a tree-planting game app called Solar Forest so that customers can fun and easily participate in the forestation campaign even during the pandemic. Through the Solar Forest app’s unique game method using sunlight shined on the mobile devices, users are able to have an immersive experience of Hanwha’s special forestation method of growing saplings with solar energy. This provided the opportunity for the B2B brand, Hanwha to increase brand affinity.

Background

Since 2011, Hanwha, a world-leading solar panel manufacturer has created a total of seven forests by only using solar energy in China, South Korea, and other parts of the world. However, campaign awareness remained low(0.01%).

Moreover, Due to COVID-19, as most tree-planting campaigns initiated by NGOs and environmental organizations got canceled, Hanwha’s campaign was not an exception as well.

With the plan affected by COVID-19, we decided to concentrate instead on online campaign promotion for more awareness and participation. In this regard, we launched a game app 'the Solar Forest' that plants virtual trees and donates them to the actual forest.

The purpose of the Solar Forest app is to transform Hanwha's tree planting campaign into digital so that people can participate safely, enjoyably, and persistently in the tree-planting campaign amid the pandemic.

Describe the creative idea

The key idea of the Solar Forest app was to gamify Hanwha’s solar-powered forestation method by using a light sensor of smart devices. Through this app, we were able to inform more people about Hanwha’s eco-friendly forestation method.

With this safe and fun way of playing, we converted the pandemic into our chances. Most people couldn't go out and plant trees due to the pandemic so the Solar Forest app has become a new opportunity to make up for it. Most users enjoyed the Solar Forest game for this reason actually.

In addition, instead of delivering the information unilaterally, the ‘Solar Forest’ app invited players to personally engage in the content, effectively establishing the Hanwha brand philosophy and brand activism which response to the climate crisis by eco-friendly forestation.

Describe the strategy

It is dangerous to plant trees with people offline in the middle of a pandemic. To allow people of all ages to engage in tree planting while practicing social distancing, we decided to adapt and release the campaign digitally. What’s important here? Our method. To enable easy, enjoyable, and persistent participation in the campaign, we developed a mobile game app: ‘Solar Forest’.

By utilizing the high accessibility of the mobile device, people can directly participate in the campaign without space and time constraints. Also, existing offline tree-planting campaigns had limitations in the number of participants but this game allow people from all ages wherever they are to engage and contribute.

Describe the execution

The Solar Forest app development started in December 2019 and was released in June 2020 in Korea. Since the launch date of the app, we have been attracting participants until December 2021

We promoted the app for a month with Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube bumper ads targeting the high involvement crowd of mobile games. The unique play of utilizing sunlight became viral in social media, creating viral loops that inspire new downloads.

As many virtual trees have been donated so far in the Solar Forest app, the same amount of real trees are being planted in the forest located in Samcheok, Gangwon province. Planting began on April 1st, 2021, and a total of 15,000 trees will be planted by April 30th. From now on, the trees donated through the app will also continue to be planted in the forest.

List the results

1. Compared to last year, campaign participants increased by 821% (87,231 users continued to donate trees so far)

2. #1 Free Game of App Store

3. Made with Unity Award 2020 Top 24

4. 99% positive sentiments of the campaign across social

5. Used as environmental education material for students

6. Introduced at the SDGs FORUM 2020 as a non-contact environmental campaign.

7. Collaborative partnerships with the government: Korea Forest Service & NGO: Treeplanet

The number of trees donated in the game continues to increase actively at this moment (About 17,199 virtual trees were donated as of 14th April 2021).

Starting from April 1st, 2021, Hanwha has been creating a forest with the same amount of trees that have been donated in the app. This forest located in Gangwon Province will restrain the climate crisis by absorbing 162 tons of CO2 annually.

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