SUCCESSFUL BEHAVIOR CHANGE WITH A SMILE.
The Brief
Loma developed and designed the key messaging and award-winning creative for a municipal behavior change campaign to protect beaches and bays from stormwater pollution. The program proved so successful that the Environmental Protection Agency adopted it as its national model.
The Client
City of San Diego and EPA national model
The Challenge
Stormwater systems are intended to efficiently route rainwater off streets. The unintended consequence is that pollutants also travel swiftly into the waterways along with the rain. Suffering significant beach and bay closures from stormwater pollution, the City of San Diego asked Loma to design a memorable creative approach for a “Think Blue” campaign to alert the public and change contributing behaviors.
The Approach
The creative would need to be unforgettable and emotionally resonant. Our concept called ‘Fowl Water’ was the answer — a bold, counter-intuitive approach that magically turned ugly waste into rubber duckies. Visually driven to connect with multicultural audiences of all ages, the bilingual campaign was launched as a broadcast spot and online video, complemented by an associated radio campaign with print, OOH and digital executions. The overarching effort also included a dynamic web presence, media events, giveaways and speaker’s bureau.
Measurable Results
The campaign proved an immediate hit, with impressive accolades to underscore amazing results. By effectively positioning people to be part of the solution, THINK BLUE became an unqualified success, resulting in a massive reduction in beaches & bay closures and postings over its initial 3-year period.
Reduction in Beach and Bay Closures
The Takeaway
The EPA soon adopted this stormwater pollution prevention program as their national model. Our creative vision has continued as the central element in ‘Fowl Water’ themed Think Blue statewide campaigns for Massachusetts and Maine plus many municipalities and agencies throughout the nation.
(Through small ducks comes big change.)
“Many, many thanks for fun, imaginative messaging that’s truly connected with the entire community.”
–Program Director, Think Blue