I’m not sure I really understood the notion of “sea change”–until yesterday. In less than an hour my desk was literally flooded by a tidal wave of eco-activism, one by Ogilvy UK and the other by an organization called Sea of People. Both of these efforts are meant to dramatize the problems associated with climate change. In combination, these two efforts bridge the physical and virtual worlds, cut across the pond between London and New York and send a clear message to all who will listen that a sea change is happening both literally and figuratively.
Ogivly created waves with a well-timed stunt on Second Life as reported by Shots.net:
Large swathes of Britain, Europe and Japan experienced catastrophic floods unprecedented in scale last week. In case you wondered why you hadn’t heard about them, the disasters occurred in the virtual world of Second Life.
The flooding of the virtual equivalents of Britain, the Netherlands, Ibiza, Majorca and Japan – low-lying areas that will be most vulnerable if global warming continues at its current rate – was orchestrated by the Ogilvy Group UK for the charity Adventure Ecology as a campaign to educate young people about the potential consequences of climate change.
And then there is the Sea of People project as reported on its website:
The Sea Of People project combines the dynamics of a mass rally with the expressive power of an interactive artistic installation. Following a 12 Noon Rally in Battery Park on Saturday, April 14, 2007, thousands of participants, dressed in blue, will stretch north in two columns along the projected eastern and western 10-foot waterlines that may one day redefine lower Manhattan under the ten-foot sea level rise scenario.
The goal of the organizers is to have both lines extend one-half to one-mile north from the Battery. We estimate that a line of this length would call for at least 5,000 participants, and no less than 200 volunteers to help coordinate its movement and formation. Therefore the need to execute successful and broad outreach prior to the date will be of paramount importance.
Sea Of People is a part of Step It Up 2007, a nationwide campaign that aims to deliver a clear and powerful message to our congressional leadership: CUT GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION BY 80% BY 2050! The campaign will culminate on Saturday, April 14th, a national day of climate action, when Americans, representing voting districts throughout the country, will voice their support for this bold and necessary commitment by gathering together and making their voices heard in hundreds of local demonstrations.
Both of these “stunts” attempt to visualize a problem that is otherwise invisible and relatively easy to ignore. Or at least it was easy to ignore. Marketers take note. This is your wake up call, or perhaps a cold shower. The tide has indeed turned. Eco-activism has gone mainstream. If your company does not have a plan for going Green, you better develop one on the double. I can tell you from our efforts at Renegade (and we’re a relatively small company) that is neither easy nor quick to suddenly go Green. It takes time and concerted effort by a lot of people to change organizational behavior, to reduce energy consumption or even to recycle a few sheets of paper. However, it’s not only the right thing to do but also the only way to ensure your corporate ship can cruise through the changing tides of public sentiment. This is no longer a question of Marketing for Good–it is a necessity to stay competitive. And that is indeed a true sea change.