The Prince's Rainforest Project

Campaign:  PR and Social Media
Client:        The Prince’s Rainforest Project
PR Team:   Cake
Timescale:  April – December 2009


Challenge

In April 2009, Cake was tasked by The Prince’s Rainforest Project with a digital communications and traditional PR campaign to raise worldwide awareness of the link between rainforests and climate change. This was with the ultimate aim to persuade people to sign up to support addressing rainforest destruction, and consequently get deforestation on the agenda at The Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in December 2009.

Solution

Our strategy was to create mass awareness for the campaign through dominating online news outlets in the UK and US and launch with a story that would show HRH Prince of Wales embracing online as a means of communicating with future generations about the plight of the rainforests.

Using a range of short digital films featuring an animated frog with a number of celebrities, the launch showcased the high profile nature of the campaign and how widespread support for the cause is.

We launched the campaign on 5 May 2009 with a world-first simulcast from HRH Prince Charles on YouTube and MySpace introducing a film full of stars from around the world who care about the rainforests, including The Dalai Lama, Robin Williams and Harrison Ford.

A hard working campaign in social media run from Cake’s London and New York offices simultaneously drew together influential bloggers and galvanized communities within Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to support the campaign and build fame and sign up to the web site petition.

Results

Cake achieved over 20,000 pieces of coverage across TV, print, broadcast and online media, including coverage from 1,000 news websites, and 7,000 blog mentions. The Twitter account had nearly 12,000 followers, and the main film was viewed 4 million times. Not only did 1 million people sign up to the cause by the end of the campaign, but deforestation made it onto the agenda at Copenhagen and a resolution was passed to create a fund for the protection of rainforests. The campaign scooped the PR Week Award for Best Green Campaign, as well as the Revolution Award for Best Use of Online PR.
 

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