The Deforestation Beat
Radio Station
Issue 49 | December 2018
Agency
McCann Bucharest
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director Catalin Dobre Copywriter Alexandru Vasile Art Director Lia Bira
Production Team
Agency Producer Tiberiu Munteanu
Other Credits
Group Account Director Raluca Fundeanu Media Account Director Alina Vasile Media Director Victor Croitoru PR Director Carmen Bistrian, Corina Nica Senior Planner Sandina Crisiarcu
Date
April 2018
Background
Romania has the last remaining virgin forests in Europe. But not for long. 10,000 square metres of virgin forest disappears every hour.
This means a tree gets cut down every 1.2 seconds.
To do something about this, Virgin Radio Romania wanted to inspire its young listeners to take action.
Idea
This dramatic statistic of one tree being cut down every 1.2 seconds was turned into a chopping sound, a beat that repeats every 1.2 seconds. It was called the Deforestation Beat and it was given to top artists.
They began to remix their songs using the new beat and Virgin Radio Romania played the remixes on heavy rotation. People could Shazam them to find out more about the deforestation cause, they could get involved or they could donate to save the virgin forests of Romania.
Music turned from entertainment into an awareness tool. From radio, the campaign spread into the digital world, getting to young people in those places where they can actually be found.
Results
Deforestation Beat remixes were played on air over 1,500 times.
20,000 people Shazamed and took the pledge to get involved, preparing the ground for the evaluation of 3.4 billion square meters of forest that can be declared part of the protected area.
Our Thoughts
If you’ve seen any of our YouTube videos (Crouching Tigers Online), you’ll know that I am convinced that the future for brands is to get involved in trying to make the world a better place. And it won’t be better at all if the virgin forests (get it? Virgin forests?) of Romania, barely touched by man’s hand until now, get felled.
The difficulty for brands, though, is to do good in ways that are relevant to their products and services. This manages to crack that problem by using music, the number one passion of most millennials, to reach them in those places online where, historically, brands have struggled to get a look-in.
So, more listeners for Virgin Radio, more fans for the bands who remixed their tracks and more awareness of a problem that needs people and money to solve.