CSR Awards: Green PR Campaign – Cisco Canada

Campaign: One Million Acts of Green

One Million Acts of Green, created to humanize the technology-centered Cisco brand and to improve Cisco’s reach among small- to medium-size businesses and consumers, centered around green choices made by Canadians who wanted to make a difference but didn’t quite know how. Research showed that 85% of Canadians were concerned about climate change, and 92% felt the government should enforce energy efficient behavior. Launching in October 2008, One Million Acts of Green put out a call to action: Do something green (save energy, recycle, walk to work, etc.) and post the act on a dedicated Web site for all to see.

According to Willa Black, VP of corporate affairs at Cisco Canada, it was critical that Cisco not appear to be simply riding the green bandwagon. “We had to establish our credentials on and commitment to environmental sustainability,” says Black. “We made sure that Cisco was not preaching environmental lessons—we left this to the experts by partnering with a number of credible environmental organizations.”

The Greening of Technology

Leveraging major broadcast outlets, social media networking sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and celebrities such as Sir Richard Branson and Alanis Morissette, the program was a runaway success. In 15 weeks, a million acts of green were recorded on the site, with 2.5 million page views, 8,500 friends on Facebook and 1,200 Twitter followers. In concert with the initiative, Cisco’s Technology Leadership brand recognition score jumped to its highest point in three years. ■

Honorable Mentions:

Bersay Communication Consultancy: Save a Tree, Plant a Tree —

Bersay and Turk Telekom produced a compelling campaign that aided the legalization of e-bills and transferred Turk’s own archives from paper to electronic, saving 1,500 tons of paper each year—worth 25,000 trees.

Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications: Keep America Beautiful —

Establishing a new theme, “Green Starts Here,” for the annual Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup, CJP Communications armed affiliate organizations with compelling local media materials while supporting with top-tier and regional media outreach. The result was an impressive 30,000 events held in 32,000 communities nationwide.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport: DFW Sustainability Initiative —

DFW’s comprehensive, enterprise-wide initiative for DFW airport led to improved energy efficiency savings via renewable energy purchases, a green purchasing program and green design and construction standards.

Sprint: Samsung Reclaim and Green Launch Campaign —

Sprint invited key reporters and green influencers to the launch of its first eco-friendly phone, supporting it with a Reclaim microsite and social media efforts.

Stern + Associates: B. Braun Medical Inc. Ever. Green. Campaign —

Outreach including Web, print advertising and employee and customer communications generated a big uptick in sales and inquiries about B. Braun Medical’s eco-friendly products.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Inc. Hong Kong: HP Power to Change —

Using a strong social media component, the HP Power to Change intitiative increased the number of PCs being switched off when not in use from 36% to 59% a reduction of 23.5 tons of carbon emissions.

March 1, 2010