The Talking Tree

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With the largest environmental product portfolio worldwide, Siemens is a leader in climate protection technologies. In order to strengthen their green brand core, they aimed to further position themselves as an environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable company whilst simultaneously creating awareness around nature and the environment for consumers. In order to tick all of these boxes they hoped to create a unique and viral campaign so powerful that it would set them apart from any of their competitors.

And now for something different

However, with so many cliché messages attached to eco-friendly campaigns, Siemens felt they needed something different that would immediately grab consumers' attention and allow them to connect with the words. They wanted something relatable that would spark audiences' interests.

In order to communicate successfully an authentic message they decided to give those affected by our environment a voice. Therefore they allowed a tree to share its daily life, its perception and emotions, its fears and visions - all whilst positioning Siemens as the main enabler.

They started by using new technology to equip an oak tree with an array of Siemens measuring tools, including meters for ozone, particulate matter and sun-exposure, along with recording devices, like cameras and microphones, to give the tree a voice.

The data collected from the measuring equipment was then shared with the use of social media. The benefits of which being that they could quickly provide multimedia content whilst enabling a high degree of interactivity, making for effortless viral distribution. Consequently, they gave the tree its own website in addition to its Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube pages, where they streamed webcam captures.

For the first time, a tree could share its life with the world in real time, telling us about the level of dust pollution, the temperature and the level of ozone. All collated data was also used for academic evaluations.

Results

The campaign succeeded in creating awareness gaining over 2500 followers on Twitter, receiving more than a million post views on Facebook and attracting 220 000 YouTube visitors.

The project received national press coverage with more than 30 articles in print and online.

Their initial investment was thus rewarded and they originally marketed themselves within the field of ecological sustainability, therefore strengthening the credibility of the brand's core.

See also http://www.talking-tree.de/