E.ON's #MakeItalyGreen Campaign Highlights Impact of Climate Change

At Manerba del Garda (Brescia), E.ON Italy kicked off its new #MakeItalyGreen campaign with an unconventional and original installation that highlights the consequences of climate change in Italy. Over the last few days, in fact, a boat has appeared suspended above the water on Lake Garda, close to the shore on San Biagio Island, with the aim of sparking the curiosity of the entire local and national community.

The installation that forms the backdrop to the communication campaign is a boat floating above the current level of the lake, testifying to where the water once reached and representing the 75 cm of depth the lake has lost in average over the last four years, based on scientific studies[1].

This is the inspiration behind the creative idea developed by DLV BBDO and realised by artist Domenico Pellegrino, who during his career has produced various works linked to the theme of water. The installation invites members of the public, tourists and passers-by to think about the consequences of the climate crisis faced by our planet, confronting them with the visible damage it has caused.

With the aim of actively inviting people to take action against climate change, E.ON Italy also organised a flash mob near the San Biagio Island isthmus: E.ON Italy employees and citizens formed a human chain, symbolising the active and participatory movement in which everyone can play their role today by making aware and responsible choices.

“Today we’ve taken another step forward in creating the greatest green movement in the Country, in line with our #MakeItalyGreen mission,” said Frank Meyer, CEO of E.ON Italy.

Mauro Biraghi, corporate and marketing communication director continued, “This year too we started with an original idea that has aroused great curiosity and is supported by a solid multichannel communication plan that aims to raise awareness and prompt thought, for creating a true green movement.”

The Make Italy Green event for the media and institutional stakeholders, taking place on 31/05 in Manerba del Garda, where the E.ON Italy installation is located, marks the start of a 360-degree communication project involving a series of actions and media investments.

The campaign also includes PR and press office activities in national and local publications, plus engagement with all customers, App users and E.ON Italy employees, the protagonists of the Make Italy Green event and the flash mob.

During the campaign, E.ON Italy will further involve its customers and non-customers who are part of the Green Community in new promotional gaming experiences on its App. Designed to encourage the adoption of virtuous behaviours and start transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle, in a conscious but also a light-hearted way, the activities promote and provide significant incentives for people who interact most with the App and are most inclined to make green choices (e.g., opt for green power supply and payment by Sepa Direct Debit, take the green test, choose high energy efficiency solutions, etc.).

“We are proud to be accompanying E.ON Italy on this unconventional communication journey, which positions the company as a unique case on the Italian energy market,” commented Daniele Dionisi DLV BBDO executive creative director. “Centre stage once again is the impact humans are having on the planet, this time seen in terms of climate change, which in the last few years has got us used to uncontrollable weather events. The suspended boat reminds us that global warming, caused above all by the abuse of fossil fuels, is a danger for all the planet’s other resources, starting with water. So we’re happy to join E.ON Italy in supporting green and renewable energy solutions.”

The campaign was produced by Bedeschi Film. “This year too, E.ON Italy and DLV BBDO have come up with an innovative and very special project to inform and raise awareness. We’re very proud they are continuing their collaboration with Bedeschi Film for the production of the installation and all the TV and digital content. Managing to give visibility to something that isn’t there was very challenging,” said Bedeschi Film’s executive producer Giovanni Bedeschi.

While Domenico Pellegrino, the artist who created the work, said that "visible things open a window on the invisible, according to Democritus. And this work produced for E.ON Italy, with the force of its message, is inviting the spectator to change point of view, which has an immediate impact created specifically to amaze, shock and stimulate thought. It was a huge challenge that I took up with great enthusiasm: to design and produce a boat suspended over Lake Garda with a luminous message encouraging the world to adopt more conscious behaviours".

“Once again thanks to E.ON Italy,” added the director of the commercial, Claudio Gallinella, “we’re taking part in a great initiative. I’m very happy to be contributing again to a unique operation that aims to raise people’s awareness of topics that are of great urgency, for us and for future generations. With our work and through this film, we’re making a significant gesture, for us and the world around us”.

[1]Average calculated by comparing the measurements taken in the first four months of 2019 with the measurements taken in the first four months of 2023. Data source: Interregional Agency for the Po River (A.I.PO).