Title	PAINT IT BACK
Brand	SCOUTS OF CROATIA
Product/Service	AFFORESTATION OF CROATIA
Category	A13. Not-for-profit / Charity / Governemt
Entrant	IMAGO Zagreb, CROATIA
Idea Creation	IMAGO Zagreb, CROATIA
Additional Company	BORNFIGHT Zagreb, CROATIA

Name	Company	Position
Igor Mladinović	Imago Ogilvy	Chief Creative Director
Darko Bosnar	Imago Ogilvy	Creative Director
Hiam Hamed	Imago Ogilvy	Account Executive
Ivana Mlinarić	Imago Ogilvy	Account Executive
Gordana Golik	Imago Ogilvy	Art Director
Damir Cimprešak	Panorama production	Producer
Anita Nadj	Red rings production	Cinematographer
Roko Vidaković	Red Rings production	Video editor

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

This work is relevant for Brand Experience & Activation because we designed a special communication tool with which we gave consumers the opportunity to really feel and experience, with their hands, what the brand stands for and in that way we engaged consumers and motivated them to become part of the activation.

Background

Every year huge wildfires in Croatia turn green forests into black burned areas. Nature is unable to renew by itself, so it needs our help. Scouts of Croatia wanted to organize the afforestation of those burned areas so they came to us to help them create a campaign.

Describe the creative idea

Tons of burned ash is left behind huge forest fires every year. Our idea was to use this ash to recreate life on that areas and to paint black burned areas into green again. So we created unique ash crayon made from burned trees ash and use it to start the biggest afforestation in the country.

Describe the strategy

People are usually shocked by fires and very willing to help with fire extinguishing but don’t have a habit or opportunity to replant the tree. Our strategy was to give them the simple possible and very motivating way to help nature and to become the part of the biggest afforestation ever.

Describe the execution

From black ash of burned trees we created unique ash crayons. We distributed more than 100.000 crayons via national daily newspaper. With those crayons people could draw a tree, upload it on the PaintItBack website and with a donation of 1EUR a virtual tree became a real one, planted by volunteers on burned areas.

List the results

More than 5.000 volunteers joined the campaign in 45 days of afforestation planting over 60000 trees. Numerous corporations joined the cause: from large telecoms, banks, national post, beer producers and many more. Aside from donating money for new tree plants, their employees also participated in the afforestation. The campaign received support from relevant European ministries and institutions. They helped us push the project into schools and kindergartens, resulting in thousands of educational workshops throughout the nation. Famous artists, athlets, and public figures joined the mission. The campaign even made its way to Croatian parliament assembly where the topic of afforestation finally received its deserved attention, pushing the discussion about making this project even bigger next year. The PaintItBack campaign even touched the Croatian prime minister who showed his support by planting the first tree in one of the burned areas in Croatia. This was the biggest afforestation in Croatian history.