Basque Government Almost as strong as water.
The campaign that shows our best face, by disfiguring it.
Water tops the list of disasters over the past 50 years, according to Greenpeace. Both in human lives and in economic losses. With climate change, the risk will become ever more frequent and extreme, according to experts. In the Basque Country, water is our territory’s greatest natural threat. But the absence of recent disasters means people aren’t aware of it. We have no culture of risk. And the Basque Government called us to raise awareness of this risk through URA, the Basque Water Agency.
We set out to raise awareness without causing alarm — and to empower at the same time. With an idea that showed the faces best known for their ability to turn water into wealth in an unfamiliar state: distorted by water. Water disfigured their faces with striking ease. “We are stronger than anyone against water. But we are not stronger than water.”
We created the communication platform “Almost As Strong As Water” and, to bring it to life, a typeface specifically designed to be transformed and disfigured by water, built from fresh watercolor. Ink mixed with water.
Then we launched a communications and media plan with a TV spot on video-on-demand and content platforms, digital media and social media.
A dedicated microsite with data to soak up knowledge. And a strong out-of-home presence — conventional billboards, bus shelters, tram, radio, 360 digital and special formats. For the launch, we also created and organized the presentation event with the Basque Government’s Regional Minister.
The result: the campaign flooded the major media as news, reaching incalculable figures in earned audience. And it has won multiple awards both at home and internationally. With it, little by little, we have added our energy to help the wave against climate change reach a little further.
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“None of it would have been possible without the expertise and soul of Shernan, the commitment of leadership to a message of this nature, or the invaluable participation of highly respected public figures who lent their image to promote a public good. No small feat.”
Eneko Albizuri. Head of Communications at URA, the Basque Water Agency.
