Algorand challenged us to show the world that crypto can be climate-conscious. That the choices you make when investing, building, and innovating online don’t have to consume as much power as a small country. Alogorand wanted the world to know that innovation does not mean obscene energy consumption.
With the insight that one transaction on a legacy chain uses the same amount of energy as sixty million transactions on Alogrand, we wondered, how do we show what less energy looks like? Is it as easy as turning off a lamp? What about one of the brightest spaces on the planet?
On Earth Day 2022, we took over Times Square to shed light on Algorand’s carbon-negative blockchain and the power of building green technology. We flooded the iconic intersection with Algorand green across 47 marquee billboards. Then we faded them to black. A stunning visual of energy consumption, the blackout saved 23.4 billion joules of energy.
Then we educated our audience on how much further that amount of power goes on Algorand’s blockchain than traditional chains via social, digital, and paid media. Aided by content creation and targeted amplification, we reached a global audience of over 40 million. Throughout the rest of April, Alogrand’s total social reach received additional millions of impressions and they saw a 71% increase in brand mentions during activation week, with a 15% increase in positive brand sentiment.
All by telling the story of the energy saved in the span of an hour.
We had to create a space to educate the masses on how cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at large is more than the negative headlines about energy consumption.
Algorand is a unique blockchain that is both energy efficient and climate conscious. We had the challenge of shifting public perception and standing out on Earth Day, a day when everyone is touting climate action.
By subverting the norm of running a campaign with witty copy and a donation to a charity, we cut from the path and did the opposite of every other brand. We turned that expensive real estate off and encouraged people to unplug and reconnect with our planet. This created a tangible tension in Times Square and captured the attention of onlookers who caught a glimpse of what Algorand could do as a blockchain, and what they stood for as an organization.
Coordinating with multiple TSQ vendors, adhering to regulations around cryptocurrency advertising, and syncing dynamic content across 47 total screens is no small feat. In addition, we filmed movie-grade content in a time-sensitive window with no opportunity for double takes, with the result being what you see in our submission. In all, each moving part worked perfectly with each other to create a special night in Times Square.
In addition to major outlet coverage on sites like Fast Company and Ad Age, we generated organic content through sites like NowThis which extended the reach of our activation, and awareness of the Algorand brand.
40M+ impressions
684,500,788 total potential audience
Total social reach exceeded 16 billion in April with a daily social reach of 1 billion per day between April 20–22
71% increase in mentions of the brand from April 17–22 (7k to 12k daily mentions)
Social sentiment reached 33% positive in April compared to ~20% in Jan, Feb, Mar
We consider our activation a success by measuring the statistics above, and through the positive increase in brand sentiment in a sector that is notoriously fickle and lacking nuance. With the combination of traditional outlet coverage, social reach, and brand mentions, Algorand was able to take over mind share all based on a single day when they shut down Times Square.
