Drones versus Desertification.
Aramco's pilot of drones that drop seed balls of native trees in al-Hasa, turned into a social campaign on its own channels about fighting desertification.
- Brand
- Aramco
- Agency
- Leo Burnett
- Market
- Saudi Arabia
- Region
- Saudi Arabia
- Year
- 2023
The challenge
Aramco pledged in 2018 to plant one million native trees across the Kingdom by 2025. The entry adds that most areas of the desert are not accessible to people, and that public involvement was low because, it says, 70 percent of people believe the primary responsibility lies with the government.
The idea
With the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification, Aramco piloted drones that drop nutrient-rich seed balls of native trees into the sandy soils of al-Hasa; Aramco's own videos in February 2023 call it 'Drones vs. desertification in al-Hasa' and describe a test with 100,000 seed balls. Leo Burnett KSA turned the pilot into an educational social campaign on Aramco's own channels, with real-time engagement and news coverage. The entry puts the budget at $224,488, spent on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
Results
- The pilot planted 100,000 native trees with a success rate above 88%, and drone planting is about 10 times faster than planting by hand, according to Aramco (Elements magazine, April 2024)
Case study source: Aramco Source ↗
Awards
- MMA Smarties KSA 2023KSA – SustainabilityGold
- MMA Smarties KSA 2023KSA – Social Media MarketingSilver
- MMA Smarties KSA 2023KSA – Experimental / Innovation TechnologyGold
- MMA Smarties KSA 2023KSA – Brand Purpose / ActivismSilver
- MMA SMARTIES MENA 2023: Gold, Sustainability; Gold, Experimental / Innovation Technology; Silver, Brand Purpose / Activism
- MMA SMARTIES EMEA 2023: Silver, Brand Purpose / Activism; Silver, Experimental / Innovation Technology
- MMA SMARTIES X Global 2023: Gold, Experimental / Innovation Technology; Silver, Sustainability
Credits
- Partner
- National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification
