Instead of asking people to stop what they were doing and switch off, we invited them to have some fun. Across the country, WWF teamed up with partners to organize events with things for people to do in the dark. A dedicated Facebook tab helped people find THINGS TO DO IN THE DARK in their city or at home and share their plans with friends online. Additionally, we ran a quirky print, banner and TV campaign. South African's would then switch off, potentially saving more energy than ever because we’d given them fun things to do in the dark.

Over 94,000 people viewed the Earth Hour South Africa Facebook page, #ThingsToDoInTheDark was trending on twitter in South Africa and over 54 Earth Hour events were held by our partners nationally. The public are now more comfortable with the messages spread by Earth Hour and WWF, as it has become a brand that understands their needs and finds an enjoyable compromise without shoving the message down their throats. And in terms of return on investment, we saved 45% more energy than last year’s Earth Hour - for an entire country, that’s huge.