The Floating Boat on the lake is a special outdoor installation which had a great impact on people because it made visible an invisible consequence of the climate change. A simple visual idea that's a reminder of how the drought caused by climate change affected Italy in the past year.

The installation helped the community to become aware of the problem and raise awareness of the issue. The boat was therefore the physical and spectacular medium through which a bond was created between the brand, the territory and the people. A bond that was later extended through all media channels.

Climate change is manifesting all over our territory with its consequences. Among these, extreme weather phenomena are challenging our environment.

In Italy, the level of the Garda Lake dropped (averagely) by 75cm in the last 4 years. That’s why we decided to put our installation specifically in the Garda Lake.

Climate change is manifesting all over our territory with its consequences. Among these, extreme weather phenomena are challenging our environment.

In Italy, the level of the Garda Lake dropped (averagely) by 75cm in the last 4 years.

Through this campaign we wanted to aware people on the impact of our behavior on the environment, through an impacting outdoor installation showing the cm lost by the lake due to droughts.

Through this campaign, other main objectives were: :

Positioning E.ON as the promoter of a «green movement» aimed at making Italy greener, by spreading knowledge and good advices to make our future more sustainable.

Increase E.ON brand awareness of 3p.p. (vs previous month)

Increase E.ON advertising awareness of 5p.p. (vs previous month)

Increase E.ON App downloads (vs previous month)

Increase E.ON Website traffic (vs previous month)

Increase E.ON instore traffic.

This project become a fully integrated campaign that touched all media channels (TV, Radio, Print, OOH, Digital ADV, Social, Street Marketing, Podcast). The boat can also be seen on Google Maps. The news immediately spread around the web, as demonstrated by 460 articles on the operation in local, national and international newspapers and 17 million views on social media.

Local people (but also around European) were touched by the campaign that started conversations and debates about climate change and its devastating consequences.

On the contrary, the local government, which tends to minimize the impact of climate change, protested and opposed the boat, saying it was damaging tourism.

The perception of the brand increased as concretely committed one to protecting the environment and building a more sustainable future. Many people intrigued by the operation visited E.ON website (+39%) and left contact details to support E.ON's action (+61% solutions leads).  

A technical-scientific fact was represented through an artistic expression perfectly integrated in the lake environment: the special and spectacular build of a floating boat.

An invisible structure underwater gave the idea of this boat suspended 75 cm above the lake (the exact amount of water the Gara Lake lost)

The boat was designed and built by an Italian famous artist, Domenico Pellegrino.

All of the materials used to build the boat respect the lake’s ecosystem and it was visible even during nighttime thanks to its inscription about the centimeters lost that was illuminated through a photovoltaic panel.

On the shore, a billboard framed the boat in perspective, giving more information about the drought problem and the data concerning the level of the lake from which the whole campaign started.