Diversity In Disaster Preparation campaign by Yahoo! Japan

Diversity In Disaster Preparation
The nation of Japan occupies a mere 0.28% of the globe’s total land area, yet suffers from 20.5% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater, along with 7% of the world’s active volcanoes.

And yet despite its status as a disaster-prone nation, its people have low awareness of disaster preparedness, with surveys showing that 2/3 of the population can say they are not adequately prepared for disasters.

In particular, those who have never experienced disasters find it difficult to imagine what specifically their circumstances would be like. We saw that this led to low levels of disaster preparedness, and wanted to let everyone know the preparations required for each person in evacuation shelters.

To get across the idea that every individual’s post-disaster needs are unique depending on their characteristics and living environments, we incorporated individual experiences as well as the media, celebrities, government and other public organizations in our message to generate greater awareness among the public. We set up a website that everyone could access, a hands-on event with illustrated cards depicting emergency kit items, and a special elementary school lesson to promote early awareness and understanding. And to symbolize the diversity involved in disaster preparations, we had opinion leaders in celebrity, media, and government promote the project to the population to gain wider reach across social media.

Immediately after an earthquake or other disaster, media coverage and interest among the government, corporations and populace focus on the afflicted area. But few take into consideration the diverse characteristics and living environments of people forced to evacuate. It is a little-known fact that many people in post-disaster shelters suffer from declining health, or even lose their lives. For this reason, we wanted to make it easier for people who have never experienced a disaster to immediately take action by clearly presenting the kinds of emergency kit items that people would need for themselves and their living environments.

The launch of the project was timed to the week before the anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami when reporting and awareness about disasters and disaster preparedness are highest in Japan. Our approach was to present a new concept that emergency kits are unique for diverse types of people. We communicated this through a website and hands-on events with illustrated cards that show how different kinds of people should prepare for disasters. These were covered in numerous online articles and TV reports. Participants posted positive comments about the project on social media. This widespread recognition contributed to greater awareness about disaster preparations. Celebrities, government agencies, international NGOs and others saluted our new concept and began promoting it on their own.

The project received widespread media coverage, along with support from Japan’s Cabinet Office, the United Nations Information Centre, UNICEF, and other government and international non-governmental organizations. The Japanese government has begun studying ways to use this project to promote awareness among the public. Participants posted many positive comments about it on social media, and the public started packing their emergency kits with consideration for themselves and those around them.

Campaign: Diversity In Disaster Preparation
Client Yahoo!, Japan
Product / Service: CSR
Category: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) / Corporate Image
Entrant: Dentsu Inc.

This campaign is about:
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Social media campaign, Digital campaign