Multilingual, multimedia campaign empowers Southern Californians to maintain conservation ethic amid extreme weather
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has launched its latest round of conservation advertising on the world’s largest digital billboard to amplify the critical need for Southern Californians to continue saving water.
The 40,000-square-foot digital billboard titled “The Reef” in downtown Los Angeles showcases a suite of messages encouraging consumers and businesses to adopt long-lasting and sustainable water-saving habits, like turning off sprinklers during storms, investing in water-use monitoring technology, fixing leaks quickly, and using more water-efficient fixtures.
The multilingual campaign highlights the need to make conservation a way of life — regardless of weather conditions — as California continues to face climate extremes that have recently swung the state from a record, three-year drought to an extraordinarily wet period that is helping to replenish depleted reservoirs this year.
“Californians are seeing a reprieve from extreme drought right now, but what remains constant is the need to conserve our water supplies,” said Metropolitan External Affairs Group Manager Susan Sims. “Metropolitan is proud to amplify these water-saving messages and promote rebates that can help empower millions to create a more sustainable future.”
Along with advertising on The Reef, located at the crossroads of the Interstate 10 and the Interstate 110 Harbor Freeway, campaign advertising is featured on 188 transit shelters and on streaming audio, Connected TV and social media across Metropolitan’s six-county service area. Select assets were adapted to multiple languages including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Armenian to ensure campaign messages resonate with the region’s many diverse audiences.
The campaign is projected to generate nearly 200 million impressions across all media platforms.
“These last three years of drought were difficult and required big sacrifices,” said Metropolitan Water Efficiency Manager Bill McDonnell. “But the reality is that without the conservation of our communities in this region, the past three years of dry weather would have been much more dire. In addition to investing in our water system and building new sources of local water supplies, we must remain diligent in saving water as we continue to face the impacts of climate change.”
McDonnell encouraged the public to look to Metropolitan’s online water conservation portal – bewaterwise.com – for additional tips, resources to replace lawns with California Friendly plants®, and rebates on appliances and devices that help catch leaks.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
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