The AIA Walk the Walk Campaign

For the past six months all of us here at Giant have been hard at work on a new campaign for the American Institute of Architects, having been fortunate to win the account back in August. I say "all of us" because that's the way we work here at Giant, everyone in the office has contributed to the campaign at one point or another. And while that has naturally whittled down as the campaign became more and more focused, we can all take pride in the results. I haven't been able to talk about the development, execution and details of the campaign previously, because it was still in the works. But having launched the campaign this month, with significant internal elements launched in December, I can now talk about it.

The AIA, for those of you perhaps unfamiliar with it, is a 80,000 member strong association that has worked for over 150 years to represent Architects and the communities they serve. Last year the AIA purposed itself to a goal, a significant goal, to make all buildings carbon neutral by the year 2030. While most people think of automobiles as the biggest contributor to global warming (thanks to the media.), in actual truth, buildings consume about 75% of all electricity and account for nearly 48% of the greenhouse gases emissions that contribute to global warming. We can argue all day about the science of "global warming" and if, and in my opinion still a big if, it is caused or enhanced by man - but the truth is that building more sustainable buildings is good for everyone. Good for the environment, good for the community and good for business. Regardless of the truth or untruth of global warming.

Our challenge then was to create a campaign that represented the AIA's position and communicate it to various audiences. This was initially a very daunting challenge. One that faced several internal and external roadblocks, much as all campaigns do, that had to be overcome. Or satisfied, depending on how you want to look at it I suppose. At first we all thought that the "sustainability" issue might be best served as a separate campaign. But that would limit the resources, and eventual effectiveness, of the effort. We needed to find someway to incorporate all the different elements into ONE element. One element that captured the essence of them all, communicated the stance of the organization, and also (of course) did so in a very creative and memorable way. Gulp. Yeah, it's days like those that make you wonder why we do what we do. Making the complex simple is our job and we began by finding the core reason to believe this could be done, what was the ONE thing that all the elements of the campaign, internal and external audiences, and everyone else, wanted? It all boiled down to this, "To reduce the carbon footprint." Everyone can agree on that statement, pro or con, Architect or lay-person.



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So we developed the Walk the Walk campaign, based around a very simple green-footprint, or boot-print as we prefer to call it. The "Walk the Walk" theme is obviously playing off the organization's leadership role, but also fundamentally expresses the desire to stop talking about the issues and start doing something about them. For an organization like the AIA, or honestly any organization, this is a very strong stance to take. The campaign includes print and online advertising, web videos and new media executions. I encourage you to visit the campaign portal page and watch The Journey video which launched the campaign. We'll also be producing monthly GreenStep viral videos which will detail the benefits of green architecture. The first one of those will be launched later this month.



I'll be posting more about this campaign in the future, and we're also hard at work on a "green" section to our agency website. The AIA isn't the only client we have that is involved in this issue and our experience is substantial in many different aspects of the green movement.

PS: The Ad and Banner Ad above represent Phase One of the year-long campaign, and only two of the elements.


“As America continues to be saturated by messages of ‘going green,’ there is a general lack of understanding that buildings are one of the primary sources of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming and climate change,” said Christine McEntee, Executive Vice President and CEO of the AIA. “The ‘Walk the Walk’ program will raise awareness of this issue and provide practical energy saving solutions for people who build, work and live in buildings of all shapes and sizes.”

“Now is the time we must highlight the benefits of more energy-efficient homes and buildings to secure the future for our children and their children,” said former AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA. “This is a critical initiative for the AIA. The architecture profession is not merely providing resources and metrics that frame the issue of sustainable design, rather, more importantly, the AIA is offering design strategies and innovations that will lead to a healthier planet. This is not a new issue for architects, the AIA has been awarding the country’s top green projects since 1997 and have numerous partnerships with government agencies and collaborative relationships with design and construction industry organizations to help advance the cause of sustainable design.”