November 19, 2009 | tags: Captains of Industry, conserving energy, dreaded tasks fun, Energy Conservation, exciting tasks, Fun Theory, marketing agency boston, musical stairs, Piano Stairs, Volkswagon
Lessons from Volkswagon’s Piano Stairs: Can We Make Energy Conservation Fun?
By Jean Levasseur, Captains of Industry
As a daily commuter to Boston, I take the train a lot. I always try to take the stairs up and down, and I almost always have them to myself. So this video spoke volumes to me.
Volkswagon’s FunTheory is a fantastic idea. If a behavior as simple as taking the stairs instead of the escalator can be changed simply by turning the stairs into something as fun as a piano, then what other improvements to our daily lives can encourage by making dreaded tasks fun? I’m thinking in particular of global warming, and how we use energy (after all, I work for a marketing agency that deals with a lot of renewable energy clients).
It seems like most of the marketing for energy conservation and renewable energy revolves around two things: combating global warming, and promoting the economic benefits of renewable energy. Neither of these is fun. Is there a way that we can make conserving energy exciting, rather than something we’re doing so we can save the planet or save money? I bet if your lights said “Thank you” and sighed with relief when you shut them off, we’d turn them off more.
Does anyone have any other ideas for how we can make conserving energy fun? I would love to hear them!
Karen Eddy
I don’t have a fun idea but I’m looking for one. I’m interested in energizing the community about composting in the urbsn setting, ie, residens, businesses, especially restaurants. So far city government entities are not interested. Any ideas for making this fun?