Reef and Ugly Grouper Partnership: Creating Waves for Coral Planting and Restoration in Cebu
August 09, 2023
Last June 2023, Reef partnered with the Ugly Grouper Organization, a group of environmentally aware scuba divers, to raise awareness about coral planting and restoration.
Not only would this aim to boost sales in Cebu through a satellite selling space, but the boosted digital content would generate online awareness for the brand, as well as the advocacy.
The initial part of the program was held in Ayala Center Cebu. A branded kiosk was set up for two weeks, where shoppers were given a chance to learn more about the restoration efforts and contribute what they could to the cause. During the media event on June 2, several media publications such as Sun Star Cebu, Sugbo.ph, and Queen City Cebu were invited to broadcast the message of coral reef preservation to a broader audience. Other notable attendees included Doyzkie Buenaviaje, Dr. Xavier Gonzales, Claire Codilla, Ram Mancelita, Pobreng Laagan, and Jack Ponpon. All attendees were given a pair each and other Reef giveaways. The two weeks ended with a staggering 305% growth in sales.
In a more direct approach to preserving the coral reefs, a second event was launched in honor of World Ocean Day. Over 30 passionate diver volunteers from Ugly Grouper, Trek and Dive, and Seed4Com banded together to conduct a coastal cleanup and coral reef planting initiative at Gilutongan Island, Cebu. Ugly Grouper’s marine biologist, William Villaver, was the one who led the group and discussed how the corals are being damaged. There were three dives, one for the clean-up and the other two for planting coral fragments. By the end of the event, over 500 coral fragments were planted at two strategic locations around the island. All volunteers were given a pair each and some Reef goodies.
As an extension of the Global Reef Week, more social media content was posted to further efforts to raise awareness and call for efforts to rehabilitate the corals and waters of Cebu. To wrap everything up, a brand/event video was launched.
All of this is in the hopes that more and more people realize the importance of our coral reefs and what we all can do to keep our oceans clean, safe, and beautiful.
Watch Video Here
