Light It Blue

What began in the United Kingdom as a way to show support to NHS frontline workers, Thinkwell Group brought the effort to the United States, where we worked with over 400 venues, attractions, skylines and icons to weekly light their buildings in blue, take a photo and share to their social accounts with the hashtag, ‘#LightItBlue’. Through this effort, Thinkwell and dozens of volunteers all over the country reached over 700 million people online with this message of gratitude at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As the pandemic began, Thinkwellians worked around the clock from their homes, while reaching out to any possible contact who would be willing to join the cause. The team was able to secure commitments from over 400 points of interest across 112 cities in 43 states to light up states, sports fields, buildings, civic icons and more every Thursday night at 8:00pm. 

While navigating “shelter in place” procedures, Thinkwell and team worked with every venue to ensure social distancing was in place. Participating venues could either light their locations with blue hues remotely, or leverage already on-site staff to turn the lights on weekly. Once the program launched, iconic landmarks including One World Trade Center, Niagara Falls, the Seattle Space Needle, and more joined in. 

The campaign didn’t stop in America, and was more than just buildings being lit in blue hues. Celebrities such as Janet Jackson and Kareem Abdul Jabar joined the campaign organically. Due to the outpouring of support, it grew and evolved into a global phenomenon, with icons such as the Tokyo Tower, London’s Tower Bridge, and the entire Singapore Skyline lit up in blue to show their support for healthcare workers. By the end of the campaign, Thinkwell and others had secured over 500 venues globally, while trending the campaign twice (once in Los Angeles, and again nationwide) on Twitter.