I led expansion of Conservation International’s provocative Nature is Speaking campaign, including an ambitious plan to ensure nature’s voice was present at the pivotal 2015 Climate Conference in Paris.
Challenge:
It was early 2015 and while the pivotal Pairs Climate Conference (COP21) was still months away, anticipation had already reached a fever pitch.
Conservation International had just successfully launched Nature is Speaking, a series of short films with a provocative premise: Nature Doesn't Need People. People Need Nature. The bold films had generated massive attention thanks in part to being voiced by iconic celebrities like Harrison Ford (The Ocean) and Julia Roberts (Mother Nature).
Then the UNFCCC, organizer of COP21, asked Conservation International to bring Nature is Speaking to the conference. After such a successful launch, how could we meet its expectation at this pivotal moment in the fight against climate change?
Solution:
Working with our agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab, I crafted a bold plan to bring Nature is Speaking to COP21, starting with two new films in the Nature is Speaking series for debut at the conference. I co-wrote “Ice,” voiced by Liam Neeson and shown on the main stage following the historic signing of the Paris climate agreement.
We also secured targeted out-of-home placements near the event venue. We wrapped a Paris metro station floor-to-ceiling in forest imagery to impress on delegates that protecting nature was vital to halting climate change. Additionally, to scale visibility and drive online donations, we combined earned media and email with paid social and YouTube pre-roll media buys.
Data confirmed that these efforts raised visibility and funding to protect nature. I also believe our efforts played a small but meaningful role in reaching the historic Paris climate agreement.
Climate advocates around the world continue to work tirelessly to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But for a moment in December 2015, nature spoke, and the world listened.
