Branded Entertainment is usually used as just that, a form of entertainment on behalf of a brand to increase sales. However, it’s not used to create a public service or to raise awareness on public policy often enough. We believe we’ve used an entertainment structure to increase awareness about a global threat, a way to talk and debate a crisis in a new way, and to give people a tool to actually do something about it.

Problem

Climate change is a problem. The science is clear: global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. The issue is growing, yet the discussion doesn’t seem to be. People aren’t actively engaging in the problem or forcing solutions.

Campaign Goal

We were asked to start a bigger conversation around climate change – a different conversation that would strike a chord with people and affect them enough to care to get involved. So involved that they’d participate in and sign an actual petition to the World Meteorological Organization. The catch: we had $0 in media.

The Insight

Disturbingly enough, some very important people in U.S. politics actually deny climate change. Going so far as to refer to climate change as “a hoax” or “comical.” These politicians are not only outspoken against the issue, but are actively voting in ways that stunt the potential progress that could be made in the field. We believe that exposing these politicians and holding them accountable will provoke change in policy.

Execution

Since 1954, extreme storms, such as hurricanes, have had human names; Floyd, Katrina, Sandy, etc. Why not a naming system that better reflects this increasingly destructive force on our society and planet? We proposed naming such storms after the very policy makers who deny climate change. The content allowed viewers to see what a world would look like where extreme storms linked to climate change were named after policy makers in the U.S. who deny climate change. This taste of a possible future allowed us to ask viewers to then sign our petition to see that future become a reality. Also, because of the provocative nature of the content, people freely and eagerly engaged with it, shared it and helped it make its way around the Internet.

An online video drove to ClimateNameChange.org, where a petition lived. Visitors to the site could view an aggregated list of every policy maker in the U.S. who denies climate change and tweet at them directly. Visitors could also connect to Facebook from the site to see how many of their Facebook friends shared a name with a current hurricane or tropical storm, and drive them to the petition to save their name from being tarnished by a natural disaster. Posters featuring the damage from past storms but with names of U.S. policy makers furthered the message.

For the petition, we needed 25,000 signatures in 3 months. We received 50,000 in 3 days, and over 81,000 after one week. After 3 months, 107,000 people signed the petition. The video received almost 3 million views on YouTube and started a debate there of more than 7,000 comments. Esquire Magazine was quoted as saying the idea was, “The. Best. Idea. Ever.” And The Guardian called it “The #1 climate change campaign in history.” Google searches worldwide for climate change deniers more than doubled after launch. The politicians who we targeted experienced a 10% drop in approval rating on average since launch. 184 million earned media impressions with $0 spent on media.