Key metrics
Background
Nature has a critical role to play in reducing carbon emissions and helping us build climate resilience. The vision of the Nature Positive Coalition is for the world to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, as a major contribution to the fight against climate change.
Communications INC has been supporting the coalition at UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COPs) for the last five years by bringing storytelling to the heart of their work.
The case study that follows outlines support at COP28.
Objective
The goal of the Nature Positive Campaign at the COP28 Climate Conference (held in Dubai in November to December 2023) was for nature to be recognized in global climate negotiations and plans: to put nature-based solutions at the heart of the climate conversation.
Communications INC’s role within the multifaceted campaign was to elevate the Nature Positive message and engage a wide audience – both at COP28 and around the world – by coordinating the production and distribution of video content for broadcasting.
Approach and delivery
Working closely with partners in the Nature Positive Communications Working Group, we developed an innovative storytelling approach to bring real-world examples of nature-based climate solutions to life and designed a smart strategy to get engaging video content out to broadcast and social media.
At the centre of the media strategy was a partnership with the Associated Press (AP) to guarantee our stories landed in the inboxes of news editors. We also developed a paid media strategy focused on boosting the stories on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn to reach target audiences.
In the weeks ahead of COP28, we identified 7 compelling Nature Positive stories, developed Video News Releases (VNRs), and pitched them to select media outlets. An online multimedia Nature Newsroom was set up in partnership with the Associated Press to provide a hub for all the VNRs and media briefings. We made two versions of each VNR: a consumer-ready version and a newsroom-ready version with B-roll, shot lists, transcripts and background information.
Once on the ground in Dubai, the team worked to secure interviews with prominent figures and deployed two camera/editor crews. The interviews were used to complete the 7 VNRs and to produce 14 daily “From the Corridors” wrap-up videos that followed the nature negotiations, which were posted on the Nature4Climate YouTube channel.
To streamline the Nature Positive Coalition’s communications, we established a central Trello where partners could find everything, including campaign identity, media toolkits, social media posts, and video assets, all in one place. Communications INC also produced 3 social media toolkits and prepared responses to challenging questions on tricky topics like climate finance and carbon offsetting. We then invited the media to cover important moments at the Nature Positive Pavilion and promoted major Nature Positive stories at COP28.
We launched the 7 VNRs on key days between 30 November and 12 December to fit with the COP28 agenda and maximise impact. The Newsroom played a central role in broadcasting the content globally and the VNRs were also sent directly to newsroom/broadcast content managers.
