Making Changes That Matter
Joining forces to drive action from 1 billion people on climate change with Count Us In.
It’s been a huge 12 months for climate action as a whole - and for us as an organisation. So, as we approach our one-year anniversary of working with the Count Us In team, it felt like a great moment to reflect on what's happened so far.
When a radical group of multidisciplinary organisations came to us with the seed of an idea, we saw a challenge that none had ever successfully achieved and an approach that would be critically tested in the race against climate change (no pressure). With the likes of organisations such as UNEP, TED, Accenture and alongside individuals like the architects of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement Tom Carnac and Christiana Figueres, we saw a massive opportunity to connect with a global mass audience on the topic of the decade.
As part of a radical collaboration, we were tasked with transforming the amazing partnership of over 70 international collaborators into a movement that could touch the lives of billions of people; people who have never been motivated to act against climate change, until now. Over five months, Something More Near led a process to create a brand proposition, visual identity, online platform and communications campaign called Count Us In which launched at TED’s global Countdown event to a worldwide audience of over 10 million, and has featured media coverage across the BBC, the Sun, the Guardian and Vogue India (to name a few).
To create a message that speaks to the masses, we had to work closely with leading climate change researchers, advocates and behavioral experts from around the world, including professors from Harvard, Yale, Climate Outreach, Systemiq and UNEP to develop a proposition, name and a system of messages that builds an inclusive spirit of stubborn optimism.
No campaign for a mass audience is complete without a messaging system, visual identity and meaningful actions. With only 3 months, we had to play around a lot, to get to a version that reflected Count Us In's values and worked well in the real world. It needed to be inclusive, optimistic and pull people in - from celebrities like Nico Rosberg, to organisations like Inka Group (IKEA) and Tottenham Hotspur, The Church of England, and to everyday people just like us. It also needed to be rooted in urgency around the great challenge it was up against.The result? A brand made to be picked up and used by anyone and everyone. The use of simple but distinct badges and stickers and a critical role for user generated content allows Count Us In to thrive across all of the traditional user touch points.
We’re super proud to be part of Count Us In Team, getting stuck into the messy problems and the biggest challenge of our lifetime and as the Creative Leads within the project, our team will continue to work with Count Us In on an ongoing basis to deliver effective participatory strategy in a way that gets people about creative, communication and campaign strategies built to navigate the complex climate space.
With an exciting year up ahead, we’ll see Count Us In launch into the mainstream as the partnership launches with the EU Climate Pact - mobilising EU citizens for climate action, the Extreme E’s X Prix’s tour the world, a clean air campaign with UEFA, and hopefully a successful Guinness World Record attempt. No one said changing the behaviors of millions of people around the world would be an easy job but you sure can count us in.
