The media industry holds enormous sway over public perception and action. Together with marketing and advertising, it only drives consumer choices, but also shapes our understanding of major global issues including climate change. It's crucial for this industry to recognize its influence — or Brainprint — on the public mindset, moving beyond simply decarbonizing its own operations.
It's the duty of the media to report on the impacts of the climate crisis accurately. But beyond just presenting the problem, there's an urgent need to spotlight solutions and lead by example. By shifting its approach of communicating climate, media can play a pivotal role in mobilizing public and private sectors towards transformative climate action.
Simon Mulcahy
We believe that business can be the greatest platform for change. The transition to a post-fossil-fuel world is well underway, and corporate leaders are already spearheading the charge in reshaping their businesses. However, this future has not been distributed widely; the majority of businesses have limited technical expertise on climate issues, and are often unaware of or unable to capitalize on climate business opportunities., nor are a majority of businesses aware of the significant shifts already underway. This means that many businesses are making decisions based on the conditions of the past, not those of the future. They’re skating to where the puck was going, not where it is going.
We believe that media and journalism have the power to not just inform, but inspire, and activate. If businesses understood, in language that speaks to them, they would act. They are further compelled to act when they know they are part of a concerted effort. And, if businesses are seen as leading and being rewarded for climate action, they will become more outspoken about their actions, rather than staying silent and withdrawing from climate leadership.
Through the TIME platform, our award winning climate journalist team, our deep expert partnerships, and our in-house climate experts, we are dedicated to reframing and reshaping the climate narrative to accelerate business climate action.
This is not just about a moral imperative. What we need are stories of what others are doing to connect business value to climate action. We need to demonstrate the business case for climate action, with clear data, insights and proof-points. And, we need to empower those whose role is to convince multiple operational and board-level executives to support investments needed.
Media drives people to buy products. In the same way, it can drive people to change their behavior. The promotion of a product — whether that’s something to buy an action to take — can be part of the solution to tackle climate change. In fact, viewing climate action as a product to market to broad audiences is the first step to creating a clear communications strategy for enabling broad public action. Some media agencies are already beginning to use their influence to restructure how the marketing and advertising industry utilizes its reach.
“As we prepare to beat climate change, what has yet to be ‘done’ is a culture of climate optimism; the belief that the world will be better, the confidence that we can make it, the recognition that the action required is urgent, exciting, necessary and full of opportunity. (...) I prefer to think of it as a culture gap. A gap between what we are doing, and what is possible and in fact necessary, on the other. No industry is better positioned to close this gap than the media sector.” 1
The media and entertainment sector plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. Beyond the news and entertainment content, the industry influences everyday decisions, from the products we buy to how we spend our time. With the average individual in the US watching over four hours of television a day and seeing tens of thousands of ads a year, the media's "brainprint" — its intellectual and psychological influence — can’t be overstated. The media sector has a responsibility to use its intangible influence for good, positively influencing societal mindsets and values to promote climate action.2
Media is under increasing pressure to recognize and act on its broad corporate responsibilities. Similarly to the advertising industry, media’s pervasive influence has led to an increasing call for heightened corporate responsibility. NGOs, the public, governments, and socially responsible investors have been increasingly voicing concern about the sector's indirect societal effects.2 While the media industry itself doesn’t have a large environmental footprint, its vast psychological and cultural impact makes it a key player in climate communications efforts. Rebuilding trust in media will be crucial in the years ahead in order to fight misinformation and polarization — and as the sector's influence grows, there's an emerging emphasis on the need for transparency and accountability.
“McDonald's and Coca-Cola are in the business of putting stuff inside people's bellies, so everyone (especially the media) expects them to take responsibility for their nutritional impact. Equally, Shell and BP are in the business of taking stuff out of the ground, so everyone (especially the media) expects them to take respon- sibility for their environmental impact. The media are in the business of putting stuff inside people's heads. But does anyone think they take responsibility for their cultural impact?”2
The Responsible Media Forum's report analyzed the world's leading technology, media, and telecoms companies in comparison with top extractive companies. Though media companies are more substantial in revenue and employee size, their environmental footprint is significantly smaller. While it's essential for media companies to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the sector's unparalleled cultural impact -- media's “superpower” -- has an unmatched ability to shape beliefs and behaviors at scale.1
With the democratization of digital media, mass communication has evolved, allowing more voices to be heard, but also contributing to the risk of 'filter bubbles' and 'echo chambers'. To address this, media companies are working to diversify the dialogue and reach broader audiences. With regard to key issues such as climate change, the objective is to simplify complex scientific concepts for a mass audience and to extend the reach of these messages to all sectors of society. Media companies are also exploring new areas such as digital education and influencer culture, offering innovative ways to engage audiences. Looking ahead, the emphasis will be on developing multi-sector partnerships and reaching underrepresented audiences, in order to provide a comprehensive representation of climate action.3
Jean Marc Papin
Why Media In Sustainability Matters
The reach of the marketing and advertising industry is significant and interconnected — a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders. Brands promote their products and services, platforms provide the means for reaching a wide audience and feedback about consumer behavior and preference. Creative agencies develop compelling content to drive conversion and consumption, and consumers engage with and respond to messages. Amidst all of it, media agencies sit at the center as the orchestrator, the touchpoint between each stakeholder — facilitating collaboration across each component. This makes the media best suited to drive systemic adoption of new practices.
Media agencies are, by virtue of the central role they play in the advertising system, the gatekeepers of information. Relaying content to consumers, in both B2C and B2B contexts, results in the agency being in the feedback loop from their target audience — building data-driven strategies that target specific audiences and influence consumer behavior. Media agencies have access to in-depth targeting capabilities that enable brands to reach the precise subset of consumers they want. As such, media agencies can help brands to target the consumers which will be most receptive to sustainable products, services, and values from brands, fostering a shift towards more environmentally and socially conscious choices.
This central position demands a level of responsibility from media agencies to drive sustainability action among the rest of the ecosystem. Media agencies influence not only consumers downstream, but as a gateway to consumers, also wield a significant level of influence upstream in their value chain. Stipulating, for example, that the media agency will only collaborate with carbon neutral partners, provide additional in-depth reporting on sustainably developed products or services, or even donate media time to promote sustainability values, shows a willingness of the media agency to actively promote an advertising ecosystem that follows the same value-drivers that consumers are demanding in their products and services.
Like any organization, media agencies serious about sustainability must first look inward. While there are some benefits to driving sustainability, there are also some unique aspects of integrating sustainability into the values of media agencies. The position of media agencies within the broader media ecosystem means that between direct impact and indirect influence, media agencies stand to benefit significantly from sustainability programs. There are a set of opportunities upon which media agencies (and the media ecosystem as a whole) can capitalize. The biggest roadblock to sustainability integrated at scale at media organizations, as it is with organizations across all industries, is the capital investments needed. But despite the initial cost, incremental value streams in the media ecosystem will present themselves. By developing key accounts and services with sustainable practices in mind, coupled with cost savings found in efficiencies, sustainable development can actually be a significant revenue growth engine for media agencies.
Media productions can significantly drive social change, with the real measure of their impact extending beyond just audience size and engagement. Media Impact Funders “Decoding Media Impact” report highlights several high-impact media projects that have successfully influenced social issues — not solely through their reach, but also by prompting action, raising awareness, or initiating policy changes. This influence varies widely, encompassing media coverage, community action, political outcomes, and shifts in public dialogue, amongst others.
The measurement of media impact, particularly in the context of documentary film, involves a complex combination of methods. These might include tracking the film's festival acceptances, audience size and diversity, participation in related campaigns, use in policy discussions, and any ensuing policy or behavior change. Such comprehensive evaluation shows that driving social change is more than a matter of broad appeal or general calls to action. It requires strategic action, compelling storytelling, fostering new narratives, and adjusting the power dynamics underpinning social relationships.4
CASE STUDY
PSAs: An underused superpower?
PSAs, or public service announcements, are messages disseminated by the media without charge — aimed to serve the public interest. PSAs played a significant role during WW1 and were used by the Committee on Public Information, which gave birth to public relations agents. PSAs also played an important role during WW2 and became more formalized during that period.5
PSAs proved effective in reducing smoking rates in the US after a federal court ordered stations to broadcast anti-smoking messages in 1969. The ruling led to the tobacco industry withdrawing all cigarette advertising on radio and TV, with Congress making tobacco advertising illegal two years after. In the 1980s, the Advertising Media Partnership for a Drug-free America (PDFA)’s “Frying Egg” PSA, aimed at tackling drug abuse, demonstrated that powerful messages for behavior change do not require expensive props or filming.
PSAs also have a history of being used to encourage environmental protection: In 1971, Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council partnered up to produce a powerful anti-litter PSA featuring an Indigenous man, which won a number of awards. However, the campaign was met with some controversy as it placed responsibility for pollution solely on individuals (with its slogan “people created pollution, people can stop it”) and journalists discovered that some of the companies involved were alleged polluters themselves — raising suspicion that public service campaigns may serve the vested interests of their sponsors.5
What PSAs have helped highlight throughout their use is that society inherently stands still unless something pushes it forward. It may appear to be in a state of constant flux, but that’s because the constancy is in forces acting against the inertia of society rather than society itself and over the past few decades those forces have become more and more opposed. Where climate change – and therefore the fate of our civilization – is concerned, the stakes could not be higher.5
The technology adoption cycle — which starts with innovators and moves through a clean bell curve to trail off at laggards — can arguably be applied to any number of cultural or societal issues. Climate change is no exception to this. Broad adoption of a new cultural value takes time, which is something that we are running out of. But we’ve seen historically how advertising can actually abridge the adoption of those values, moving holdouts towards the realm of early adoption faster by removing the fear and stigma of a shift in values.
This is the essence of a public service announcement (PSA), those ubiquitous “The More You Know” advertisements of the 1980s or Smokey Bear telling us that only we can prevent forest fires. At their core, a PSA highlights an important societal challenge — for example, drug abuse among teens in America during the late 1980s — and then strives to influence its audience towards a behavioral change – for example, not doing drugs if you’re a teen. Many of us probably remember the ad, and while it’s widely considered one of the “best” ads of its time, its effectiveness was severely limited by some key factors which are endemic to the majority of PSAs:
- PSAs are notoriously underfunded, generally relying on contributions from non-profit groups as well as government funding, both of which do not come close to the same levels that corporate ad spends achieve. This results in a limited reach and frequency of messaging.
- PSAs do not command “prime” media, that is, they generally rely on the goodwill of broadcasters and media channels who must choose between a profit-generating ad in a prime-time slot versus a PSA.
- PSAs lack the preparatory research that many other ads and marketing campaigns receive before going to market, again as a direct result of their funding streams.
- While some PSAs are memorable and strike a cultural chord, most fall into obscurity because their creative expression are built on the goodwill of the agencies who work on them, who — similar to the media companies placing the ads — must choose between a high-value, profit-generating client or the altruism of a PSA.
There is another fatal flaw that has made PSAs far less effective than they could otherwise be: a concept that behavioral economist Robert Cialdini explores as an offshoot of his research into “social proof.” The idea is that if others are doing something, we are far more likely to do the same. PSAs – and a lot of marketing, for that matter – often focus on what a population is doing wrong, whether it’s criminal activity, forest fire apathy, or — in the case of climate change — a lifestyle of consumerism and pollution. These tactics actually lend credence, by way of social proof, that the activity is not only feasible but generally accepted. Cialdini writes of his research findings: “Within the lament ‘look at all the people who are doing the undesirable thing’ lurks the undercutting message ‘look at all the people who are doing it.’ In trying to alert the public to the widespread nature of a problem, public-service communicators can end up making it worse, via the process of social proof.”6
Christopher Moscardi
The tenets of the PSA 2.0
- Brand-agnostic: Today, brands are feeling an unprecedented pressure from consumers and customers to build a culture of sustainability and planetary stewardship for future generations — but they are also met with the cynicism borne of decades of advertising that drives consumerist and materialistic values. The minute people see a brand’s logo or name on an ad, they know that there must be a profit in here for them somewhere.
Brands can navigate this dichotomy by taking a long-term view with their strategy, understanding that acceptance of our cultural and technological future will drive revenue for them when their products come to market. While R&D, product development, and current marketing practices all have their place in the present, I propose that brands also invest in a vision of our future that they can capitalize on later. In doing so, they lay the groundwork for adoption — not just of the societal values they espouse in their yearly Corporate Social Responsibility reports, but also of the products they are actively developing today. When those new products are ready for consumption — five, ten, even fifteen years into the future — the public is prepared to adopt and choose them more readily. Therefore, brand names, logos, partnerships, and overall involvement is not recognized in the advertising strategy. - High production quality and prime media placement: Both of these requirements point squarely back to the need for preparatory research, and therefore funding. Any strategy effective in shifting cultural and technological adoption of new concepts will be limited by a lack of access to the same outlets and quality that corporations put into their own advertising campaigns.
Creative and media agencies need to collaborate with a set of guidelines for how PSA content should be produced and distributed — allowing for the large majority of either public or brand funding to go towards production quality and media placement. Media agencies play a unique role, as they are the gatekeepers between the creative concept and its audience. If media agencies agree to bring the next generation of the PSA into prime time, then this next generation of public service announcements can be vastly more effective than its predecessors. Funding from individual contributors and brands must match or exceed that of corporate campaigns to allow for the same quality and media access and a collective of creative and media agencies should be established to coordinate the best possible outcomes. - Illustrate an adaptive utopia: Adaptive utopia might not be a familiar term, but it touches on two very important elements of any communications about our future: First, we need to acknowledge the necessity of adaptation. It’s an unfortunate reality that we are beyond the point of stopping climate change — its effects are being felt across the planet already. That’s where utopia comes in — because adaptation does not necessarily mean a breakdown of our society. Change is hard and scary, but it can end in something wonderful. Utopia is a lofty goal, but we want people to feel like there’s something worth striving for, worth adopting, and worth accepting into their lives.
An adaptive utopia is akin to a realistic utopia — it won’t be perfect, but it will allow us to continue to thrive as a species. The next generation of PSAs do not use fear-based tactics to drive adoption — rather, they rely on social proof to point not to the future we might get — but to the future we want.
Social media is one key avenue that can be used to spread messages far and wide. It is a powerful tool for increasing climate change awareness when effective framings are connected to calls for action.7 Social media platforms have immense potential to mobilize especially young people — many spend hours on apps like TikTok, with the average user opening the app 19 times a day and spending around 75 minutes on it8 – double the amount of the average Instagram user. By telling stories of success to build people’s sense of self-efficacy, using creative imagery and values-based messaging, social media is a promising medium to engage younger audiences in a meaningful way. In any social media strategy, climate change narratives should be designed to fit people’s identities (such as location, occupation or political orientation). The most important ingredient, however, is the use of trusted sources — in particular, peer-to-peer communication, utilizing spokespeople the target audience identifies and resonates with (see Our Brain And Climate Change).
CASE STUDY
33Second’s ‘Earthtopia’ community on TikTok
The creative communications agency has built a successful community with a 12% engagement rate (double TikTok’s average) through a mix of good news, eco-hacks and trends – tackling doomism and highlighting what is possible when people take action. Earthtopia showcases solutions, organizations and actions that are having a positive impact on the planet. Recognizing that scientific data can be hard to digest, the team breaks down complex information into bite size chunks, followed by tangible action their audience can engage in every day – from sustainable food hacks to shopping in a more climate-friendly way.9
Social media has emerged as a key strategy in advocating for sustainable practices and advertising sustainable products, with hashtags like #zerowaste attracting millions of followers. The rise of influencers in this digital era is particularly noteworthy — their reach and influence have been incredibly effective in shaping consumer preferences and behavior. The value of influencers lies in their ability to strike a balance between informing, educating, entertaining, and promoting sustainable consumption. Smaller influencers, or "micro" and "nano" influencers, have also gained popularity with brands as their smaller but engaged communities value their authenticity.10 Sustainability influencers have promoted a shift from consumerism to a sustainable mindset of 'less is more’ — their dual role of educating consumers and promoting eco-friendly products presents a significant opportunity for brands to reach their target audiences more effectively.10
By using principles of the PSA 2.0 outlined above, and channeling impactful messages through social media to reach younger audiences, media can learn from past mistakes and drive meaningful action using its Brainprint — its communication superpower which has so far been underused in the fight against climate change. But media is not the only industry we rely on to supercharge climate communications — we urgently need marketing and advertising on board, too.
The Business Case for Sustainability
Today, there's a strong business case for sustainability. Market trends show that especially young consumers are becoming more environmentally and socially conscious. Businesses that prioritize sustainability will likely have a competitive edge in the future and stay relevant in the long term. Sustainability is not just an ethical choice — it’s a smart business strategy.
Keep reading
- Responsible Media Forum. The Superpower of Media - Mirrors or Movers II: Managing the Societal Impacts of Content.; 2020. https://responsiblemediaforum.org/downloadDocumentFile?document=299
- SustainAbility, WWF-UK. Through the Looking Glass Corporate Responsibility in the Media and Entertainment Sector.; 2004. Accessed July 21, 2023. https://www.grainesdechangement.com/docs/medias/Through%20the%20Looking%20Glass.pdf
- Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, Alvarez G. Fossil-Fuel Funded Opposition Is Blocking America’s Clean Energy Transition. Permitting Reform Can Help. Forbes. Published November 30, 2022. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/11/30/fossil-fuel-funded-opposition-is-blocking-americas-clean-energy-transition-permitting-reform-can-help/
- Donnelly K. Decoding Media Impact: Insights, Advice & Recommendations. Published online January 2020. https://mediaimpactfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/MIF-Guide-Digital-FNL.pdf
- Goodwill B. A Brief History of Public Service Advertising. PSA Research Center. Published January 6, 2020. Accessed May 23, 2023. https://www.psaresearch.com/a-brief-history-of-public-service-advertising/
- Cialdini RB. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Rev. ed., [Nachdr.]. Collins; 2006.
- Sison MD. Creative Strategic Communications: A Case Study of Earth Hour. Int J Strateg Commun. 2013;7(4):227-240. doi:10.1080/1553118X.2013.826227
- Qustodio. Screen Time All the Time - Qustodio annual report on children’s digital habits. Qustodio. Published 2020. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://qweb.cdn.prismic.io/qweb/da3cbc01-68b0-4e50-a18f-a9a3a0c74a72_EN_Kids+and+Apps+annual+report_20210408.pdf
- Greenfield R. How TikTok can mobilize young people to take climate action. The Drum. Published 2022. Accessed May 23, 2023. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2022/11/14/how-tiktok-can-mobilize-young-people-take-climate-action
- Yalcin T, Nistor C, Pehlivan E. Sustainability Influencers: Between Marketers and Educators. Published online March 8, 2021. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3800316
Figure 94: Direct carbon footprint of the FTSE 100 companies, according to the Responsible Media Forum's "The Superpower of Media".
Figure 95: The brainpint of media.
The media industry holds enormous sway over public perception and action. Together with marketing and advertising, it only drives consumer choices, but also shapes our understanding of major global issues including climate change. It's crucial for this industry to recognize its influence — or Brainprint — on the public mindset, moving beyond simply decarbonizing its own operations.
It's the duty of the media to report on the impacts of the climate crisis accurately. But beyond just presenting the problem, there's an urgent need to spotlight solutions and lead by example. By shifting its approach of communicating climate, media can play a pivotal role in mobilizing public and private sectors towards transformative climate action.
Simon Mulcahy
We believe that business can be the greatest platform for change. The transition to a post-fossil-fuel world is well underway, and corporate leaders are already spearheading the charge in reshaping their businesses. However, this future has not been distributed widely; the majority of businesses have limited technical expertise on climate issues, and are often unaware of or unable to capitalize on climate business opportunities., nor are a majority of businesses aware of the significant shifts already underway. This means that many businesses are making decisions based on the conditions of the past, not those of the future. They’re skating to where the puck was going, not where it is going.
We believe that media and journalism have the power to not just inform, but inspire, and activate. If businesses understood, in language that speaks to them, they would act. They are further compelled to act when they know they are part of a concerted effort. And, if businesses are seen as leading and being rewarded for climate action, they will become more outspoken about their actions, rather than staying silent and withdrawing from climate leadership.
Through the TIME platform, our award winning climate journalist team, our deep expert partnerships, and our in-house climate experts, we are dedicated to reframing and reshaping the climate narrative to accelerate business climate action.
This is not just about a moral imperative. What we need are stories of what others are doing to connect business value to climate action. We need to demonstrate the business case for climate action, with clear data, insights and proof-points. And, we need to empower those whose role is to convince multiple operational and board-level executives to support investments needed.
Media drives people to buy products. In the same way, it can drive people to change their behavior. The promotion of a product — whether that’s something to buy an action to take — can be part of the solution to tackle climate change. In fact, viewing climate action as a product to market to broad audiences is the first step to creating a clear communications strategy for enabling broad public action. Some media agencies are already beginning to use their influence to restructure how the marketing and advertising industry utilizes its reach.
“As we prepare to beat climate change, what has yet to be ‘done’ is a culture of climate optimism; the belief that the world will be better, the confidence that we can make it, the recognition that the action required is urgent, exciting, necessary and full of opportunity. (...) I prefer to think of it as a culture gap. A gap between what we are doing, and what is possible and in fact necessary, on the other. No industry is better positioned to close this gap than the media sector.” 1
The media and entertainment sector plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. Beyond the news and entertainment content, the industry influences everyday decisions, from the products we buy to how we spend our time. With the average individual in the US watching over four hours of television a day and seeing tens of thousands of ads a year, the media's "brainprint" — its intellectual and psychological influence — can’t be overstated. The media sector has a responsibility to use its intangible influence for good, positively influencing societal mindsets and values to promote climate action.2
Media is under increasing pressure to recognize and act on its broad corporate responsibilities. Similarly to the advertising industry, media’s pervasive influence has led to an increasing call for heightened corporate responsibility. NGOs, the public, governments, and socially responsible investors have been increasingly voicing concern about the sector's indirect societal effects.2 While the media industry itself doesn’t have a large environmental footprint, its vast psychological and cultural impact makes it a key player in climate communications efforts. Rebuilding trust in media will be crucial in the years ahead in order to fight misinformation and polarization — and as the sector's influence grows, there's an emerging emphasis on the need for transparency and accountability.
“McDonald's and Coca-Cola are in the business of putting stuff inside people's bellies, so everyone (especially the media) expects them to take responsibility for their nutritional impact. Equally, Shell and BP are in the business of taking stuff out of the ground, so everyone (especially the media) expects them to take respon- sibility for their environmental impact. The media are in the business of putting stuff inside people's heads. But does anyone think they take responsibility for their cultural impact?”2
The Responsible Media Forum's report analyzed the world's leading technology, media, and telecoms companies in comparison with top extractive companies. Though media companies are more substantial in revenue and employee size, their environmental footprint is significantly smaller. While it's essential for media companies to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the sector's unparalleled cultural impact -- media's “superpower” -- has an unmatched ability to shape beliefs and behaviors at scale.1
With the democratization of digital media, mass communication has evolved, allowing more voices to be heard, but also contributing to the risk of 'filter bubbles' and 'echo chambers'. To address this, media companies are working to diversify the dialogue and reach broader audiences. With regard to key issues such as climate change, the objective is to simplify complex scientific concepts for a mass audience and to extend the reach of these messages to all sectors of society. Media companies are also exploring new areas such as digital education and influencer culture, offering innovative ways to engage audiences. Looking ahead, the emphasis will be on developing multi-sector partnerships and reaching underrepresented audiences, in order to provide a comprehensive representation of climate action.3
Jean Marc Papin
Why Media In Sustainability Matters
The reach of the marketing and advertising industry is significant and interconnected — a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders. Brands promote their products and services, platforms provide the means for reaching a wide audience and feedback about consumer behavior and preference. Creative agencies develop compelling content to drive conversion and consumption, and consumers engage with and respond to messages. Amidst all of it, media agencies sit at the center as the orchestrator, the touchpoint between each stakeholder — facilitating collaboration across each component. This makes the media best suited to drive systemic adoption of new practices.
Media agencies are, by virtue of the central role they play in the advertising system, the gatekeepers of information. Relaying content to consumers, in both B2C and B2B contexts, results in the agency being in the feedback loop from their target audience — building data-driven strategies that target specific audiences and influence consumer behavior. Media agencies have access to in-depth targeting capabilities that enable brands to reach the precise subset of consumers they want. As such, media agencies can help brands to target the consumers which will be most receptive to sustainable products, services, and values from brands, fostering a shift towards more environmentally and socially conscious choices.
This central position demands a level of responsibility from media agencies to drive sustainability action among the rest of the ecosystem. Media agencies influence not only consumers downstream, but as a gateway to consumers, also wield a significant level of influence upstream in their value chain. Stipulating, for example, that the media agency will only collaborate with carbon neutral partners, provide additional in-depth reporting on sustainably developed products or services, or even donate media time to promote sustainability values, shows a willingness of the media agency to actively promote an advertising ecosystem that follows the same value-drivers that consumers are demanding in their products and services.
Like any organization, media agencies serious about sustainability must first look inward. While there are some benefits to driving sustainability, there are also some unique aspects of integrating sustainability into the values of media agencies. The position of media agencies within the broader media ecosystem means that between direct impact and indirect influence, media agencies stand to benefit significantly from sustainability programs. There are a set of opportunities upon which media agencies (and the media ecosystem as a whole) can capitalize. The biggest roadblock to sustainability integrated at scale at media organizations, as it is with organizations across all industries, is the capital investments needed. But despite the initial cost, incremental value streams in the media ecosystem will present themselves. By developing key accounts and services with sustainable practices in mind, coupled with cost savings found in efficiencies, sustainable development can actually be a significant revenue growth engine for media agencies.
Media productions can significantly drive social change, with the real measure of their impact extending beyond just audience size and engagement. Media Impact Funders “Decoding Media Impact” report highlights several high-impact media projects that have successfully influenced social issues — not solely through their reach, but also by prompting action, raising awareness, or initiating policy changes. This influence varies widely, encompassing media coverage, community action, political outcomes, and shifts in public dialogue, amongst others.
The measurement of media impact, particularly in the context of documentary film, involves a complex combination of methods. These might include tracking the film's festival acceptances, audience size and diversity, participation in related campaigns, use in policy discussions, and any ensuing policy or behavior change. Such comprehensive evaluation shows that driving social change is more than a matter of broad appeal or general calls to action. It requires strategic action, compelling storytelling, fostering new narratives, and adjusting the power dynamics underpinning social relationships.4
CASE STUDY
PSAs: An underused superpower?
PSAs, or public service announcements, are messages disseminated by the media without charge — aimed to serve the public interest. PSAs played a significant role during WW1 and were used by the Committee on Public Information, which gave birth to public relations agents. PSAs also played an important role during WW2 and became more formalized during that period.5
PSAs proved effective in reducing smoking rates in the US after a federal court ordered stations to broadcast anti-smoking messages in 1969. The ruling led to the tobacco industry withdrawing all cigarette advertising on radio and TV, with Congress making tobacco advertising illegal two years after. In the 1980s, the Advertising Media Partnership for a Drug-free America (PDFA)’s “Frying Egg” PSA, aimed at tackling drug abuse, demonstrated that powerful messages for behavior change do not require expensive props or filming.
PSAs also have a history of being used to encourage environmental protection: In 1971, Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council partnered up to produce a powerful anti-litter PSA featuring an Indigenous man, which won a number of awards. However, the campaign was met with some controversy as it placed responsibility for pollution solely on individuals (with its slogan “people created pollution, people can stop it”) and journalists discovered that some of the companies involved were alleged polluters themselves — raising suspicion that public service campaigns may serve the vested interests of their sponsors.5
What PSAs have helped highlight throughout their use is that society inherently stands still unless something pushes it forward. It may appear to be in a state of constant flux, but that’s because the constancy is in forces acting against the inertia of society rather than society itself and over the past few decades those forces have become more and more opposed. Where climate change – and therefore the fate of our civilization – is concerned, the stakes could not be higher.5
The technology adoption cycle — which starts with innovators and moves through a clean bell curve to trail off at laggards — can arguably be applied to any number of cultural or societal issues. Climate change is no exception to this. Broad adoption of a new cultural value takes time, which is something that we are running out of. But we’ve seen historically how advertising can actually abridge the adoption of those values, moving holdouts towards the realm of early adoption faster by removing the fear and stigma of a shift in values.
This is the essence of a public service announcement (PSA), those ubiquitous “The More You Know” advertisements of the 1980s or Smokey Bear telling us that only we can prevent forest fires. At their core, a PSA highlights an important societal challenge — for example, drug abuse among teens in America during the late 1980s — and then strives to influence its audience towards a behavioral change – for example, not doing drugs if you’re a teen. Many of us probably remember the ad, and while it’s widely considered one of the “best” ads of its time, its effectiveness was severely limited by some key factors which are endemic to the majority of PSAs:
- PSAs are notoriously underfunded, generally relying on contributions from non-profit groups as well as government funding, both of which do not come close to the same levels that corporate ad spends achieve. This results in a limited reach and frequency of messaging.
- PSAs do not command “prime” media, that is, they generally rely on the goodwill of broadcasters and media channels who must choose between a profit-generating ad in a prime-time slot versus a PSA.
- PSAs lack the preparatory research that many other ads and marketing campaigns receive before going to market, again as a direct result of their funding streams.
- While some PSAs are memorable and strike a cultural chord, most fall into obscurity because their creative expression are built on the goodwill of the agencies who work on them, who — similar to the media companies placing the ads — must choose between a high-value, profit-generating client or the altruism of a PSA.
There is another fatal flaw that has made PSAs far less effective than they could otherwise be: a concept that behavioral economist Robert Cialdini explores as an offshoot of his research into “social proof.” The idea is that if others are doing something, we are far more likely to do the same. PSAs – and a lot of marketing, for that matter – often focus on what a population is doing wrong, whether it’s criminal activity, forest fire apathy, or — in the case of climate change — a lifestyle of consumerism and pollution. These tactics actually lend credence, by way of social proof, that the activity is not only feasible but generally accepted. Cialdini writes of his research findings: “Within the lament ‘look at all the people who are doing the undesirable thing’ lurks the undercutting message ‘look at all the people who are doing it.’ In trying to alert the public to the widespread nature of a problem, public-service communicators can end up making it worse, via the process of social proof.”6
Christopher Moscardi
The tenets of the PSA 2.0
- Brand-agnostic: Today, brands are feeling an unprecedented pressure from consumers and customers to build a culture of sustainability and planetary stewardship for future generations — but they are also met with the cynicism borne of decades of advertising that drives consumerist and materialistic values. The minute people see a brand’s logo or name on an ad, they know that there must be a profit in here for them somewhere.
Brands can navigate this dichotomy by taking a long-term view with their strategy, understanding that acceptance of our cultural and technological future will drive revenue for them when their products come to market. While R&D, product development, and current marketing practices all have their place in the present, I propose that brands also invest in a vision of our future that they can capitalize on later. In doing so, they lay the groundwork for adoption — not just of the societal values they espouse in their yearly Corporate Social Responsibility reports, but also of the products they are actively developing today. When those new products are ready for consumption — five, ten, even fifteen years into the future — the public is prepared to adopt and choose them more readily. Therefore, brand names, logos, partnerships, and overall involvement is not recognized in the advertising strategy. - High production quality and prime media placement: Both of these requirements point squarely back to the need for preparatory research, and therefore funding. Any strategy effective in shifting cultural and technological adoption of new concepts will be limited by a lack of access to the same outlets and quality that corporations put into their own advertising campaigns.
Creative and media agencies need to collaborate with a set of guidelines for how PSA content should be produced and distributed — allowing for the large majority of either public or brand funding to go towards production quality and media placement. Media agencies play a unique role, as they are the gatekeepers between the creative concept and its audience. If media agencies agree to bring the next generation of the PSA into prime time, then this next generation of public service announcements can be vastly more effective than its predecessors. Funding from individual contributors and brands must match or exceed that of corporate campaigns to allow for the same quality and media access and a collective of creative and media agencies should be established to coordinate the best possible outcomes. - Illustrate an adaptive utopia: Adaptive utopia might not be a familiar term, but it touches on two very important elements of any communications about our future: First, we need to acknowledge the necessity of adaptation. It’s an unfortunate reality that we are beyond the point of stopping climate change — its effects are being felt across the planet already. That’s where utopia comes in — because adaptation does not necessarily mean a breakdown of our society. Change is hard and scary, but it can end in something wonderful. Utopia is a lofty goal, but we want people to feel like there’s something worth striving for, worth adopting, and worth accepting into their lives.
An adaptive utopia is akin to a realistic utopia — it won’t be perfect, but it will allow us to continue to thrive as a species. The next generation of PSAs do not use fear-based tactics to drive adoption — rather, they rely on social proof to point not to the future we might get — but to the future we want.
Social media is one key avenue that can be used to spread messages far and wide. It is a powerful tool for increasing climate change awareness when effective framings are connected to calls for action.7 Social media platforms have immense potential to mobilize especially young people — many spend hours on apps like TikTok, with the average user opening the app 19 times a day and spending around 75 minutes on it8 – double the amount of the average Instagram user. By telling stories of success to build people’s sense of self-efficacy, using creative imagery and values-based messaging, social media is a promising medium to engage younger audiences in a meaningful way. In any social media strategy, climate change narratives should be designed to fit people’s identities (such as location, occupation or political orientation). The most important ingredient, however, is the use of trusted sources — in particular, peer-to-peer communication, utilizing spokespeople the target audience identifies and resonates with (see Our Brain And Climate Change).
CASE STUDY
33Second’s ‘Earthtopia’ community on TikTok
The creative communications agency has built a successful community with a 12% engagement rate (double TikTok’s average) through a mix of good news, eco-hacks and trends – tackling doomism and highlighting what is possible when people take action. Earthtopia showcases solutions, organizations and actions that are having a positive impact on the planet. Recognizing that scientific data can be hard to digest, the team breaks down complex information into bite size chunks, followed by tangible action their audience can engage in every day – from sustainable food hacks to shopping in a more climate-friendly way.9
Social media has emerged as a key strategy in advocating for sustainable practices and advertising sustainable products, with hashtags like #zerowaste attracting millions of followers. The rise of influencers in this digital era is particularly noteworthy — their reach and influence have been incredibly effective in shaping consumer preferences and behavior. The value of influencers lies in their ability to strike a balance between informing, educating, entertaining, and promoting sustainable consumption. Smaller influencers, or "micro" and "nano" influencers, have also gained popularity with brands as their smaller but engaged communities value their authenticity.10 Sustainability influencers have promoted a shift from consumerism to a sustainable mindset of 'less is more’ — their dual role of educating consumers and promoting eco-friendly products presents a significant opportunity for brands to reach their target audiences more effectively.10
By using principles of the PSA 2.0 outlined above, and channeling impactful messages through social media to reach younger audiences, media can learn from past mistakes and drive meaningful action using its Brainprint — its communication superpower which has so far been underused in the fight against climate change. But media is not the only industry we rely on to supercharge climate communications — we urgently need marketing and advertising on board, too.
Figure 94: Direct carbon footprint of the FTSE 100 companies, according to the Responsible Media Forum's "The Superpower of Media".
Figure 95: The brainpint of media.
The Business Case for Sustainability
Today, there's a strong business case for sustainability. Market trends show that especially young consumers are becoming more environmentally and socially conscious. Businesses that prioritize sustainability will likely have a competitive edge in the future and stay relevant in the long term. Sustainability is not just an ethical choice — it’s a smart business strategy.
Keep reading- Responsible Media Forum. The Superpower of Media - Mirrors or Movers II: Managing the Societal Impacts of Content.; 2020. https://responsiblemediaforum.org/downloadDocumentFile?document=299
- SustainAbility, WWF-UK. Through the Looking Glass Corporate Responsibility in the Media and Entertainment Sector.; 2004. Accessed July 21, 2023. https://www.grainesdechangement.com/docs/medias/Through%20the%20Looking%20Glass.pdf
- Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, Alvarez G. Fossil-Fuel Funded Opposition Is Blocking America’s Clean Energy Transition. Permitting Reform Can Help. Forbes. Published November 30, 2022. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/11/30/fossil-fuel-funded-opposition-is-blocking-americas-clean-energy-transition-permitting-reform-can-help/
- Donnelly K. Decoding Media Impact: Insights, Advice & Recommendations. Published online January 2020. https://mediaimpactfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/MIF-Guide-Digital-FNL.pdf
- Goodwill B. A Brief History of Public Service Advertising. PSA Research Center. Published January 6, 2020. Accessed May 23, 2023. https://www.psaresearch.com/a-brief-history-of-public-service-advertising/
- Cialdini RB. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Rev. ed., [Nachdr.]. Collins; 2006.
- Sison MD. Creative Strategic Communications: A Case Study of Earth Hour. Int J Strateg Commun. 2013;7(4):227-240. doi:10.1080/1553118X.2013.826227
- Qustodio. Screen Time All the Time - Qustodio annual report on children’s digital habits. Qustodio. Published 2020. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://qweb.cdn.prismic.io/qweb/da3cbc01-68b0-4e50-a18f-a9a3a0c74a72_EN_Kids+and+Apps+annual+report_20210408.pdf
- Greenfield R. How TikTok can mobilize young people to take climate action. The Drum. Published 2022. Accessed May 23, 2023. https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2022/11/14/how-tiktok-can-mobilize-young-people-take-climate-action
- Yalcin T, Nistor C, Pehlivan E. Sustainability Influencers: Between Marketers and Educators. Published online March 8, 2021. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3800316
