The Republic of Croatia, together with other signatories of the Montreal Protocol, actively participates in raising public awareness of the importance of the ozone layer for life on Earth, as the main protector from harmful radiation.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy is a government institution, and both an educational and executive force when it comes to the topic of environmental protection & preservation. Together with its partners, the Ministry leads numerous educational activities with the focus on the ozone layer and the importance of eliminating the consumption of ozone depleting substances.
A worldwide increase in youth activism surrounding green themes has shown that children and young people are extremely aware of the responsibility they bear towards environmental protection. Together with the Ministry of Environment, we wanted to further encourage the Croatian youth to act responsibly, with the foremost focus on the protection of the ozone layer.
The research conducted showed that our target audience members are heavy users of instant messaging apps which they use for interacting with their friends, families and brands. When choosing which app to launch the campaign on, we factored in several important points – market penetration rate, variety of products the app offers, and daily frequency of app usage.
Afterwards, we focused on developing channel-appropriate stories that would resonate with the audience while at the same time being authentic, memorable and applicable in their daily lives. As a brand, the Ministry of Environment cares about sustainability and being environmentally responsible, so we also had to craft their brand values into our narratives.
During this campaign, we weren’t selling a product – we were selling an idea, a behavioural change. We knew that stories have always had a unique power to influence people, especially children and young adults, therefore we needed to center our storytelling strategy on creating stories that are real, authentic, that can forge a connection with our audience, and that people will remember and share within their social circle.
Before crafting our stories, we scouted the Internet. Read the questions children were asking. Content they were sharing. We needed to discover what might possibly influence their behaviour and how to emotionally connect with them.
We decided to go with developing an appropriate set of characters who will be the voices of the campaign. The main characters became Ozonko and Ozončica, protectors of the environment – primarily the ozone layer. We gave each of them human characteristics – their own style and expression, accents, friends and problems – therefore crafting individualistic personalities that freely displayed their identity, emotions and values. They became alive.
We also gave them friends:
Equipped with talented copywriting, and our characters’ own community, we immersed our audience in their unique world. Our heroes selflessly shared their issues, advice and tips & tricks about environmental issues that people could apply in their everyday lives, while the audience was able to participate through polls, send the characters messages and share what they learned with family and friends.
Additionally, our characters didn’t only communicate among themselves. They also hosted environmental organizations as well as the Minister, Tomislav Ćorić.
Aware that our audience frequents other channels as well, we developed inspirational and motivational content snippets across several digital touchpoints:
All our published content had a clear CTA, inspired and taught our audience about specific environmental issues… and also took them back to the community where they could learn in-depth about the topics they came across.
The campaign also had three PR flights, without any funds invested – the media’s interest was gained by the campaign’s value and uniqueness. Throughout the campaign, we achieved the goal: our audience feels first and thinks second, one of the basic postulates of a successful content strategy. Above all else, people will always remember the experience you gave them and how you made them feel.
During the 3-month campaign, results were measured on both qualitative and quantitative levels. But as amazing as the results were, we became thankful for inspiring true change in children’s lives. The messages we received spoke about their engagement on numerous levels. About children and young adults organizing their own park clean-up activities. Educating their parents on the benefits of walking to work instead of using cars. Sharing tips & tricks on recycling and upcycling in their classrooms and among their friends. The long-term results of slightly altering or completely changing someone’s behaviour far outreached any tangible campaign results. Because the generation we’re leaving the planet to can now truly call the Earth – their home. And they truly care about their home.
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