The green future is a better alternative to what we have today! So let’s talk about that!
In the mini-series on messaging mistakes climate communicators make that delay the green shift, the first blog post dealt with the typical exercise of making the audience the bad guy.
Good news: The flip side of it is a very effective way to communicate compellingly.
Making the audience the story's hero is a proven way to drive action.
For instance, when marketing sustainable products or services, empower the public to become heroes in the story by highlighting how cool the new technology and solutions are.
Who do people aspire to become?
All of us are, in some way or another, daydreaming about becoming a better version of ourselves. Effective climate communicators know that and make sure to address the aspirational identity of their target audience.
Tell stories about how the green future enables us to become a better version of ourselves.
What are the positive benefits to their lives?
How will it make them stronger, more powerful, more capable people in their social circle?
People are primarily motivated by identity - who they are and who they might become.
Examples of brands succeeding in making the audience the story’s hero
Example 1: Otovo - Solar made easy
Surveys consistently show that many people want sustainable products and solutions but don’t tend to buy them. Particularly Millenials increasingly say they want brands that embrace purpose and sustainability.
However, in one recent survey, 65 percent said they want to purchase purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, yet only about 26 percent do so.
Otovo is a company determined to close the “intention-action gap” and make the customer the hero by providing viable alternatives to join the solar revolution. Many people want to save energy in their homes. But installing solar panels seems complicated.
After a study trip to Tesla, the founder, Andreas Thorsheim, wanted to revolutionize the solar market and make it super-easy for people to install and finance solar panels.
He studied customer decisions on solar panels and realized that the key to driving action was establishing a digital ecosystem to lower the price of assembly and installation.
So he came up with a new business model and founded Otovo:
They use our proprietary technology to analyze the potential of any home and advise precisely about the ideal project so they can give customers an offer in seconds.
Establish a network of hundreds of local, high-quality energy installers they have vetted thoroughly.
The process is super-easy: Write your address at otovo.no, and in a matter of seconds, you’ll have a customized offer for the installation and purchase of solar panels, including investment support from Enova (Norwegian state enterprise providing funding schemes for green technology).
Their branding is about making the customer the hero: “Your roof is an untapped resource. Save money and the environment by going solar.”
No more confusion. A viable solution to close the gap between intention and action = Good climate communication.
Example 2: Candela - radical climate action made fun
Norwegians love leisure boats. We are the world’s largest market for leisure boats, with one boat for every fifth inhabitant. Ninety-nine percent of motorized boats are still running a combustion engine.
Norway has pledged to reduce emissions by 50 percent in every sector in the next seven years. By 2050 we will no longer be emitting fossil fuels.
Everyone knows it’s coming, even the folks in the traditional boating industry.
We all want to continue to enjoy riding our leisure boats in a future where we no longer use gas or diesel as our fuel.
Nobody bothered to listen as long as the average boat user was framed as the villain - being named irresponsible for riding an unsustainable gas-powered boat.
Just like Tesla changed the game for the car industry, Swedish Candela is about to do the same for the boating industry.
Candela aims to speed the transition to fossil fuel-free lakes and oceans. They know a traditional 7.5 m petrol boat consumes about 15 x more fuel than a family car, but they also know that using that as a sales pitch for sustainable boating will never work.
Nobody wants to pay a premium price for a shitty boat to save the planet. So Candela’s mission is: to make an electric boat with better performance than the fossil fuel competitors.
And now they’re scaling.
There’s finally a superior electric alternative to gas-guzzling fossil fuel boats. Their latest model is maybe the first no-compromise electric boat: fast, long-range, and fun. But also 95% cheaper to operate, totally silent, and doesn’t create any wake.
Candela helps their customers survive and thrive by inviting them into a positive story about the green shift, where the customer becomes the hero, finally resolving the conflict between leisure boating and sustainability.
Example 3: Northvolt - make oil history
Some solutions to our climate crisis include decarbonization, electrification, and sustainable energy systems.
But these solutions must be enabled at an industrial scale and unprecedented speed.
The green growth narrative is one of the most effective ways of inviting people into a beautiful story. It is much-needed contrast to the massive doomsday messaging. People don’t resist change as long as they’re invited to be a part of it.
We already have the solutions we need to save the planet - now it’s all about scaling them. And it is probably the greatest business opportunity since the industrial revolution.
What a fantastic purpose; create jobs and make money by enabling the green shift and stopping global warming.
We know for a fact that burning fossil fuels is the single biggest cause of global warming. That’s why Northvolt chose to establish an industrial fairytale to enable the future of energy.
Their mission is to build the world's greenest battery, with a minimal carbon footprint and the highest ambitions for recycling.
Young talents worldwide move to northern Sweden to participate in the project, creating new jobs while reducing emissions.
Great match between aspirational identity and viable action = Great Climate communication.
A lot of hope for the green future
When we dig into the aspirational identity of our target groups, we can finally speak to their hearts and minds.
To wrap up, we must tell stories about how the green future enables us to become a better version of ourselves.
What are the positive benefits to our lives?
How will it make us stronger, more powerful, capable people in our social circle?
All of which Otovo, Candela, and Norhtvolt do really well. That's about identity, which, from a communications standpoint, is way more powerful than any rational argument
Next week, I will give you blog post # 2 in a five-week mini-series on solutions, effective climate communication, and best practice!
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See you!
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