Greenpeace is a NGO striving to protect the environment. To do so, they use every kind of creative, non-violent action, including an intensive communication through social media. Dave will share Greenpeace’s strategy on how to use social media to help and achieve its environmental objectives.
Dave Van Meel, Head of Communications, Greenpeace
2. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Greenpeace goals 2020
!
Reduction of CO2 global emission: -30% by 2020!
Energy revolution: stop nukes, go renewables
Zero deforestation: Congo, Amazone, Indonesia
Protect marine life: stop overfishing and whaling, install marine reserves
Toxics: - 50% of industrial hazardous chemicals release into water in the South
www.greenpeace.org!
3. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
4. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Greenpeace values
ü Non-violence
ü Confrontation
ü Independence
ü Power of acting together
ü Investigative
www.greenpeace.org!
5. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
6. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Know your audience
- 80 000+ single donors!
- 100 000+ supporters!
- 11 000+ Facebook friends!
!
They are predominantly…
URBAN – PROGRESSIVE – HIGHLY EDUCATED - INFLUENTIAL
!
They expect us to…
INVESTIGATE – BEAR WITNESS – TAKE ACTION – INVOLVE THEM –
LOBBY – PRESENT SOLUTIONS
www.greenpeace.org!
7. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Why do social media work?
- Strong brand!
- We use it for what it is meant: dialogue, co-create and CTA!
- We donʼt SELL anything!
- Strong commitment and desire to participate of our audience!
- Greenpeace is an international organisation making use of an
international device thus being able to campaign on international
targets!
- Ideal for loose, topical alliances with the large periphery of our
supporters!
www.greenpeace.org!
8. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Why do social media work?
- We say what we do, and do what we say!
- We respond to reactions, also the negative ones. Very often
others take up our defense !
- We donʼt post rubbish, and link as much as possible to in-depth
content on our website, videos, visuals etc. !
!
www.greenpeace.org!
9. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
We use social media for…
- direct comms: no intervention from journalists or other!
- active campaigning (public engagement, co-creation)!
- surveys!
- sharing opinions, creating bonds, give ʻa faceʼ to Greenpeace!
- conversion friends > supporters (but we donʼt raise money)!
- measuring effectiveness of our campaigns!
- traffic generator/complementary to our website, blogs…!
- spreading our messages beyond our own audience (Twitter)!
www.greenpeace.org!
10. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Main social media channels
- YouTube: viral spreading of videos (action or corporate camp)!
!
- Facebook (GPI: 814.626 – Greenpeace Spain: 87.000 –
Greenpeace UK: 26.425 – etc.)!
!
- blogs (campaigners dialogue directly to supporters)!
!
- Twitter: spread news on actions, buzz (GPI followers: 220.242 –
GPB followers: +2.000 & rapidly growing now)!
www.greenpeace.org!
11. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
12. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
13. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 1: Nestlé
Forest Campaign targets Sinar Mas, an Indonesian palm oil
manufacturer, responsible for massive deforestation, with critical loss of
habitat, making profit on the backs of local population
How could we obtain a move from a distant and little-known company?
>> by contract cancellations of import customers.
How could we force those customers to make a move?
>> By pressure coming from their own customers, who are well-known
>> By using direct comms (1 on 1) and constant monitoring, ready to
adapt strategy at all times
Did it work? J
www.greenpeace.org!
14. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 1: Nestlé
Why did it work?
>> we had a story that touched people’s hearts
>> we had evidence to back the story
>> we used strong visuals
>> we had nothing to hide and communicated clearly on our demands
>> a massive amount of supporters joined in, creating an online tsunami
with instant overflow in other media.
>> Nestlé denied, blocked social media pages and videos, threatened to
sue us… and clashed more with internauts than with us!
We didn’t ask for all that, we were just asking something any reasonable
human being could support: stop killing forests for profit
www.greenpeace.org!
15. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 1: Nestlé
How did it work?
Step 1: web article with call to Nestlé to cancel contract SM
Step 2: launch of viral video + launch dedicated website
>> on website:
reveal what Sinar Mas does
online HQ (pivotal for deeplinking, blog, send an e-
mail, referring to Twitter, Facebook, national GP home pages…)
Campaign was extremely succesful as from step 2, igniting hundreds of
thousands calls and mails.
Immediate impact
Very negative brand image
Stock value dropped dramatically
Huge pick-up by online and traditional media
www.greenpeace.org!
16. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
17. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
18. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
19. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
20. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Facts & figures:
- Viral video viewed 1.6 million times (350 000 times in 1 day)
- Nestlé got at least 250.000 e-mails
- Nestlé could do nothing else than respond
- 15.000 new supporters in UK only
Other results:
- A number of multinationals were mobilised on the deforestation topic
and saw brand opportunities
BUT: greenwashing won’t do…
-We confirmed our status of “love brand” and saw how easy access was
to large communities
www.greenpeace.org!
21. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
22. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 2: Green my Apple
Idea
We love Apple. Everybody loves Apple. But Apple can do better.
Clean design but hazardous substances?
Why exposing Asian children to dangerous chemicals?
Our call to action to Apple fans: demand a cool product, demand a
green Apple
How?
We created a website www.greenmyapple.org where we explained the
problems (iPoison & iWaste), called for action (.mAct) and invited to help
create a greener Apple (ProCreate –
http://activism.greenpeace.org/applebook.org )
www.greenpeace.org!
23. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 2: Green my Apple
The audience
Apple fans are
… cool
… internet-savvy
… educated
… creative
… very often also Greenpeace fans J
Apple won’t listen to Greenpeace, it will listen to its customers.
We know their ways.
They took it up, we just gave them the arguments…
www.greenpeace.org!
24. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Case 2: Green my Apple
…after having tried ourselves almost ten times (calls, letters, meetings)
Did we target only Apple?
No, but we expect a cutting-edge company to be a leader in all its
aspects.
In this case, Dell, HP, LG, Sony, Sony Ericsson and Nokia did already
make commitments on hazardous chemicals.
Result?
On May 2, 2007, Steve Jobs announced a policy change and the
company was thanked by Greenpeace but even more so by its own
customers.
See: www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple
www.greenpeace.org!
25. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
www.greenpeace.org!
26. GREENPEACE & CASES! GOOD TO KNOW!
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA!
Other example
• Facebook Quit coal campaign
We love Facebook.
500 million people connecting with each other… WITHOUT coal and
WITH renewable energy
>Use all our Facebook friends (600 000) to do the ask @ Zuckerberg
>Combined with dir Comms to Fb staff (offline)
>80 000 comments for renewable energy on Earth Day
Unfriend Coal fanpage, viral video…
www.greenpeace.org!
27. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
Some thoughts
Does Greenpeace love brand attacks?
No
But: we can make you move through your
customers.
www.greenpeace.org!
28. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
Do you actually believe that Greenpeace supporters
are a bunch of hippies?
Your customers are our supporters
Your employees are our supporters
www.greenpeace.org!
29. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
They want to be loyal to you, but…
if their children’s future is at stake,
where lies their loyalty if you are putting that
future at risk?
www.greenpeace.org!
30. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
Why does Greenpeace target you?
> You can make politicians move, by advocating a greener economy.
> By asking what is a matter of common sense: adopt measures that
avoid our climate from going crazy.
> By showing the example, while still making profit.
www.greenpeace.org!
31. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
Is a green economy profitable?
Well, what is China doing right now?
www.greenpeace.org!
32. GREENPEACE & CASES! THE FUTURE OF
GOALS! VALUES! SOCIAL MEDIA! GREENPEACE!
Show yourself a leader
Economy will win
The planet will win
Your children will win
www.greenpeace.org!