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Tactic 3 case study: 350 International Day of Climate Action

To inspire people to organise climate change actions around the world, 350.org created an animated video about climate change. The animation uses strong visuals and does not use any words, meaning that no one language is required to understand it. The primary concept is the number 350, which refers to "the number scientists say is the safe limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," says Phil Aroneanu of 350.org. "We knew if we were going to do this campaign globally, we could use this number to get everybody talking about it." After 350.org made a mock-up of the video using Microsoft Paint software, Free Range Studios designed and produced the full animated version using Flash. The animation was published on 350.org, as well as on YouTube and Facebook. DVDs of the video were sent to groups and television stations in regions where internet access made downloading the video difficult. On the success of the animation, Phil says, "It's hard to call it an organising tool, but it's a way to hook people in, get them to the website so they can think about what they want to do. It also has that cool factor - people feel like they are in on something. On the downside though, it doesn't actually help people understand 350 as much as I'd like, since it is so quick. The thing I hear most often is, 'that's a cool video, but what's 350 again?'" Though the animation was expensive for 350 to produce, it established a strong graphic identity, and they were able to use that imagery consistently in all of their materials.

Tools used: YouTube and Facebook Page with 10,000 members. Orkut, MySpace, Twitter. Zandy, an "event-organising tool like Facebook Events, translated into many different languages."

Reach: Video had 100,000 views over one year on YouTube. Campaign is global, with nearly 30 staff and interns and close to 100 live actions planned worldwide.

Cost: USD$10,000 for the video. Ongoing staff costs to manage and implement the project.

Resources: The outreach campaign was built from networks of campus-based activists in the US, and expanded internationally through climate change summits and conferences. "Collaboration is what lets us run on almost no budget,” says Phil. “We're not just using a network, but creating one.”

Time: Three months to create the video. Campaign total time from end of 2008 to early 2010.

Level of Difficulty: 3 out of 5

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