Brands Use OOH to Drive Alignment with Climate Week New York

September 20, 2023

It is officially Climate Week New York and brands are utilizing America’s most visible media network to educate, raise awareness, and align with the event. Now in its fourteenth year, Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event comprised of 400 events and activities across the city. The event attracts business leaders, politicians, and civil society representatives to strategize and champion positive change. Climate Week runs from Sept 17-24 and is hosted by Climate Group, an international non-profit whose purpose is to drive climate action fast.

The Farmlink Project has been OUTFRONT’s corporate partner since 2020. Together, we used Times Square, one of America’s most public stages, to share how repurposing food waste can also fight climate change. Leveraging the timeliness & contextual relevance of Climate Week NYC the creative boldly repositions Food Waste from a Climate Crisis to a Climate Solution. The Farmlink Project has a bold mission to put itself out of business. In other words, create a world without food insecurity so that organizations like themselves no longer need to exist by streamlines the supply chain so that 0% rather than 30-40% of food grown in the US is wasted. For now, they are a crucial link between agriculture and food access in America.

Listen in to our interview with Aidan Reilly, Head of Partnerships at the Farmlink Project after seeing his company’s messaging lie in Times Square for the first time.


Farmlink is not the only business leveraging New York (and the world’s) attention on climate change this week. In total, eight different brands are mentioning Climate Week in their creative on OUTFRONT’s New York media. We will touch on three, from vastly different categories, below.

OceanX Media is utilizing one of our newer media formats, Livecard MAX, with their immersive experience that educates commuters on the (likely) unknown values, benefits, and uses that coral reef provides. The creative uses full motion video to transform the subway car into an underwater experience where rotating stats and statements appear like “This isn’t just reef. It’s the world’s best hurricane insurance,” “Yeah, this reef is pretty. Did you know it could cure Alzheimer’s?” and “Reef supports thousands of species. Did you know humans were one of them?” And perhaps the most chilling… “Climate Change isn’t just about making the subway hot. It could wipe out 90% of the reef by 2050.” The Reef Frame Your World campaign also contains a QR code in which people can explore more about the benefits of the reef and learn more about the people who are fighting to save it.


We all know all too well that single-use plastics are a huge issue when it comes to the environment. L’oreal took to the streets to share their efforts in limiting its footprint by sharing the Sense of Purpose campaign. The core messaging is that 78% of the plastic they used in 2022 came from recycled sources, with tagline: Create the Beauty That Moves the World.

 
Lastly, United Airlines brought playful primary colors and a familiar character from Sesame Street for a special edition of the alphabet on subway cars citywide. United’s newest employee is Oscar the Grouch, Chief Trash Officer, and he is sharing all the different kinds of trash the company will repurpose as fuel. This is part of their greater effort and investment in achieving net zero by 2050. The airline boasts to be leading the race in investment in sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. This technology will blend agricultural and household waste with conventional jet fuel, significantly reducing lifecycle CO2 emissions. Pretty soon Oscar won’t be the only one obsessed with the benefits of trash!


Interestingly, all the campaigns used a QR code adding to the growing trend of brands leveraging the QR code to provide a gateway for consumers to learn more about the campaign, the business, or take a desired action. In fact, according to BlueBite, 72% of consumers have scanned a QR code in the past month.

While Climate Week is only seven days, we recognize that Sustainability is a key focus for most brands and businesses this year. While inflation has caused purpose to take a back seat to value for many other causes, sustainability still drives consumer behavior. According to Nielsen, 31% of consumers are more likely to buy sustainable products and 47% have done so recently. Not surprisingly, this percentage jumps significantly when looking at Gen Z, with 75% of the demo ranking sustainability higher in importance than brand names.

Concerns regarding the negative impact climate change has on the world are here to stay and we expect more brands to share complementary messaging beyond just NYC Climate Week.

STUDIOS are experts when it comes to creative that makes people feel – or that makes them buy. Contact us to learn more.

Author: Liz Rave, Vice President, Marketing @ OUTFRONT

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