Heading into the holiday season, KSV was tasked with developing a campaign unlike any other for its most-important client: Mother Earth.
The goal? To help the American Forest Foundation (AFF) continue its critical work to support family forest owners and the forests they care for by diversifying its donor base with a compelling, poignant social media campaign.
Families and individuals currently own the largest portion of U.S. forests - over 290 million acres - more than the amount by the federal government or corporations. Yet only 20 percent of landowners – many of whom inherited their land – have ever received professional assistance from a forester. With the help of donors across the country, AFF works to create opportunities and resources for these landowners so they can protect the forests we all depend upon.
Right now, there’s a huge opportunity to expand the organization’s donor outreach to target the many diverse groups who care about the environment on a personal level. To help fully carry out its mission, AFF needs the support of both the longtime environmental advocates who have long embraced sustainable brands and the weekend hikers and bikers.
Navigating a pandemic and amidst the litany of political, economic, and social upheavals wrought by 2020, not to mention simultaneously contending with the thousands of holiday marketing messages saturating audiences across the social media landscape, we knew that we would need to tell AFF’s story in a way that not only differentiated the organization but also caused audiences to stop scrolling through their newsfeeds and pay attention.
Reaching across the Atlantic Ocean, we partnered with London-based mixed media artist Chris Kenny to tell the story of the danger facing our nation’s forests. Kenny carefully packaged and shipped 15 of his twigsaints creations to us, providing us with the arresting visuals necessary to help humanize trees and the threats they’re up against. The resulting campaign video illustrates the profound connection humans have with trees. And the immense danger facing both:
Turning appreciation of nature’s beauty and tranquility into activism is the ultimate end goal for the six-week campaign. With Gen Zers passionately seeking to proactively make the world a better place and millennials determined to see the impact of their donations, AFF is striving to deliver more help to the families who own and care for our forests. You can learn more about the campaign and the work AFF is doing here.