Future:Media:Change

This advertisement from Oceana greets delegates landing at CPH

I’ve been hearing reports from those already arriving in Copenhagen that the marketing campaigns have begun. Oceana advertisements greet delegates and campaigners as they land at CPH. Oceana’s advertising campaign centers on reducing CO2 emissions to achieve atmospheric levels of 350 parts per million (ppm) or less as soon as possible. The three ads by Oceana are placed at the airport, mass transit and along the major highway leading to the Bella Centre. I admit it took me a few minutes to get the point of the ad: The “Total,” meaning what it will take for you to have a diving vacation or eat seafood in the year 2050 is “350 ppm.” It’s a bit policy heavy for my taste, but I suppose that is their audience.

Media teams work tirelessly to place their stories in the publications they know (or assume they know) that politicians read. Ads that great delegates are a brilliant way to cut out the middleman and go straight for their marketing target.  Sure, most Heads of State will be routed around the public’s transit points, but their staff and delegates will get a healthy dose of Mad Man goodness. The only question is whether the deep pockets of the Big Evil Energy Beasts will outspend the NGOs, both in the ad spaces and within the exhibition at the Conference itself. Developing…