Empowering citizens to talk about climate change
We helped the City of Edmonton to engage Edmontonians in a conversation about climate change, and reinforce its reputation as a proactive municipality that brings people together to solve complex problems.
Communication design challenge
The City of Edmonton hosted the inaugural CitiesIPCC Cities and Climate Change Science Conference from March 5-7, 2018, an international event for the world’s scientific community working to address climate change. The Change for Climate Community Series was created to support the conference and bring Edmontonians into the conversation.
iilo co-owner Madelen Ortega was engaged to create and execute the marketing and communications strategy for the Change for Climate Community Series on a compressed timeline. This was a complex task, since the series included lectures, film screenings, art exhibits, and science fairs about climate change leading up the conference, and three days of speaker sessions during the conference, at the same venue. The sessions were free to the public and featured local, regional, and international climate change experts, in addition to government representatives including mayors and provincial and federal ministers.
Madelen began with discovery work to build relationships with all the players involved, capture the marketing and communications ideas already identified, and understand the work underway. She wrote several drafts of the marketing and communications strategy, and led many strategic meetings to ensure buy-in from internal stakeholders.
At the execution project phase, Madelen worked closely with team members across various City of Edmonton departments and branches. She led and nurtured relationships with many event partners and sponsors, and was in constant communication with everyone involved. She also managed the execution of a large volume of event promotional materials, including print and digital advertising, billboards, and on-site signage.
Outcomes
The Series was created in the spirit of partnership and community engagement, and was truly a team effort. Madelen made sure her interactions with everyone involved reflected this spirit and reinforced the positive reputation of the City. The Change for Climate Community Series was a success, with solid attendance at each event and extensive local media coverage. The Series took place at the start of the City’s conversation about climate change, which continues today through its Change for Climate initiative.
