CAUSE-DRIVEN CAMPAIGNS: HOW WE MOTIVATED YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME “CLIMATE HEROES”

WWF is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations. Its mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s environment so that people can live in harmony with nature in the future.

Its main objectives are:

• Preserving biodiversity
• Ensuring the sustainable use of renewable natural resources
• Reducing pollution and irresponsible consumption

The task

WWF Bulgaria approached us with an exciting assignment — participation in a competition for a major educational digital campaign. The campaign aimed to empower young people aged 15-25 in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and the Czech Republic and encourage them to take more decisive action against climate change.

The objective was to inform and reach young people across these countries and motivate them to become “Climate Heroes” by actively participating in WWF-organized initiatives.

HOW THE “CLIMATE HEROES” CAMPAIGN WAS CONDUCTED

The campaign was implemented in three rounds. After each round, WWF selected 15 young people aged 15-25 who became content creators and climate advocates — the Climate Heroes.

After every round, the previous group of Climate Heroes trained the next one, creating a sustainable knowledge exchange model.

The main campaign topics included:

• Climate change in our daily lives
• The connection between our lifestyle choices and climate impact
• Personal contribution to combating climate change

GOALS OF THE “CLIMATE HEROES” CAMPAIGN

The Climate Heroes were encouraged to create local initiatives funded by WWF. These initiatives competed at a regional forum alongside projects from the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Romania.

The ideas were diverse — sea festivals, eco-workshops, art installations, educational initiatives, and more.

OUR DIGITAL STRATEGY APPROACH

We began by identifying the most relevant communication channels and touchpoints, aligned with the competitive environment and communication landscape.

We researched audience attitudes and derived key insights that helped define both macro and micro campaign goals.

Together with the WWF team, we followed these steps:

1. Defined and aligned campaign goals
2. Analyzed tools, channels, and strategic approaches
3. Established KPIs
4. Tested continuously
5. Validated results and scaled performance

The campaign ran for two active years and was executed in three main stages.

1.  Starting point: Comprehensive Strategy

• Defining goals, target audience, and key messages
• Structuring a detailed marketing calendar
• Creating the key visual identity
• Designing the landing page
• Developing the social media content strategy

2. Building the Creative Platform: Landing Page

The “Climate Heroes” creative platform came to life through the following six steps:

3. Campaign Implementation

• Defining the media mix and allocating media planning resources
• Setting up analytical tracking tools
• Launch preparation and activation
• Continuous testing, validation, and optimization
• Detailed reporting and accountability after each campaign phase

WHAT WE ACHIEVED – DATA AND RESULTS

Google Ads – Display & YouTube

• Over 1.3 million impressions
• Over 150,000 video views
• View rate exceeding 50%
• Best-performing audience: custom affinity users interested in the environment, climate change, and nature conservation

Social Media Campaigns

Formats included post engagement campaigns, video campaigns, and remarketing story formats.

• Over 108,000 people reached
• More than 440,000 impressions
• Traffic campaign generated 206,000 impressions and reached 40,000 unique users
• Post engagement campaign reached 14,300 people and generated 1,586 engagements

Analytics Data

• Over 3,600 website sessions
• Generated by approximately 3,000 users

Direct Campaign Impact

First Wave:

• 49 young people trained from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and the Czech Republic
• Creation of thematic YouTube channels, podcasts, documentaries, educational seminars, and urban installations
• Three initiatives recognized at the regional online forum

Second Wave:

• 68 young people trained from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and the Czech Republic
• Regional forum held in Brno, Czech Republic, with 33 participants
• Three initiatives recognized as overall winners

WINNERS OF THE WWF CLIMATE HEROES CAMPAIGN

1. A participant from Romania who organized a seminar inspiring teenagers to recycle waste creatively, giving new life to unused materials.

2. A participant from the Czech Republic who built a bicycle that generates electricity, allowing users to charge their smartphones while pedaling.

3. A team from the Czech Republic that launched a fun initiative to improve air quality around their school, actively engaging classmates.

Conclusion

At Xplora, we work with great dedication and enthusiasm on the causes supported by WWF. Over the years, we have collaborated on wildlife conservation projects, Earth Hour initiatives, sustainable food system campaigns, and many other meaningful topics.

We are grateful to Xplora for our joint work together, who repeatedly embrace the challenging task of conveying our messages to people.
It is valuable to work with such professionals, but even more valuable to know that behind every email, phone call, meeting, presentation, there are empathetic, supportive people who take the work and cause of the client as their own.

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