A new campaign launched by the NSW Government this week is calling on Sydneysiders to dig deep and plant at least one tree at home to help green the city and do their bit for the environment.
The “Everyone Plant One” campaign aims to increase canopy cover to reduce heat, improve air quality, boost shade and contribute to the Government’s priority of planting one million trees across Greater Sydney by 2022.
Director of communications at the department of planning, industry and environment Andrew Parkinson said the campaign leveraged behavioural insights to focus on the benefits of planting trees, using paid digital and social, and targeting influencer comms to reach deep into audiences across Greater Sydney.
“Everyone Plant One – it’s a beautifully simple but powerful message that we’re confident will get backyard and balcony gardens blooming,” Parkinson said.
“We’ve already trialled a similar tree-planting call-out across the department, engaging almost 15,000 staff in one of the most successful internal campaigns we’ve ever run.
“It’s no accident we’ve timed this campaign to coincide with the World Leaders’ Summit in Glasgow this week – every action counts and if everyone plants one it means we can all do our bit for a better future,” he said.
In development of the strategy for “Everyone Plant One” which focused on the key benefits that trees have on both the environment and community the Department collaborated with creative agency Republic of Everyone.
Republic of Everyone founder Ben Peacock said that while people inherently feel that plants and trees are wonderful to have around, they often they struggle to express why.
“Ensuring that people understood all the amazing benefits that trees provide was a key focus in working with the department on the campaign narrative so that people were able to resonate and find value in the act of tree planting,”Peacock said.
“This goes beyond just being a backyard or balcony feature, but rather telling the story of the personal and collective benefits they bring to inspire and educate on why they should get planting.”
Parkinson added that the NSW Government was already more than halfway to meeting its ambitious one million goal, with more than 600,000 trees already in the ground
“Trees make a huge difference to our environment and our lives – they provide shade, privacy, fruit, homes for wildlife and help to cool our communities. They also have immense benefits for our health and wellbeing, let alone adding beauty to a home,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned green thumb or new to gardening – everyone is encouraged to plant a tree, big or small, and register it to make it count.”
As part of the social approach and phase two of the campaign, the Department is also launching a tree giveaway competition via Instagram to drive further interest in tree registrations.
