Campaign to protect Mumbai’s biodiversity and take action for climate change
Situation
Ministry of Mumbai’s Magic is a collective that focuses on using creative and social power to protect what makes Mumbai magical.
Ask
Create a compelling, action-oriented two-part social media campaign to communicate the need to:
Protect Mumbai’s biodiversity, have open spaces and grant flamingos a protected status.
Take action for climate change in Mumbai.
Client: Purpose
Winner of Gold in Integrated Graphic Design for Social Change at Indigo Design Awards 2020
Background
Of Mumbai’s 30 square kilometers of open space, only 10 square kilometers is actually available and being used–a minuscule 0.88 square meters, or approximately just 9 square feet, per person.
- NY Times, 2012
Limited land space and rapid expansion has put the biodiversity of Mumbai at risk - since 2001, Mumbai has lost more than 22% of its green cover, with continuing development shrinking and dividing green spaces and destroying habitats for key regional species. More critically, its mangroves which function both as buffers against flooding and as carbon sinks that are four times more effective than other forests, are rapidly being destroyed by land reclamation, construction, and waste disposal. Studies have demonstrated that 50% of the city is under threat of regular flooding by 2050.
Because of the coronavirus lockdown, an unusually large number of flamingos were spotted in Mumbai, otherwise a rare sight.
Insights
There is absence of a progressive climate movement led by young Indians: The climate movement in India is fragmented, and lacks a strong coalition between technical experts and the young Indians willing to mobilize.
Young Indians have a growing interest in politics and the environment and expect brands to take a stand on social, political and environmental issues.
Target audience
Mumbai millennials who are independent and value their freedom. They love all things pop culture and care about issues like climate change, gender equality, human rights and justice. They are super active on social media and engage with brands that stand for important causes with shared values. They believe change can happen if we come together as a society. They need to be guided in the right direction to do their bit in contributing to Mumbai’s recovery to help the city achieve a world class mark.
Objectives
Highlighting the need for open spaces for flamingos and people to co-exist and thrive in Mumbai.
Leading general and topical conversations around climate change and its impact on Mumbai.
Approach
We followed a mixed media art based approach, to show a lack of space through ‘very Mumbai’ things that people witness in their daily lives. We also took topical conversations and contrasted them with spaces that flamingos require to thrive.
We emphasised on the lack of open spaces and the lack of conversation around it.
The idea was to drive home the sense of urgency when it comes to climate change. It involved taking a dig at all things Mumbai that are impacted by climate change.
We also leveraged pop culture lingo and emojis that were relatable to Mumbai hipsters and correlated it with climate change.
The communication tone was young, fun, quirky with subtle sarcasm in places, making these problems feel solvable. Keeping our audiences in mind, we wanted to stay away from intimidating and boring jargon that alienates people.
Climate Action in India | #WeTheChangeNOW
Created the video for UN Day 2021 in less than 24 hours for an event which brought together youth climate champions and policymakers to showcase green solutions pioneered by young Indians, and to discuss the future of #ClimateAction in India.