The brief:
Interest in climate science and our changing climate has never been so great. Expertise is being sought out to help guide and inform people in making good decisions about how they respond to the climate emergency. Demonstrating UK leadership is a Government priority in achieving net zero. As a world leading player in the delivery of climate science and services, Met Office wanted to develop a core positioning and tone of voice that would increase reach and engagement amongst all stakeholders but particularly with the general public. Ultimately Met Office want to become the number one destination for climate science, guidance and advice.
Our approach:
Understanding that we needed to tread a fine line to ensure that the trust and impartiality inherent within Met Office overarching brand positioning, the climate challenge needed to be rooted in fact and evidence. We also needed to ensure that in delivering a compelling and actionable message to the general public our positioning and tone of voice would land well and align with the work of key Government partners, business customers and the scientific community.
We looked first at the key drivers of change amongst policy and public along with key stakeholder positions and related world exemplars. We then conducted a broad and wide series of interviews; internally to establish where the science and marketing opinion might meet and externally where Government, Business and Scientific Communities might align.
We looked for gaps and differentiated positioning opportunities before finalizing a positioning platform. We then developed three optional executions to demonstrate how the platform might be brought to life for communications with a strong call to action. These then went into online concept testing amongst the UK Public, UK SME audiences, internal and external stakeholders.
The results:
Each of the three developed concepts received over 80% approval from the concept test with the preferred execution receiving over 90% approval from the target audiences. Considered clear, relatable and confident, the positioning (embargoed) recognizes that only the best climate science will enable us to build the resilience we need to face the challenges of the future. By linking the facts to real life situations, it emphasises that Met Office is perfectly placed to help people and organisations prepare for the future, whether that be for today’s weather or the climate environment yet to come.