Introduction
CBD in-house communications professionals teamed with the UN Foundation, Washington, Terry Collins & Assoc., Toronto, and communicators within the UN and other allied institutions to launch the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 on 15 September, 2020.
Five years in development, GBO-5 presents
* comprehensive scientific evidence of the growing crisis of biodiversity loss
* a final report card on global targets set in 2010 for achievement by 2020
* lessons learned over the decade
* and transformative changes needed in eight areas to reach new targets under negotiation for 2030 as well as the world’s ultimate vision: 'Living in harmony with nature’ by 2050.
The campaign generated extensive media attention, helping to further elevate awareness of biodiversity loss as a threat to human well-being comparable to climate change.
As of 16 October, 2020, references to GBO5 had been captured in 33 languages from more than 3,200 different online news outlets in 106 countries and territories. In all, over 3,200 articles have appeared online; potential impressions, in aggregate, 10.9 billion.
Over 165 million potential impressions were generated also via social media, and countless more via print media (newspapers, magazines), television, and radio.
Overall strategy
Strategic communications planning and preparations began several months in advance, including research and liaison to confirm or identify specific contacts in key media outlets and non-governmental partner organizations worldwide.
Pre-launch (Jan 2020 - Sep 2020)
Main objective: awareness raising, with focus placed on the scope, scale and significance of GBO5.
Other goals: identify and activate partners, allies and advocates and media.
In early 2020, the team also successfully negotiated the right to offer media select studio portraits of endangered species taken by Joel Sartore / National Geographic Photo Ark.
Six of the 18 photos depicted bird and mammal species spared from extinction in the wild by conservation measures since 1993, as documented in a research paper published a few days before GBO5.
A “Primer” about the GBO5 report, right, showing the original May 18 launch date, was first sent to thousands of media and NGOs prior to the post-2020 Framework Open Ended Working Group meetings in Rome in February.
The primer described the report's main topics, objectives, and timeline.
Most importantly, it provided media with a dedicated email address to apply for accreditation, which entitled them to advance, embargoed access to the report, news release, and complementary materials.
Updated with the new Sept 15 launch date, the primer was resent in late August, and again in early September to media who had not opened the email. Its reach was extended on the social media channels of the CBD and partner organizations
Using the primer as the basis of discussion, leading journalists were followed up by phone and email.
In all, about 140 journalists were accredited for GBO5.
Major non-governmental and other partner organizations were similarly engaged, and a sophisticated multi-partner social media effort was undertaken to inform and expand reach into key stakeholder constituencies.
The primer was complemented by a video version for social media channels.
In addition to Joel Sartore's still images, the team solicited the contribution of "B-roll" video material from UNEP and IPBES.
Post-launch social media materials, including VIP "quote cards" and key messages, were prepared.
All of the media resources, along with the GBO5 report in full and the Summary for Policymakers, were placed in an online folder (the GBO5 Trello Board), available exclusively to accredited media and NGOS under embargo one week prior to the launch.
Embargoed interviews
One week prior to GBO5's preview at SBSTTA and virtual news conference launch, the news release was issued and a series of advance interviews began with key media outlets and a small group of spokespersons, led by Elizabeth Mrema and David Cooper in Canada, and Tim Hirsch and IPBES experts in Europe.
At left, Elizabeth Mrema, David Cooper and Tim Hirsch being interviewed by Reuters reporter Matt Green in London
.
Tuesday, 15 Sept:
The virtual news conference, conducted as a GoToMeeting webinar, attracted almost 300 viewers on a live YouTube feed.
During the nearly 90 minute news conference, reporters' questions, received via three channels -- email, via GoToMeeting, and as YouTube comments -- were centrally vetted and fed via WhatsApp to moderator David Ainsworth.
When the embargo lifted at the start of the news conference, the release debuted on the CBD website homepage and media stories started to appear online.
Coverage was largely accurate and conveyed the key messages.
Highlights included this full page article in The New York Times with a front page "throw" on Weds. Sept 16.
A syndicated version of the Times' story was published by Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail ...
... and in several other newspapers worldwide
BBC's coverage of the story included an interview by Victoria Gill with Elizabeth Mrema
Meanwhile, the Associated Press Television Network distributed a 7 minute video package, including interviews with David Cooper and Paul Leadley, to television newsrooms worldwide
David Cooper was also interviewed by NBC Lx, a US specialty news channel aimed at younger viewers
Original online and print coverage by prominent news organizations included full page articles in
and
Key influencers and their headlines
The Associated Press, "World isn’t meeting biodiversity goals, UN report finds"
Reuters, "As world falls behind on U.N. wildlife targets, bright spots offer hope"
Agence France Presse, "World missing all targets to save nature, UN warns"
Xinhua, China, (translated) "UN report: Continued loss of biodiversity increases the risk of disease transmission, click here;
Washington Post, 1) "A decade ago, the world agreed to 20 biodiversity targets. It did not meet any of them" 2) "World isn’t meeting biodiversity goals, UN report finds"
National Geographic "The world missed a critical deadline to safeguard biodiversity, UN report says"
Scientific American, United States, "Global Biodiversity Is in Free Fall"
CNN, United States, "World fails to meet a single target to stop destruction of nature, UN report finds"
Science, United States, "The warning lights are flashing.’ Report finds nations failing to protect biodiversity"
The Hill, USA "UN report: Countries have failed to meet a single target to protect wildlife in the last decade"
BBC 1) "Extinction: Urgent change needed to save species, says UN; 2) "Biodiversity: UN report says ‘it is not too late’ to stop the world’s wildlife crisis"
Times of London, "Survival of forests offers glimmer of hope amid habitat destruction"
The Guardian, "World fails to meet a single target to stop destruction of nature – UN report"
...and many others
By the numbers
As of noon, Oct 16
Total number of hits at online news sites: ~3,200
Different news sites that ran one or more stories: 2,245
Languages: 33
Countries / territories: 107
Potential impressions (online only, does not include TV, radio, newspaper print editions): 10.9 billion
Amplified by partner organizations in the UN Communications "Flotilla" group, social media coverage of the report launch was extraordinary, with more than 10,000 tracked social media ‘mentions,’ (potential impressions: 168 million), including 6,900+ tweets and retweets captured between 15-17 Sept.
Links to coverage were shared via the social media channels of hundreds of major influencers, including Inger Andersen, Patricia Espinosa, Helen Clark, and celebrities Ed Norton and Bianca Jagger
The Secretariat issued 28 GBO-5 posts between 1 and 19 September, including 11 live tweets during the launch, generating 450,000+ total impressions.
#1 post: Initial publication announcement (linking to press release)
This tweet generated 72,000+ impressions (compared to CBD's average of about 12,000 in September); 2,600+ interactions; 3.7% engagement rate (compared to our average 1.4%); 450 likes & 420 retweets
#2 post: GBO5 video primer, tweeted 6 Sept.
62,000+ impressions; 1.5% engagement
#3 post: #HappeningNow announcing the start of the news conference
52,000+ impressions; 1.4% engagement
GBO tweets had average reach of 16,000+ compared to our overall average of 12,000 impressions per post in September. (September average is also significantly higher than long-term average, partly because of GBO coverage)
Finally: Photographer Joel Sartorre took over the CBD's Instagram account, generating 8,000 hits with his turtle video alone. And the CBD account increased by 2,000 followers
Web traffic, www.cbd.int, Sept 2019 vs Sept 2020
CBD.int had its third highest number of hits in 2020 during the GBO5 launch week (after International Day for Biodiversity, and OEWG in February).
Traffic to CBD.int is generally at its highest during a meeting when delegates need to access documents.
Since the launch of the new site, in December 2019, daily traffic has trended higher than ever previously recorded.
It is difficult to compare web traffic to GBO4, released on the first day of COP12 (October 2014).
The UK Science Media Center collected expert reactions to the GBO 5. Comments include:
“A masterly synthesis of over 650 references linking biodiversity of life on the planet with major stressors..." Prof James Crabbe, Wolfson College, Oxford University
“Outlines a path that we know is not just needful but possible." John Spicer, Professor of Marine Zoology, Plymouth University
“Brings together the highest quality evidence on the state of nature across the globe and should be commended." Professor Jane Memmott, President, British Ecological Society
“Helps to articulate why the belief by some national leaders that socio-economic development must happen at the expense of environmental protection is flatly wrong." Professor Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
“A monumental assessment of our planet in peril." Professor Tom Oliver, Professor of Applied Ecology, University of Reading
“If anyone says 'The science is still out', then they’re wrong: the science is in ... We have to recognise that we’re in a planetary emergency. If we carry on with business as usual, we will all be out of business.” Professor Andy Purvis, Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London
“Evidences that we continue to see substantial and serious declines globally in the status of biodiversity and have failed to meet many of the targets set in 2010." Professor Rob Brooker, head of Ecological Sciences, James Hutton Institute, Scotland
“The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 report needs to shock policy makers as much, if not more, than David Attenborough’s Extinction the Facts BBC documentary has shocked the public." Alexander Lees, Senior Lecturer in conservation biology, Manchester Metropolitan University
“National governments, including our own in the UK, have made multiple commitments to tackle the biodiversity crisis, but the GBO5 makes clear that we are failing.” Dr Andrew Terry, Director of Conservation & Policy, Zoological Society of London
By every measure, GBO5 was a resounding communications success. The coverage it received, via both traditional and social media, was overwhelming.
The coverage successfully communicated key messages and enhanced CBD's reputation as a world-leader in advancing biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the other values of nature to people.
It has also served as an important scene-setting narrative for the UN Global Biodiversity Summit Sept 30.
The GBO5 Communications Team
Kieran Noonan Mooney, GBO5 coordinator
David Ainsworth, Communications Officer, CBD
Johan Hedlund, Associate Information Officer, CBD
Margaret Egbula, Communications Officer, CBD
Sean Nauth, Strategic Public Policy Specialist, CBD
Mateusz Banski, Branding expert, CBD
Franca D’Amico, assistant to the Information Officer, CBD
Terry Collins, President, TCA.tc, Toronto
Justin Kenney, Senior Advisor for Ocean and Climate, UN Foundation
Monica Dean, Manager, Energy, Climate, and Environment, UN Foundation
With special thanks to
Ailis Rego, Office of the Executive Secretary, CBD
Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, UNEP
UN Communications "Flotilla Group"
Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary, IPBES
Paul Leadley, GBO5 contributor and Professor, Universite Paris-Sud
Sir Robert Watson, Former Chair, IPBES
Rob Spaull, Head of Communications, IPBES
Patrick Tonissen, Communications Officer, IPBES
Juliet Heller, London Associate, TC&A
Julie de Bouville, Beijing Associate, TC&A
Marshall Hoffman, Washington Associate, TC&A
Liam Costello, Toronto Associate, TC&A
Jean-François Desmarais, CBD Consultant
Emma Cronin, UN Foundation
Lindsay Filgas, UN Foundation