Public Campaign as a Design Process

As part of Greenpeace Russia’s contribution to the global “30x30” goal—to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030—we launched a digital campaign to support the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the high seas. This required a new UN treaty to regulate ocean sanctuaries beyond national borders.

We treated this campaign as a design-driven process, using real-time data, content iteration, and user engagement insights to guide our decisions.

1. Empathize

We began by revisiting previous research and campaign results on ocean-related topics. Our tests and surveys consistently showed that users were emotionally engaged with marine life and concerned about ocean health.

To deepen our understanding, we:

• Reviewed social media engagement data from prior ocean campaigns

• Monitored public sentiment around Antarctica and marine biodiversity

• Assessed emotional response to different types of ocean content (e.g., animals, science, policy)

Key insights:

• Ocean protection is a “safe” and accessible entry point for environmental engagement—it’s not politically divisive like oil drilling.

• Content featuring animals (especially penguins) consistently triggered high engagement.

• Users were more likely to engage if the message was visual, emotionally resonant, and actionable.

2. Define

Problem Statement:
Supporters need a clear, emotionally engaging way to contribute to global ocean protection—without confronting political complexity—because they care about marine life and want to feel part of a meaningful global movement.

Additional insights:

• Users wanted to know their actions were part of something real and international.

• Redirecting petition efforts directly to the UN helped avoid national political friction and broaden appeal.

3. Ideate

With our challenge defined, we brainstormed campaign components and user engagement tactics:

• Replacing our existing Antarctica petition with the new global ocean treaty petition (to preserve incoming traffic)

• Using Antarctic expedition updates as core storytelling and visual content

• Emphasizing short-form video—especially Reels—for emotional resonance

• Creating a “thank you” email that asked users to share the petition with friends, with a clear explanation of its importance

• Planning a micro-influencer contest to bring in new audiences via personal campaign links

• Launching an interactive quiz ("Which Penguin Are You?") for broader reach

• Segmenting social ad audiences to test outside typical environmental bubbles (e.g., animal lovers, nature documentary fans)

4. Prototype and Test

We rolled out a live campaign across platforms and tested messaging, formats, and outreach strategies in real time.

Campaign features:

• A global petition delivered directly to the UN

• Expedition-based visuals and storytelling as the primary content

• Reels and Instagram videos, plus a test run of TikTok content

• A short-term influencer contest (2 days), with results showing early traction from local environmental groups

• A fun, interactive quiz that performed well in engagement but lwas ower in signature conversion

Testing methods:

• A/B testing of video and ad creatives

• Tracking performance by traffic source (organic, influencer, paid)

• Segmenting ad audiences by interest clusters (e.g., wildlife, Netflix, science)

• Monitoring donation and conversion rates from each channel