Turning a global brand’s social media presence against itself

The climate crisis was becoming increasingly visible, but awareness alone would not achieve the campaign's objectives. Greenpeace and UKSCN needed people to take action. Specifically, they needed people to attend strikes, organise events, spread campaign messaging and encourage others to get involved.

With only eight weeks before the global strike, every decision had to focus on one outcome: increasing participation.

The project brought together campaigners, organisers, designers and developers around a shared mission. My role was to help align stakeholders, define priorities and oversee the delivery of the digital products needed to support the campaign.

Given the compressed timeline, it was important to establish clarity quickly.

We facilitated a Theory of Change workshop with Greenpeace, UKSCN and The Small Axe to align on goals, audiences and success measures. This helped identify the key behaviours we wanted to encourage and the barriers preventing people from taking part.

Rather than building digital products in isolation, every tool was designed to support a specific campaign objective. This approach allowed us to focus limited time and resources on the areas most likely to increase participation and campaign reach.

The workshop created a shared understanding across all teams and provided a clear framework for prioritisation throughout delivery.

The project evolved into three complementary products that worked together to support the wider campaign.

The first was a redesigned UKSCN website. Rather than creating a standalone campaign microsite, we chose to strengthen UKSCN's existing platform and integrate strike-finding functionality directly into it. This allowed the campaign to benefit from an established audience while creating a stronger long-term digital asset for the organisation.

The second was Climate Quest, a gamified engagement platform designed to encourage supporters to promote the campaign through social sharing. Users could complete actions, unlock challenges and expand their reach through friendly competition and reward mechanisms.

The third was a social monitoring platform that helped campaign teams identify influential supporters already discussing climate action online. This enabled Greenpeace and UKSCN to focus outreach efforts where they were most likely to generate momentum.

Together, these products created an ecosystem designed to move people from awareness to participation.

One of the most challenging aspects of the project was the timeline.

Campaigns operate differently from traditional digital projects. Deadlines are fixed, opportunities are short-lived and delays can directly impact outcomes.

Working across multiple organisations, we had to balance competing priorities while maintaining delivery momentum. Decisions were made quickly, feedback loops were short, and product scope was continually evaluated against campaign goals.

By focusing on the most valuable features and maintaining close collaboration across teams, we were able to launch all three products in time to support the strike mobilisation effort.

The campaign exceeded expectations.

The UKSCN website attracted more than 780,000 visits in just 30 days, helping supporters discover local strike events and engage with the movement.

More than 200 strike events took place across the UK, while newsletter subscriptions increased fivefold during the campaign period.

Most importantly, the Global Climate Strike became the largest climate mobilisation in history. More than 4 million people participated across 4,500 locations in 150 countries. In the UK alone, around 300,000 people joined demonstrations, with over 100,000 attending in London.

While no single product can claim responsibility for a movement of this scale, the digital tools played an important role in helping organisers coordinate activity, amplify campaign messages and convert public concern into meaningful action.