Guide
How brands can reach sustainably minded shoppers with Earth Day advertising
Earth Day is an ideal time for brands to communicate with consumers about their products with sustainability features and sustainability practices. With more consumers worldwide taking sustainability into consideration during their shopping journey, brands can be proactive about authentically engaging sustainably minded shoppers throughout the year, particularly with Earth Day advertising campaigns.
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Global consumers are increasingly prioritising sustainability when making purchase decisions. According to the 2023 Higher Impact report from Amazon Ads, 66% of global consumers are actively seeking out brands that are sustainable in their business practices—a 6% increase from the previous year. With more consumers worldwide taking sustainability into consideration during their shopping journey, brands can be proactive about authentically engaging sustainably minded shoppers throughout the year and particularly through Earth Day advertising campaigns.
First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day, which takes place on 22 April, is an annual event that marks the birth of the environmental movement. Today, more than 1 billion people worldwide celebrate Earth Day as a way to inspire global, national and local policy changes to take action in the fight against climate change. Given the reach and visibility of this global event, Earth Day and the month of April as a whole (known as Earth Month) are excellent opportunities for brands to communicate their sustainability efforts and messaging to consumers.
Leading up to Earth Day throughout the month of April, many brands time big sustainability-focused campaigns to the event. These campaigns typically start in March and run through Earth Month in April.
What is Earth Day?
First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is an annual event marking the birth of the environmental movement. Today, more than 1 billion people worldwide mark the day as a way to inspire global, national and local policy changes to take action in the fight against climate change.
When is Earth Day?
Earth Day takes place annually on 22 April. The founders chose this specific day because it falls between spring break and final exams, with the hopes to maximise student participation.
Why do we celebrate Earth Day?
The late Gaylord Nelson, a US senator from Wisconsin, first proposed the idea of an ‘environmental teach-in’ on 22 April 1970 as a way to inspire student action and education about environmental issues. Over the past 50 years, the event has spread worldwide and expanded to focus on the urgency of addressing climate change.
Where is Earth Day celebrated?
Earth Day is celebrated in more than 190 countries across the world and mobilises 1 billion people annually.
When should I start advertising for Earth Day?
Because more consumers today are actively seeking out brands that are sustainable in their business practices, many brands advertise more-sustainable products year-round. Leading up to Earth Day throughout the month of April, many brands schedule sustainability-focused campaigns to coincide with the event. These campaigns typically start in March and run through Earth Month in April.
What can brands do for Earth Day?
During Earth Day and throughout the month of April, brands can prioritise communicating with customers about their more-sustainable products and sustainability efforts. Brands have many opportunities to reach customers with sustainability messaging through advertising campaigns, special deals, video ads, events and more.
Three Earth Day marketing campaign ideas
Below, we run through examples of successful Earth Day and sustainability advertising campaigns to inspire your next campaign.
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During Earth Month in 2023, General Mills worked with Amazon Ads and Fire TV to help support the National Park Foundation (NPF) through the Stream It Forward programme. Through this Fire TV cause-marketing initiative, audiences were incentivised to stream video content to help raise money for the NPF, an organisation that protects and enhances America’s more than 400 national parks for present and future generations. During the Press Play for Nature campaign, which ran from 1 April to 26 April, Amazon donated $1 for every hour of select nature content streamed on Fire TV.
General Mills and Fire TV worked with Prime Video to select nine nature titles that would educate and inspire viewers during Earth Month. Their selections included Wildest Places, a 2019 nature docuseries showcasing extraordinary natural habitats, and The Pollinators, a documentary about beekeepers. Throughout the campaign, these titles saw a 30% increase in streaming, and Stream It Forward reached its goal of raising $100,000 for the NPF, with General Mills matching that donation.
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With a commitment to being climate positive by 2030, Logitech works to innovate with Sustainability in mind while being transparent with their consumers about Sustainability through advertising and messaging.
About 1 in 3 Logitech products are made with second-life materials—a figure that continues to increase. Along with the Next Life Plastics programme (to produce products with recycled plastic), Logitech remains focused on designing out carbon with recycled or more efficient materials in products and packaging. The brand also has a Carbon Clarity programme through which they commit to carbon labelling on all of their products in order to be held accountable and provide transparency for consumers.
To support these efforts, Logitech uses their Brand Store on Amazon and their Amazon Ads campaigns. The Climate Pledge Friendly programme, which highlights products with first- and third-party sustainability certifications, features Logitech products that meet sustainability standards, supports Amazon’s commitment to help preserve the natural world and recognises products with improvements in at least one aspect of sustainability. SCS Global Services has recognised Logitech products with their Carbon Neutral Certification, meaning the product’s carbon emissions have been measured and reduced, with any remaining emissions offset.
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At the 2022 Cannes Lions festival, coffee company Lavazza and Amazon Ads debuted the documentary film Amazonia – The Final Season. Narrated by Ben Harper, the film is a love letter to water and the rain forest, highlighting the Lavazza Foundation’s efforts to preserve the forests of Peru. To help inform customers about this project, Lavazza and Amazon Ads used Fire TV ads and display and video ads. In the US, placements amplified Amazon’s Stream It Forward programme, where Amazon donates $1 to charity for every hour streamed.
