On June 5 and 6, Justdiggit launched its new campaign. The campaign calls on everyone, in line with the UN's "Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)," to go green on a large scale to keep our earth cooler and livable.
In collaboration with Dutch artist Don Diablo and American rapper Ty Dolla Sign, a new song "Is it too much to ask" is launched to launch #Streamtoregreen. This new Justdiggit campaign is greening 1m2 in Africa for every 25 streams, so consumers can listen to their favorite music and green it at the same time. In addition, streaming platforms provide a unique opportunity to tell Justdiggit's story. A win-win situation!
To put it all in perspective, we asked Wessel van Eeden marketing and communications director at Justdiggit, what preceded this.
Wessel, can you give an introduction of yourself and Justdiggit?
Wessel van Eeden, marketing & communications director and board member at Justdiggit since 8 years. Before that I worked for 7 years in the same role at Dance4life and before that I worked at ID&T as marketing lead at the time of the first Sensation. Justdiggit is a Dutch NGO that restores ecosystems in Africa to keep the earth cool and livable and engages the world through awareness campaigns.
This week marks the launch of Justdiggit's new major campaign. What ambitions and goals do you have this year?
This year the UN starts the "Decade on Ecosystem Restoration" and Justdiggit is a proud partner of it. With our campaigns we want to show people, companies and governments that nature restoration is 37% of the solution to the warming of our beautiful earth. It also has a huge positive impact on food and water availability, biodiversity and even migration. It is the most scalable and affordable solution to almost all the challenges we face. This is why it is super important to develop positive, solution-oriented campaigns - there is already enough negative news! Together with a network of national and international media partners, the Justdiggit campaign will be visible in 26 countries this year, fully sponsored, we are very proud of that. The world is waking up to nature restoration and that's a good thing.
Justdiggit just rebranded can you tell more about this development?
We have been working with a number of partners since 2013, such as STROOM and HavasLemz. STROOM provides our media buying and advises us on media strategy. HavasLemz is our creative heart and together we developed the Justdiggit brand and established and developed the brand identity. Last year during one of our weekly meetings they presented, completely unsolicited, this new brand identity, we were immediately won over. The look and feel is younger, more urgent and more personal. An invaluable gift. It is impossible to express in money what such partners mean to our green mission.
What are the main focal points anno 2021 and did they change when you started?
Whereas initially we focused primarily on our own greening programs in Kenya and Tanzania, we are now scaling up in Ethiopia, Uganda, Madagascar and Togo, among others, with major partners and adding our communications and technology to existing programs to make them more efficient and larger. In addition, we really see our awareness campaigns as a necessary program. Because if no one is aware of the solutions, they won't get there.
Can we still save the world?
As Theo Maassen once said so beautifully, "the planet will save itself" but we as humanity are at a critical point, if we don't make a real change of course in the next 10 years we will reach a so-called "point of no return" and species and ecosystems will be lost that we will never get back. In addition, we have very little to no time left to reduce CO2 emissions and store them again through vegetation to stay under the 1.5 degree warming as we agreed in the Paris climate accord. So yes we can still save ourselves, but time is not on our side!
Where are the opportunities/growth for Just Diggit?
Our positive, visible approach is gaining traction and appreciation. There also lies our scaling potential, innovating together with existing programs through (mobile) technology and communication. Ultimately, we want to inspire 350 million farmers to farm differently. To change behavior, communication is essential.
How do you look at working with STROOM?
STROOM is a supporter of the first hour. At STROOM the foundation was laid for the approach described above. Without STROOM Justdiggit would not be where we are today and could never have greened so much. When we started we focused our campaigns with Desmond Tutu, André Kuipers and Floortje Dessing more on fundraising than awareness. But organically we have grown together and we are very grateful to STROOM for that. In addition, it has always been a personal click with the team.
How do you see your personal growth development?
Because of the growth I have to "let go" more and more, you can't get involved operationally with all the campaigns and social media posts anymore. Fortunately I have a super team that is really unique which allows me to focus more and more on the big picture, I get a lot of pleasure from that.
What energizes you privately and professionally?
From traveling to Africa, working with so many great partners, the momentum Justdiggit is in right now. From my four-year-old daughter and being able to tell her I have truly done all I can to create a livable planet for her!
