Creature London and Woodland Trust, campaigning to fight climate crisis

Maggie Hanson Ads, All News, Creativity

Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, has launched a campaign to fight the climate crisis. Created by Creature London, the campaign coincides with the charitable organization’s re-brand and repositioning, also done in partnership with the advertising agency.

Woodland Trust appointed Creature after a competitive pitch at the end of 2021. Initially, the brief was to help the organization develop a new brand positioning that allowed them to shift perception from a conservation organization for the traditional and conservative to one that represents the wide variety of voices that want to combat the nature and climate crisis. The trust also wanted to grow its supporter base, reaching 3% more of the UK population and attract a more diverse audience. 

That new positioning, ‘Fighting for the health of people and planet with every tree’, firmly places Woodland Trust as a mass brand, speaking to a mass audience about a mass cause. It lives across every element of the trust’s activity: habitat protection, ancient woodland restoration, reforestation, public access, and is a rallying cry for people to join them in the fight for a healthier planet.

Creature then worked to develop a new Visual Identity for the organisation that reflected this new positioning. A distinct departure from their previous branding, the new VI embraces boldness, optimism and the energy required to combat the climate crisis while being inclusive and approachable.

Tim Green, Head of Design at Creature explains:

“We wanted to ensure that Woodland Trust retained its heritage while also modernizing as they shifted from their reputation as tree and woodland experts to the frontline in the fight to stop the climate and biodiversity crisis. The new identity is wholly ownable. The brightness adds a positivity that other activist organizations often shy away from and the use of the oak leaf pattern, using real fallen leaves, means you can’t forget the Woodland Trust’s primary focus.”

Following the creation of the new Visual Identity, Woodland Trust asked Creature London to devise and launch a campaign that would start a movement to get the UK to plant trees to tackle the climate crisis and build awareness of the Woodland Trust’s role in the fight against climate change.

The Plant More Trees campaign launches on the 9th January 2023 across TV, Radio, Social Out of Home and, in a bespoke print partnership with the Guardian, directly addresses people who care about the impact of the climate crisis but don’t necessarily understand the role that trees have in tackling it. Narrated by Tom Hollander (White Lotus, The Night Manager, In The Loop) and directed by Em Cole (1stAveMachine), the TVC boldly shows the things we would lose if we didn’t plant more trees, everything from walks in the park to breathing.

Josh Dando, Creative Director at Creature, explains

“We thought it was time for a refreshing but straight-talking take on saving the planet, rather than more doom, gloom, and guilt. Trees are an amazing weapon against this climate crisis, so championing them – and giving Woodland Trust a clear role with a charmingly sardonic but serious campaign – felt like just what the world needed.”

Ash Kirkpatrick Head of Brand at Woodland Trust adds

“We’re really excited about the launch of the Woodland Trust’s rebrand and have enjoyed working with Creature to bring the creative to life. We are looking forward to continuing to be a champion for UK woods and trees and providing positive solutions for tackling the climate and nature crisis.”

Credits

Company name: Woodland Trust
Director of Brand & Communications: Ruth Hyde
Head of Marketing & Communications: Ash Kirkpatrick
Lead Marketing and Communications Manager: Katherine Boxall
Brand Manager: Ian Edwards
Creative Services Manager: Stuart Davis

Creative agency: Creature London
Chief Executive Officer: Dan Cullen-Shute
Chief Creative Officers: Ben Middleton & Stu Outhwaite-Noel
Chief Client Officer: Hanisha Kotecha
Creative Directors: Steve Dodd & Josh Dando
Creatives: Charles Olafare & Josie Finlay
Head of Design: Tim Green
Senior Designer: Flo Levene
Chief Strategy Officer: Andrew Gibson
Strategy Director: Josh Dickins
Strategist: Alexa Mackie
Head of Integrated Production: Kristie Girvan
Producer: Ellie Hook
Account Director: Sam Dempsey
Senior Account Manager: Alice Mercer

Production Company: 1stAveMachine
Director: Em Cole
EP: Kerry Smart
Producer: Mike Capon
Production Designer: Ben Austin
DOP: James Littlemore
Gaffer: Jono Yates
Camera Assistant: Jago Gourlay
Designer: Will Samuel
3D: Will Samuel, Matt Westrup, Ste Dalton
Compositors: Nick Losse, James Littlemore
Edit/Grade/Online: James Littlemore
Sound Studio: Wave Studios
Sound Engineer: Ben Gulvin
Audio Producer: Katie Buxton

The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK, with over 500,000 supporters. Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has more than 1,000 sites in our care covering approximately 29,000 hectares.

Creature is an independent advertising agency founded in 2011. Creature London is on a mission to make work that real people can’t help but care about for brands with big ideas. Fueled by Intelligent Misbehavior – breaking the rules in the right way for the right reasons – Creature London produces ambitious campaigns that get talked about in the real world: in pubs, at the school gates and in living rooms up and down the country and deliver real results for clients.