TckTckTck

An open campaign convenes a global movement

In 2008, leaders of global environmental and development NGO's came together in an unprecedented alliance to grow public awareness around the impacts of climate change and the level of collaboration required to address them. Their hope was to substantially influence the upcoming UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.

The newly created "TckTckTck" campaign contacted Communicopia to develop a digital campaign strategy and build TckTckTck.org. Structured as an "open-source campaign", they needed help to use digital to support each partners' campaign, grow a larger movement, and achieve the difficult political ends. Despite ambitious goals, an intense timeline, complex dynamics between partners, and a highly emergent campaign plan, we sensed a chance to influence history and decided to give it everything we had.

Weaving a networked movement

We started like we always do, by listening. Our audience were our NGO partners, each with different visions for TckTckTck's role - in the real world and online - and different agendas as well as turf they were trying to protect.

The digital strategy needed to be nimble, open and adaptive to a constantly shifting landscape. We had to coordinate the network and be a key player within it, adding value where we needed to and disappearing into the background when others needed the credit.

Our digital vision focused on four streams: aligning the messages of the key players (calling for a "Fair, Ambitious, and Binding" deal); aggregating the actions of everyone in the movement; connecting key players to collaborate, share intelligence, and coordinate actions; and presenting the diversity and power of the movement to media and leaders at major political moments.

From social media to being the media

While building TckTckTck's complex website, video, mobile and social apps and other tools, we wasted no time in aggressively growing the campaign's social networks and influence in the blogoshphere. By supporting and connecting existing leaders and shining light on their best work, we created a sense of collective purpose and momentum. The result was a powerful network of supporters who shared our content, plus a private community of leading bloggers, green editors, and digital campaigners that become invaluable going into Copenhagen.

Our strongest work was using online to strengthen real world activities, grow networks, and spread ideas. This was reflected in our support of three major global days of action that engaged millions of people in every country on earth, the rapid response aims set by daily collaborations of our NGO policy leaders, and our creation of the Fresh Air digital media Center during the talks themselves.

Making Copenhagen a moment in history

Although Copenhagen did not produce the hoped for results, TckTckTck as a force to unite movements was a major success. Our digital campaign helped re-frame climate as a human issue that needed attention now. We aggregated a constituency of over 17 million ‘global citizens for climate action’. We influenced and connected media communicators to fight the spin from entrenched interests. And we convened moments of unprecedented behind- the-scenes and public collaboration among many of the biggest social change brands on the planet.

We also showed that open campaigns are the future. Many of the organizations who participated actively in the TckTckTck campaign have been inspired to include more open, movement-focused campaigns in their efforts. No other structure would have facilitated such rapid growth, global collaboration, media influence, and people-powered network-effects, while building relationships and growing a movement that is still ready to fight for a better future for everyone. 

In 2010 TckTckTck's digital campaign won a "Game-Changer" Award from the We Media Foundation, was short-listed for a Webby Award for world's best advocacy campaign, and listed by The Guardian as one of the Top 50 climate tweeters in the world.

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