Wildly Engaging: Making Sustainability Fun for Employees

When you’ve already got a lot on your plate, it’s inevitable that certain tasks need a little extra support to be completed. We were asked to step in and support Aviva to drive engagement around sustainability with a special and creative campaign – to protect our Wild Isles.

The client

Launched on the 1st July 2002 through the merger of two major insurance companies, Norwich Union and CGU plc, Aviva is a prominent player in the global insurance and financial services sector.

With its roots tracing back to the 18th century, when Norwich Union was first established, Aviva's history is deeply intertwined with the evolution of insurance itself.

Over the years, Aviva has consistently adapted to changing market landscapes, embracing technological advancements and expanding its services across numerous countries, and is a market leader in sustainability, becoming the first company to pledge to become Net Zero by 2040. The Company's commitment to innovation and customer-centric approaches has propelled its growth, allowing Aviva to become a trusted provider of various insurance products, including life, health, property and casualty coverage, as well as investment and savings solutions.

The brief

Aviva reached out to us with the primary goal of engaging employees and ensuring they were well-informed about the Company's environmental support initiatives. To achieve this, we were tasked with creating an internal campaign that would ignite excitement and anticipation among the workforce, encouraging them to tune in to Aviva’s sustainability partner, the latest World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) programme ‘Wild Isles’ in advance of the launch of a community fund that would see communities pitch for support to improve biodiversity in their area.

Our solution

We kicked off with an exciting Enthuse creative Heads Together session, generate ideas to create buzz and raise awareness of the programme. Our strategy unfolded in three stages:

1.       Teaser Campaign: Igniting Curiosity

2.      Launch: Engaging Aviva Colleagues

3.      Maintaining Momentum and Nudges: Visuals and Insights

Teaser campaign

We introduced an engaging teaser campaign that seamlessly blended humour and anticipation. Leveraging the viral power of meme culture, we crafted a series of engaging and humorous images that not only tickled the funny bone but also left the audience intrigued. These cleverly designed visuals acted as tantalizing breadcrumbs, hinting at something exciting on the horizon - without giving away too much. By tapping into the relatable and shareable nature of memes, our campaign effortlessly ignited conversations across social media platforms, generating a buzz that rippled through digital communities.

Launch

Two-way communication is one of the best ways to engage employees. With this in mind, we discussed ways in which we could encourage colleagues to send in their feedback. Initially ideas included short ‘piece to camera’ videos that would be shared on the Aviva intranet site, but following further discussions, we decided that voice notes would be easier for colleagues to record at home.

This was the Comms Team’s first campaign, and we wanted to help them make this a success from the get go. So we incentivised colleagues and their families to send in their reviews by creating a ‘Wild Isles Watcher Box’, filled with goodies from the WWF and a small local supplier with strong environmental credentials, which we saw as a win-win for both small businesses and sustainability. To make these boxes even more special, we added stickers with the WWF and Aviva logos and sealed them up with a personal touch.

Now, to make sure everything looked awesome, we teamed up with our super-talented illustrator, who worked magic on the artwork for these boxes. Inside each box, we included a handy briefing note to give colleagues clear instructions on how to share their voice notes and stories effectively.

It was also really important to prioritise data protection. We worked closely with the Aviva team to make sure that all employee data was kept safe and sound throughout this whole initiative.

Momentum and Nudges

Sustaining the campaign's momentum was a top priority, and we employed some inventive strategies to keep the energy high. First off, we spruced up our email communications with captivating banners and playful memes, infusing a youthful and exhilarating spirit into our messaging. But that was just the beginning. To provide our audience with a deeper understanding of our mission, we ventured into the Aviva intranet, filling it with engaging images accompanied by delightful fun facts. What made it even more impactful was weaving in information about Aviva's initiatives and contributions in these areas. This dynamic combination of visually appealing content and informative insights not only maintained the campaign's vibrancy but also reinforced our commitment to making a positive impact in the areas the organisation cares about.

With the variety of voice note reviews received, the Aviva team was able to create an impactful internal video using highlights from the episodes capturing the most-loved moments by colleagues and their families also acting as a reminder of some of the interesting facts from the series.

The results

Our campaign delivered some fantastic results! Out of the 38 boxes sent, a remarkable 60% recipients took the time to review the programme. And to make it better, we even received reviews from other colleagues who didn’t receive a box, showcasing the engagement and enthusiasm within the employee community. Colleagues also got their families involved in the reviews, inspiring the next generation to appreciate our wildlife and protect its precious habitats.

Moreover, the intranet pages received substantial attention after each episode, with Episode 3 being the most well-received, attracting 1,083 readers. In addition, our sign-up article, "Fancy yourself as the next David Attenborough?", drew a whopping 2,480 individuals, a 62% increase in page engagement, highlighting the appeal of our initiative.

And despite the Comms Team being unsure of how many people would request a box, we were ecstatic to have 236 signups!

The Aviva team said: “We published the article at lunchtime, and by the end of the day we’d had over 100 signups! It was remarkable. In response to the brief we had so  many creative ideas to take and use  in the future across the wider sustainability campaign too. As a relatively newly-formed campaign team we wanted to try something different and this definitely did the job. The feedback from colleagues was really positive and they loved it.”

When the BBC series came to a close, Aviva was able to make the announcement about the WWF community fund with the knowledge that it had a receptive audience internally, with engaged colleagues who were willing to act as advocates for this important topic. 

The Enthuse difference

We're able to support companies of all sizes when their internal comms teams are too busy running the day-to-day comms to reach some of the other tasks on their to do list. Our knowledge and experience help us to plan strategically - while also being creative and coming up with innovative ideas. It wasn't just about innovative solutions; it created a culture of collaboration and empowerment.

By working with local suppliers, we were eco-conscious, staying true to our environmental policy. All together, these actions prove that even when faced with challenges, we can make a difference and inspire others to do the same.

If your internal comms teams has a project on its plate that you just can't get to, give us a call on 07812 343310 or email us at hello@enthuse-comms.co.uk.