In 2018, Citi returned as a lead partner of Global Citizen Festival (GCF) for the 7th year. The event brings together top music with world leaders with the mission of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and making progress toward the Global Sustainable Development Goals. As a global bank connecting millions across the world, we occupy a unique position to effect change and enable progress on theseSDGs. Our aim was to build visibility of the Citi & GCF partnership via Citi’s digital footprint and generate increased visibility for the actions that Citi is taking to support the mission of GCF.
Objectives of the program were:
More than just a vehicle for self-expression, the human voice can be a vehicle for social good. No matter what you stand for, or what you speak on behalf of, your words and ideas have the power to affect change.
We transformed our social channels into an online megaphone for artists, speakers, and festival attendees to share their stories. We amplified their voices as they shared the power of taking action to make the world a better place.
We divided our “Voices of Change” campaign into three phases (before, during, and after the festival) and assigned tactical strategies to each of them. We developed a Citi+GCF ad mat as a guiding light, and maintained one cohesive look throughout.
Prior to the festival, we ignited passion around GCF’s mission. We edited footage from 2017 to tell the story of actions taken and voices heard from the previous year. The posts tied the power of the collective to the voices of individuals, helping to set the stage for our campaign.
During the festival, we engaged our audience by showing the human face of the event in action, showing the power that people can have when they unite. Through interviews we conducted with activists and Citi cardmembers, portraits of attendees, and short, stylized videos utilizing GCF’s megaphone as a symbol of our amplification, we shared our passion for the partnership and while simultaneously inciting action through delivering a message of social good. By using our content vehicle, we drove awareness of critical areas in need of global improvement while empowering consumers to use their voice, influence and existence to help others and the world we all share.
Following the last day of the event, we extended the campaign by telling stories of long-term impact. This included a longer-form interview with Forest Whitaker about his personal motivation and journey to activism and philanthropy, and a recap video that tied everything together - utilizing atmospheric footage of the festival cut with clips and quotes of activists, culminating in different voices repeating, “speak up!”
Our campaign was successful across both of our objectives.
