Steel is a foundational material of our modern world. From wind turbines to energy-efficient buildings, to electric vehicles, many of the innovations central to the green economy of the future rely on steel. But making steel can also be highly carbon intensive — the global steel industry accounts for 8% of the world’s total CO2 emissions. If the world made steel the way Nucor does, it would offset the entire global airline industry. Twice.
Nucor is continuously searching for ways to reduce our carbon impact by advancing circular production and accelerating the development of clean energy solutions. For the past 50 years, Nucor has pioneered sustainable steel that emits 70 percent less carbon dioxide per ton of steel than the global average. This innovation is embedded not only in their products and processes but also in their culture. Nucor has never backed down from hard problems and encourages others to join them in rising to the challenge of industrial scale decarbonization.
While Nucor's sustainable innovation has been an incredible feat, there was just one issue: customers, investors, and policymakers didn’t understand the Nucor difference. Especially because competitors were announcing ambitious commitments with less substance.
Lippincott helped showcase Nucor’s sustainability credentials and commitment to being a leader in industrial scale decarbonization. From construction to wind turbines to electric vehicles, steel is critical to the green economy.
To break through as an industrial player that is also a leader in sustainability, Nucor needed to show more than tell to get past the abstract promises that many were making about the future. Nucor and Lippincott worked together to develop “Made for Good,” a customer-facing 360º brand campaign showcasing Nucor’s commitment to sustainability with a distinct visual direction intended to break the norm for industrial and manufacturing ads.
“Made for Good” centers around a series of provocative questions highlighted in a green tag paired with CGI animations—drawing viewers into the complex challenges around sustainability and engineering.
The future-inspired look and feel of the campaign displays Nucor’s products and clean energy solutions against a pristine white background, intended to break the norm for industrial and manufacturing ads. Subtle hints of green are incorporated into the products to evoke Nucor’s leadership in sustainability. “Made for Good” centers around a series of provocative questions highlighted in a green tag paired with CGI animations —nodding to the descriptive labels typically found on retail products—that serves to draw viewers to the complex sustainability and engineering challenges that Nucor continues to ask and answer. The short chapter movies, created in partnership with motion studio Tendril, add an extra dimension to the storytelling and bring the visual strategy to life.
As the brand works across the industrial sector, Made for Good carries an evergreen story that can evolve while championing its partnerships and innovations. Results from the “Made for Good” campaign showcase that Nucor is finally being recognized for its longstanding commitment to sustainability. The campaign received 27M impressions across digital and social channels and is 7.5x above benchmark for digital display and video CTRS and 2.5x more efficient on social than industry benchmarks. What’s more, the campaign even garnered attention from a LinkedIn rep who acknowledged the sky-high level of engagement following a 100% brand lift on the platform.
The launch was so buzz-worthy that SXSW invited Nucor to participate in their sustainability programming at this year’s conference, alongside leaders at Microsoft and The United States Department of Energy.
