SECTOR: SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
21st Century Timber
A Platform for Advocacy
Scope: The hardwood timber industry was facing a perfect storm of commercial and political challenges combined with a slew of natural disasters.
These threatened not only the social licence of the industry, but the livelihood of thousands of business owners and their staff.
Canvass was brought in to rebuild the industry’s brand, influence and advocacy capability over the long term.
Methodology: Working with the Board and CEO of the peak association, it became clear there was a lack of structured, science-based information about the sector, leading to confusion and misinformation.
Working with in house experts and creative agencies on a tight budget, Canvass developed, wrote and produced core communications platforms, programs and infographics for the industry. Communications were structured such that over time, diverse campaign modules could easily be added.
Over many years, Canvass was a trusted support and adviser, developing and drafting communiqués in response to regulatory initiatives, industry working groups and parliamentary inquiries.
Driving Change: The communications platforms unified the industry around a common set of science-based messages + economic indicators.
Effective advocacy provided media, government and supply chain stakeholders with a firm understanding of the scope, scale and science of the sector - and its role in abating climate change in the 21st century.
The advocacy served to:
manage political risk
rebut misinformation campaigns
elicit and direct government assistance
Ultimately, Canvass worked with our client to steer the industry effectively through its many challenges and opportunities.
