Climate advocates launch host of new ad campaigns on Facebook, other platforms
A roundup of the climate conversation across social media this week
Welcome to Climate Monitor, a weekly report on the digital strategies polluters and pro-Climate groups are using to shift public opinion and move legislation. We’ve examined political ad spending on social media platforms, as well as what’s trending on social media. Here’s what we found:
Toplines:
Groups like EnergyBoom, NRDC Action, and Climate Reality launched smart new ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram last week
Climate Action Campaign and Evergreen Action ran video ads featuring President Biden to users streaming on Roku devices
Right-wing responses to the environmental crisis in East Palestine, Ohio continued to dominate organic social media engagement this week
Digital Advertising Roundup
Facebook + Instagram 👍
For starters, here were the top 25 climate and energy-related advertisers on Facebook and Instagram last week:
There were a ton of new pro-climate ad campaigns on Instagram and Facebook last week. Here were just a few that stood out to us:
First, EnergyBoom spent around $6,000 on boosted news ads last week around the gas stove debate, assuring users that “no one is taking gas stoves out of homes” while also highlighting the negative health impacts of the appliances. Most of the ad creative uses clever, conservative messaging to educate viewers on the issue. The group is targeting a bunch of zip codes in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Jersey with these.
Climate Reality also launched new Facebook + Instagram ads last week, promoting a big virtual training opportunity for folks to learn about the specific benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act. Most of these ads seem skewed to audiences aged 18-44.
Meanwhile, NRDC Action launched a set of new ads highlighting how “the devastating impacts of climate change hurt communities of color and low-income communities first and worst.” The campaign is pointing users to a petition urging the Biden administration to do more.
Google & YouTube 🎞️
There were a few Google ad campaigns related to climate and energy issues last week that were archived according to the company’s political ad policies. As a reminder, only ads mentioning a candidate or ballot initiative are publicly archived here.
The Evergreen Collaborative spent $2,500 on these nationwide ads urging the EPA to stop delaying pollution rules, and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters spent $1,700 running this YouTube ad attacking Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s anti-climate policies:
Snapchat 🤳
The only climate-related advertiser on Snapchat ads this year remains Patagonia, which is running small, local-specific campaigns like these around the country.
Streaming Ads 📺
There were a few climate-related ad campaigns running on CTV or streaming services that we spotted last week. First, Climate Action Campaign ran these stellar :30 second video ads on Roku featuring President Biden.
Meanwhile, Evergreen Action ran this :15 second video ad (also on Roku) urging President Biden “to go further, faster” on cutting pollution from the power sector. Roku does not provide spend or targeting information in its digital ad library.
What’s Trending on Social Media
How are climate and energy issues being discussed by Americans on social media? Here were the 15 top-performing public posts (by # of interactions) related to climate and energy on Facebook last week:
The environmental crisis unfolding in East Palestine, Ohio continued to earn high levels of engagement and shares on Facebook last week. Similar to last week, the majority of posts about the crisis came from right-wing sources like Benny Johnson, Glenn Beck, and Tucker Carlson.
Meanwhile, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan shared a video of his floor speech supporting the pending “Willow Project” as “environmentally friendly” in his home state while attacking Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, viral criticism of the Biden administration was just as intense. As a result, engagement on environment, energy, and climate-related posts skyrocketed last week. Here were the top-performing feed posts (excluding Reels & stories) related to climate and energy last week:
Again, right-wing voices comprised the majority of posts about East Palestine on Instagram - receiving hundreds of thousands of views and interactions. They included @thetypicalliberal, FOX News, and Donald Trump Jr:
Weekly Reading
The environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio has everything to do with our dependence on fossil fuels. (Heated, 2/21)
How Did a Viral Story about Whales Go So Wrong? (WNYC, 2/21)
Meet the ‘trollhunters’ battling climate disinformation online (Huck, 2/20)
That’s it for this week! If you enjoyed reading this week’s issue, feel free to forward it to a friend or colleague.
Climate Monitor is a product of the Digital Climate Coalition + FWIW Media.
Tips/comments/questions? Email kyle@fwiwmedia.com