CMG Fellow Results: An Increased Interest in Banning Single-Use Plastics

CMG Fellow Ayla Fox and partner organization Sailors for the Sea (SFTS) have been hard at work on their joint video campaign - and their measurement results are proof that viewers are intrigued.  After launching their first video this past August the Sailors for the Sea website saw a 74% increase in visits.  The video was shared by over 100 media outlets and boating organizations, and displayed on social media and YouTube giving Sailors for the Sea a large digital presence.  After only one week up there were over 100 new subscribers to the Sailors for the Sea email list.  Already SFTS plans to use the video for further advertising campaigns in 2017.

This first video, Talking Trash, cleverly shows land-based athletes attempting to play sports with garbage and plastics impeding them from successfully doing so.  The message?  These athletes don't expect plastics and trash to get in the way of their athletic performance, so why should sailors?  Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean. That’s enough to cover every coastline on earth. Sailors for the Sea is working to stop this problem at the source by eliminating single use plastic and they need viewers to get involved.   The end of their video encourages viewers to "Join Our Crew" and get involved with ending ocean pollution.  The video launch was timed with the Summer Olympics to speak to the athletic community and viewers, and, with, the relatable water quality crisis going on in Rio, the video caught some great attention.  

CMG connected Ayla and with Sailors for the Sea after introducing they worked together on a concept video at the CMG Oceans Catalyst Workshop in July of 2015. Ayla worked on the team as an independent filmmaker, and Hilary Kotoun, the Social Impact Director for Sailors for the Sea brought organization goals and concepts to the workshop so the team could complete a short concept film.  As both Ayla and Hilary reside in Rhode Island it seemed a natural fit to pair them together and work on building a campaign for Sailors for the Sea.  After their initial concept video was completed at the workshop we awarded Ayla at $10,000 CMG Fellowship to assist Sailors for the Sea further in using video to make an impact and build capacity.

Check out Talking Trash below:

CMG Fellow: Ayla Fox & Sailors for the Sea / Talking Trash from Conservation Media Group on Vimeo.

....And stay tuned for Ayla and Sailors for the Sea's next video, set to launch early November!