There’s a fantastic climate influence lesson in today’s NPR Morning Edition coverage of the Beyonce and Taylor Swift documentary successes at the box office.
Yes - a climate influence lesson.
Bob Mondello talks about the key to their massive ticket sales is that they could make a deal directly with AMC Theatres - and avoid film distributors.
How could they do that? They could guarantee they’d fill seats.
How could they do that? They’ve been building engagement and social capital with their fans, building resilient trust and representing the high quality of their work for years.
Everything they did in the years before the key moment of releasing their films emboldened them. They knew they COULD guarantee a strong audience. And, they knew they could activate that audience at key times.
This is exactly why climate influence is so important to build, and why it continues to be an untapped tool in this fight. Those corporate and political leaders who’ve been building a personal brand over the years, engaging with stakeholders on even one platform, and establishing a history of being authentically driven by climate values, have the social capital to then activate at key moments - like ClimateWeek, COP or when they have a product or policy launch announcement.
They are also the ones most accessible to media, because media see them online talking/engaging/contributing - and so know they’ll be responsive as a source or resource.
Want to work around the established culture of leadership from a pedestal with me?
There’s so much gold in the business brilliance of both Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Climate influence is yours for the building, folks.
I’m going to be launching an audio conversation about this over on my Swellcast later today.
I will also be launching a premium Swellcast subscriber climate influence and media relations series there soon. That’s where I will serve up more examples, discuss climate influence theory, share insights that have bubbled up via my client work, interview folks and host Q&As.