Global Narrative Testing for Climate Action

The campaign needed to understand which climate messages resonated most effectively across different political, cultural, and geographic contexts. With audiences spanning the United States, Kenya, India, Brazil, and the Philippines, a robust testing framework was needed to identify high-performing narratives and creative concepts that could cut through in diverse media environments.

The initiative sought to build support for a global roadmap to halt fossil fuel expansion and support a just energy transition — but needed data-driven evidence about which messages, messengers, and creative approaches would be most persuasive across radically different audience segments.

Global Wave Digital designed a comprehensive digital narrative testing program built around eight distinct creative concepts tested against five key audience segments across the United States, Kenya, India, Brazil, and the Philippines.

The team conducted extensive A/B testing using statistical analysis and performance modeling to isolate which messages, visual approaches, and messengers drove the strongest response by geography and demographic. Real-time reporting dashboards were developed to enable rapid iteration and data-driven decision-making throughout the campaign.

Influencer engagement and creative development were deployed alongside paid media to test how different distribution approaches affected message performance, helping the initiative build an evidence base for future climate communications investment.

The project generated 8.7 million impressions and 144,000 engagements across five countries, producing a rich body of evidence about climate message resonance across diverse audiences and geographies. The data helped the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative understand which creative approaches performed best — and why — informing future campaign investment and communications strategy.

Positive, future-focused narratives consistently outperformed fear-based messaging across most markets, while youth audiences demonstrated the strongest and most consistent engagement with climate content. The findings provided actionable strategic guidance for scaling future advocacy efforts.

• Positive, future-focused narratives often outperformed fear-based messaging across most audience segments and geographies tested.

• Youth audiences consistently demonstrated strong engagement with climate content, representing the highest-value audience segment for sustained investment.

• Message effectiveness varied significantly by geography — strategies that worked in the United States required meaningful adaptation for audiences in Kenya, India, Brazil, and the Philippines.

• Data-driven testing improved campaign performance and strategic decision-making, enabling the initiative to allocate resources toward the highest-performing message and creative combinations.