Casey Trees
Branching Out with Free Trees
Challenge
Casey Trees is committed to enhancing and protecting the tree canopy in the DMV area, as evidenced by the 50,000 trees the group has planted over 24 years. However, residents of Washington DC’s Wards 7 and 8 rarely agreed to accept free trees for many reasons, including worries about ongoing maintenance. Eighty2degrees was tasked with creating an outreach campaign that overcomes those concerns and encourages homeowners to sign up for free tree plantings in their yards.
Approach
With demographic and media research in mind, we developed two digital ads to target and effectively reach the audience. One ad featured a testimonial from a Ward 8 resident and highlighted the concrete benefits of planting trees for homeowners. The ad’s illustrations feature vibrant, leafy trees and cozy-looking homes replacing barren streets, highlighting the beautiful neighborhoods that can blossom from adding more trees. Our second ad encouraged viewers to “think bigger.” A new tree planted in their yard would improve their space and the neighborhoods and communities they belong to and love. Collage-style illustrations were created with bright colors, patterns, and textures to convey a hopeful vision of what is possible with collective action. Both ads have been a success. Targeting just eight zip codes in Wards 7 and 8, the two ads garnered 322,519 views and 4,270 clicks to Casey Trees’ website over the four weeks the ads ran.
