Sustainability with McKinsey & Co

There’s a lot of noise around sustainability. Much of it is white noise!

A lot of advice, a lot of hope, a lot of good intentions, pledging, wishing and target setting. It’s hard to know where to turn or who to listen to.

This is where Bloomberg Media Studios and McKinsey & Co. come in. To cut through the superfluous and get past the obvious to get to the very heart of the problem.

The requirement from Bloomberg Media Studio's was to deliver a video series that tackled the big sustainability questions being asked with expert advice from McKinsey & Co.

As a precursor to McKinsey’s activities at COP28, in 60 seconds, the team at Bloomberg wanted the McKinsey & Co. partners to debunk myths, share new research and insights, and offer practical advice in a piece of engaging content.

Each video was also to end with a call to action to direct viewers to McKinsey’s COP28 microsite.

The primary goal of the "Where Do You Stand?" campaign was to foster a nuanced dialogue around critical topics shaping our world.

By leveraging the power of visual storytelling and the McKinsey & Co. expert insights, the campaign aimed to encourage audiences to contemplate their perspectives on issues ranging from sustainability to business growth.

To us, it made perfect sense to agree/disagree with a 'statement' but given that Bloomberg wanted to have a question that the McKinsey partners would be addressing, we thought it would be more fitting to have a 'YES & NO path to take within their responses.

So we suggested two routes McKinsey & Co. partners could go down; Yes & No. Each answer was to have a different colour to represent the partner's choice and statement - 'Yes' Green and 'No' Blue.

We wanted each of the partners to pick one of each routes so each film had not only a different 'colour' but stance as per their response.

The result, each question and answer formed its own episode of the video series based on the "Where Do You Stand?" concept.

In this creative approach we are fusing themes of future and nature, and inviting viewers to go deeper, to join us on the path of discovery and find their own position. We are not trying to convey that there are easy solutions, but we can have clear intentions and beliefs along the way.

The world of the film investigates how things are when you go beyond the surface appearance. Like turning a microscope on an object, or seeing its innate structure, perceiving things anew allows a deeper understanding and more considered opinion.

To get to the core of the questions (and illustrate our stance) we used stunning 'X-RAYs' as the visual metaphor for going 'deeper', enabling us to to give in-depth expert advice.

However, the X-ray's were't those of human skeletons as we are familiar to seeing, instead they were X-rays of nature (trees, flowers, animals, insects) and 'business' (items like scales for balance, light bulb, office, home, recycle, carbon emitters etc).

Inspiration - Nick Veasey

One distinctive aspect of the campaign was the decision to leverage CUBE Studio's virtual production stage. This choice aligned seamlessly with the sustainability message of the campaign, emphasising the commitment to innovative and environmentally conscious production techniques.

By utilising virtual production, CUBE Studio minimised the need for traditional, resource-intensive film shoots.

The virtual production stage allowed for the stylistic environments and graphics as part of the creative without the ecological footprint associated with extensive travel to a location and physical set construction.

This approach not only adhered to McKinsey's sustainability values but also set a new standard for eco-friendly content creation.

Furthermore, the shoot was in one location, CUBE Studio's Virtual Production stage, ShootBlue restricted travel for the delivery and collection of kit. This not only optimised logistics but significantly reduced the carbon footprint, aligning with the campaign's sustainability goals.

Also as part of our commitment to sustainability, CUBE Studio is exploring the use of AdGreen's carbon calculator for upcoming projects. This tool will enable us to track and manage our carbon footprint more effectively, contributing to a greener, more sustainable future.

In conclusion, this collaborative effort exemplified how strategic planning, creative execution, and cutting-edge technology can converge to deliver a powerful message.

CUBE Studio, alongside its partners, played a pivotal role in bringing McKinsey's vision to life, contributing to a more sustainable and visually captivating discourse.

For more details, feel free to watch the videos and join the conversation on sustainability.