During the promotional video, the message needs to be clear to the audience that even small changes have a net positive effect on the environment.  Berglez & Al-Saqaf (2021) argue that public discourse centered on climate change needs to be open and inclusive. This communication approach will avoid what Berglez & Al-Saqaf (2021) call the typical "us vs them" approach. This method of discourse effectively splits the conversation into two sides; those who believe and those who are skeptical or non-believers.
Furthermore, Berglez & Al-Saqaf (2021) found that in social media contexts, and especially Twitter, users tend to engage with other users who hold conflicting opinions and beliefs.

This article is useful for my message as I initially wanted the video to be direct and have a strong impact. However, this article indicates that climate change hesitant/deniers will not respond to the message if they are not included in the conversation.

As the target audience for the promotional video is young adults aged 25-30, the message must be communicated in a way that encourages participation. Parry, McCarthy and Clark (2022) caution that modern climate change discourse places many young adults with a sense of climate change anxiety. This reported concern originates from a sense of despair, perceived hopelessness and a lack of clear direction. 
Additionally, Parry, McCarthy and Clark (2022) found that young adults recognised social media’s ability to reach a wide audience, though some expressed unease about the rise of mis-information and dis-information. 

Surveyed young adults recommended that climate change discourse adapt to the modern audience by:

a)      Increase access to climate change education
b)      Appeal to message recipients’ abilities and motivation to positively impact climate change 

c)      Include young adults in climate change conversation, decision making and education. Many respondents stated that involvement strongly encouraged motivation 

d)      Promote constructive stories and skills associated with positive climate change

This article tells me that my promotional video needs to appeal with intelligence and empathy. The target audience is more inclined to respond to the message if there is an avenue for two-way communication.

A coffee consumption survey conducted in 2020 found that single use, take-away coffees have increased in popularity recently to an estimated 118 billion units per year. With an estimated compound growth rate of 1.8% per year, Triantafillopoulos and Koukoulas (2020), believe that by 2025, single use coffee cups will reach 294 billion sold units. Typically, disposable cups are constructed from expanded polystyrene (EPS). EPS is notoriously damaging to the natural environment for several reasons: it is non-recyclable, wildlife eat it after confusing it for food and it is highly buoyant, which means during travel if a piece ends up on water, it remains there forever (Triantafillopoulos and Koukoulas 2020).
In Australia alone, over 2.7 million EPS cups are used every year, which adds over 50 million tonnes of waste to landfill every year  (Triantafillopoulos and Koukoulas 2020) . 

The quantitative data presented in this journal article proves to me that the promotional message must be told in a succinct manner that proves the environmental impact we have, often without our knowledge.

The message I wish to promote is climate change is a force that is already taking effect. However, with little changes in your daily life it possible to reduce your waste and therefore, overall impact on climate change. Changes include, but are not limited to: using human movement to get from point A to point B (walking or riding a bike), buying products that only use recyclable materials and using a keep cup for coffee.
 

This video will be different as it will target university students who are aware of climate change, but feel they are overall helpless.  It does appear and feel to many people that the challenge is far greater than one person can handle. However, if we as a community make minor changes, the changes can and will be felt throughout the greater population.


   

 

Bryce, E, What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce, video, YouTube, April 22 2015, 31/03/2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8>. 

 Carrick, L, Single Use Coffee Cups, video, YouTube, February 4 2019, 01/04/2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYzmjazltyI>.  

 

Parry, S, McCarthy, SR & Clark, J 2022, Young people's engagement with climate change issues through digital media – a content analysis, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 30–38.

 

Smith, KM, Lamm, A, Kanchewa, FM, Borron, A & Holt, J 2021, Arguing for Argument's Sake? Exploring Public Conversations around Climate Change on Twitter, Journal of Applied Communications, vol. 105, no. 4, p. 3.

 

Triantafillopoulos, N & Koukoulas, AA 2020, The Future of Single-use Paper Coffee Cups: Current Progress and Outlook, Bioresources, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 7260–7287.