Green Voice

Ströer presents sustainable communication solutions at GREENTECH FESTIVAL

Read more

Catharina, you've been involved in the topic of sustainability for a long time, including as founder of the Meet Momentum agency and initiator of the social and economic movement "Sinnflut - for the future of the healthy city." You have been working for Ströer since the summer of 2022 and are responsible, among other things, for the sustainability channel "Green Voice". What is the idea behind the channel?

Catharina Enderlein: The channel has been an integral part of the Infoscreen program since 2021. We use the reach of our medium to give good projects, meaningful commitments and sustainable initiatives a boost. The idea behind the channel is not "just" to play out news that revolve around the topic of sustainability, but to present concrete projects and let experts from science, the #NextGeneration and many other areas have their say with their diverse opinions and assessments. We give those a voice who are committed to the environment, the climate and more social justice and sustainable developments on a daily basis. We want to offer a platform to those who are really active ones with their different topics and approaches and we are seeing a lot of interest from the ever-growing content community. This is not about making money, it is about creating reach for the issues of our time and moving the urban space with maximum responsibility. Hopefully, more and more dialogues will grow that will push our sense of community both locally and nationally.

How is the sustainability channel received by the public?

Catharina Enderlein: The reactions are consistently very positive, especially when it also creates tangible actions or 360-degree connections to other channels. New forms of communication always need the right momentum to grow. This momentum has now arrived, and many citizens appreciate it. According to current surveys, positive communication, i.e. solutions, concrete local developments, more context, for example on the UN's 17 Sustainable Goals, is perceived as particularly beneficial. This form of communication is close to my heart personally, because I have always relied on the push of positive through positive. This is a perfect fit for a medium that can act quickly and Infoscreen has also enjoyed people's trust for around 30 years. Now more than ever, this "companion in everyday life" needs to be used for the new type of communication. We have found that our medium has a direct and immediate effect in public spaces. In the form of DOOH, it reaches a great many people in a very short time and can thus create attention for the most diverse projects and also raise awareness. It reaches everyone democratically and without restrictions. That's why campaigns of this kind and also any content formats are a central and particularly effective instrument for communicating important social concerns and accompanying transformation processes. There is a balance to be struck, one of well-researched journalism, local neighborhood content, and also advertising itself. Locally more classical to strengthen retail, nationally more and more in the form of likewise strong storytelling, which increasingly focuses on communicating values and actions. I myself have worked in both worlds and that's why I find this mix particularly exciting.

Why do you think public video (DOOH) is the right channel for sustainable content?

Catharina Enderlein: The wide media reach of our media creates awareness for sustainable and social action throughout society. It promotes good developments and social unions in favor of issues that move us all. We can embed these in the urban space with the wide reach of the public video network in the form of digital out-of-home, DOOH, and ensure as far as possible that everyone in the general public is reached. That's fair and equitable. In my view, the medium itself is only at the beginning of its multifunctional development, and with it, of course, the fields of action that are now rolling out for all creatives. Here is the connection between analog and digital that we are looking for today. Even back when I started at Jung von Matt with "communication in space", this environment fascinated me. Today, it is possible to move much more in real time with DOOH. Inform, inspire, interact and bring movement into the urban environment. Together with city officials, NGOs, universities, and especially with creative people, we are pushing these new forms of communication and processes. This will certainly result in more 360-degree communication, which will also help to make the city as a whole sustainably smart. My wish for us as creatives is that we transform the challenges of our time into opportunities and make them tangible in the form of communication. Collectively, we have extraordinary opportunities. A tipping point in the best sense.

What is your vision of a sustainable city of the future? And who is most called upon to make it a reality now?

Catharina Enderlein: The sustainable city of the future relies on cooperation, connection and community. Everyone is needed here. An interplay of city leaders, business, science, politics and each individual citizen. The city of the future is based on active action and the understanding that our developments are dynamic and circular. We ourselves have it in our hands. We live in an urban space that we perceive as beautiful because many people actively help to shape it. We rely on participatory processes and thereby develop the natural sense of responsibility to respect the beauty of nature and the value of resources as a matter of course and deal with them in a correspondingly appreciative manner. We see intelligent innovations and technologies as a means of bringing all this together and making it possible for the first time. They combine with social innovations that bring the human element back into focus and ensure greater balance. Cooperative and collaborative activities also anchor themselves in the economic system and make it clear that more can often be achieved for everyone in the process. The sustainable city of the future is full of life, and this is expressed in architecture, connected infrastructure and communication that consciously focuses on diverse conversations and forms of interaction. Let's shape these positive visions of the future together, make small interim successes visible along the way, and dare to do more "learning by doing." Communication and creativity in their most colorful form are more essential than ever to make such a vision a reality. It is time for clear horizons!