Wavemaker Insider: How advertisers can save the planet, with Sue Fennessy and Rio Ferdinand

In early August, our CEO, Kelly Parker, was joined by Sue Fennessy, Founder and CEO of social platform WeAre8 and footballing legend, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Rio Ferdinand for a fireside chat, where they explored WeAre8’s vision for the future of social media and the advertising industry at large.

WeAre8 is a hate-free social platform transforming how its users (known as 8Citizens) reconnect with one another, and how they engage with ads. Users are paid for the ads they watch, and in addition, a percentage is donated to charities around the world.

Sue shared how WeAre8’s unique user experience guarantees exceptional media ROI while also giving back and reducing the advertising industry’s carbon impact.

Humanity is waking up; consumers are demanding tangible values from brands and we have created a platform for businesses to not just give back to the community they serve but also to the audience that value them.  The WeAre8 technology presents a compelling and ethical social digital platform for brands to communicate with customers, attain their business goals and contribute immensely towards addressing global climate issues.

Sue Fennessy, CEO and Founder, WeAre8

Speaking on the platform’s capabilities, Sue explains that the models are designed to make brands’ entire media spend carbon neutral by delivering campaigns with reduced digital carbon footprint and at the same time delivering 97% Opt-in, 100% View Through Rate, and on average 30% Click Through Rate.

In addition, brands can tap into the in-depth audience insight and gain a deeper understanding of their users from responses and feedback they leave after watching ads. WeAre8 is already delivering transformational results for leading brands such as Nationwide Building Society.

Rio Ferdinand shared how his motivation behind joining the WeAre8 Family stemmed from his desire to contribute meaningfully to society and help transform the lives of as many people as possible.

When asked to advise businesses who may be reluctant to invest early in a completely new platform like WeAre8 Rio said:

Brands have to be brave and consistent to be successful. You have to be ready to step out of the norm to stand out. This is a unique and simple initiative to give back to society, drive business values, engage with your audience and above all save the planet.

Rio Ferdinand

There are exciting developments on the horizon from WeAre8, including a dedicated content feed giving users the ability to create and share their own content, and ensure they see more from their friends and family. This addition to the platform will sit separately to the 8Stage and draw users to spend more time on the platform that really connects them to their friends and family.

At Wavemaker, we have developed industry-first media planning and buying econometrics models to help our clients’ journey towards carbon-neutral advertising. It’s our utmost goal to explore credible options to hit our agency-wide net-zero ambition by 2030. Therefore, we owe it a duty to support our clients in making informed choices that will reduce their advertising carbon emission on the planet.

Kelly Parker, Wavemaker UK CEO

Working with the wider WPP and GroupM networks, and partners that share our values of making a positive impact in the world, Wavemaker remains committed to pursuing growth for our clients.