We asked each team member one question:
Why this, now?
This is what they said.
Helena
Farstad
“As the climate, ecological and social crisis is escalating, the focus on what we need to do to address and prepare for it, must sharpen. We know good communication can change hearts and minds, and it is a significant shift in mindset we are after. This is Agency is looking to, through marketing and advertising, reawaken us all with a call to action to reconnect with ourselves, with others and the natural world. I have not worked on something more important in my life and I feel an agency and hope in a way I’ve not done for a long time.”
Russell
Smith
“My personal actions matter now more than ever. This is Agency offers the possibility of harnessing the power of advertising to end harmful living, by giving us humans agency to change our mindset, and act now on behalf of our client, Earth, our unique home, and home to all the richly diverse life on our planet. With love and optimism, I can give my knowledge to make this possibility a reality now, by dreaming big, and getting the things we know we must do done, at a scale, and a pace not seen before.”
Vincent
Nolan
“We are all complicit in the degradation of our environment, but seem incapable of embracing this truth and acting upon it effectively. We have the tools to adapt to and mitigate the damage, but lack the collective will to apply them at scale. What is required is a mindset shift in us all. To take responsibility, become accountable and feel empowered to act. My career has been helping change people’s minds and with it their choices and behaviour in service of the system that has got us to this crisis point. The work that This is Agency is doing represents the biggest and most important brief imaginable. And I intend to use every ounce of what I have learned to the benefit of our environment and our collective future.”
Becs
Johnson
“I’ve carried the question with me since my first climate march in 2012, how do we make this relevant to mainstream culture? I’m hugely inspired by the work of Joanna Macy (based on deep ecology, complex systems theory and buddhism). Suffering is happening, we know more is coming, and we need a cultural shift in values to live well and support each other in adversity. I really believe that brand marketing skills can help us make it cool to slough off the sickness of affluenza, and collectively value those markers of ‘success’ that bring us back into a place of health and satisfaction with our interconnectivity and interdependence on everything. I’m honoured to be working with visionary, highly experienced and wonderful humans. We have work to do. Join us!”
Ant
Conlin
“I’ve seen first hand how reconnecting with each other and the natural world – in a deep way – can break down barriers and move mountains when it comes to climate action. I’ve seen differences dissolve, red tape evaporate and hearts open wide. It’s the only shot we have to make sure our descendants have a planet worth living on.”
Jamie
Anley
“I feel that every choice matters. What I put out and what I let in. I search for purpose and meaning in my life through what I do and how. Working in the This is Agency team, I find an opportunity to serve our human family in a way that comes naturally. I have loved the experience and opportunity of building brand meaning. And now the only client that I feel deserves all our support is mother earth, Gaia.”
Andrew
Squire
“The interconnectivity and interdependence of all life on earth is, I feel, what gives that life meaning. In seeking to deliver Article 12, This is Agency is addressing the most fundamental and important message for us all to hold in our hearts, and I feel privileged to be part of the team.”
The founding members of This is Agency were brought together through the Moving Beyond community, when they met at the inaugural event at Findhorn in 2021. An event which deliberately coincided with Glasgow city’s hosting of COP26.
Moving Beyond is a multi-disciplinary community uniting business, policy makers, investors and activists to uncover new opportunities for supporting systemic transition.
