We began with a strategic communications plan to set direction for the series and guide delivery. This included goals, target audiences, messaging, communication pathways, a publishing roadmap and an evaluation framework, so the campaign could be rolled out with clarity and consistency.

From there, we moved into implementation, building a repeatable campaign system that packages each story in multiple formats. The core publishing format is an immersive, scroll-based story experience, supported by a central landing page that acts as the campaign hub and visual index for all stories.

To support consistency across the rollout, we created a set of campaign components designed to work across all stories, including design templates, story modules and a suite of content formats for distribution. Once story material was complete, we selected the strongest options for each story and refined them for release, ensuring every asset felt tailored while still sitting within a coherent campaign system. This included custom illustrations, design templates and story components that can be reused across web pages, newsletters and social media.

To broaden reach and make the stories easy to share, we produced a set of multimedia deliverables for each release, including short story films, photography-led assets, soundscape and audio elements, plus toolkits for partners. We also set up campaign coordination tools, including a Trello-based toolkit system and supporting content calendar materials, to streamline sharing across networks.

The campaign is now live, with stories from South Africa, Uganda, Australia and Canada each published through the same campaign system while allowing space for the distinct context, voices and visuals of each place. The rollout continues through the year, with India and Colombia still to come.

“It has been an immense pleasure working with the Cultivate Communications team on the Beacons of Hope series. This was an important project for us and we wanted to be intentional and thoughtful about whom we partnered with. The team at Cultivate Communications brought their vast experience working with fishers and frontline communities to this project. We are incredibly proud of this collaboration and grateful for the care, creativity and collaboration the team brought throughout the process. Their ability to bring these stories to life with warmth and professionalism made them an outstanding partner.”

– Dharini Parthasarathy, Communications Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food