Global Commission on the Economics of Water
Strategy
Campaigns
Media
The Global Commission on the Economics of Water was established by the Government of the Netherlands to address one of the world’s most pressing systemic challenges: how water is valued, governed and protected in a changing climate.
Led by internationally recognised Co-Chairs Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mariana Mazzucato and Johan Rockström, with Henk Ovink as Executive Director, the Commission brought together leaders across economics, climate science, policy, governance, finance and frontline practice.
Cultivate Communications was brought on to co-lead the global communications strategy and lead delivery across creative, digital, social, editorial, media support, reporting and campaign workstreams.
The engagement covered the full arc of the Commission’s mandate: establishing the brand and message architecture, launching Turning the Tide at the UN 2023 Water Conference, sustaining momentum across global policy moments, and supporting the launch and dissemination of the flagship final report, The Economics of Water: Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good.
From the outset, the work was designed as a sustained global communications programme. The Commission needed to put water on the global agenda, build a constituency beyond the traditional water community, and give Co-Chairs and Commissioners the tools to communicate clearly across policy, finance, business, climate, food, youth and multilateral spaces.
Working with Co-Chairs, Commissioners, OECD Secretariat and research teams, Cultivate helped shape the Commission’s positioning, messaging architecture and narrative framework. We led the creative and digital delivery, including the brand identity, website, report microsites, publication design, social media assets, video and multimedia content, campaign toolkits, monitoring and evaluation, and regular communications reporting.
Phase 1 focused on preparing the Commission for the UN 2023 Water Conference. Cultivate supported the launch of Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action, with a campaign spanning report production, a dedicated microsite, media materials, thought leadership, paid social, video, print assets, a press conference and an SDG TV segment at UN Headquarters in New York.
Media was central to the global communications strategy. For Turning the Tide, the report was released under embargo ahead of the conference to avoid being lost in a crowded launch week. Journalist briefings with Co-Chairs, targeted international pitching, op-ed placement and clear message discipline helped establish the Commission’s framing before the conference opened.
Phase 2 shifted the programme from launch mode into sustained influence. Cultivate supported communications across COP28, World Economic Forum, World Bank and IMF meetings, World Water Forum, World Water Week, Summit of the Future, COP16 and COP29, adapting messages and products as the research evolved.
For the final report, The Economics of Water, the media challenge was sharper: take a technical report and make its implications legible to global audiences. The campaign centred on a clear, urgent hook: half the world’s food production was at risk. That message gave journalists a strong entry point into a wider story about water, food systems, climate stability, economic resilience and global cooperation.
The final report launch combined message development, social strategy, visual assets, launch toolkits, early access for priority journalists and structured international pitching. The media campaign secured an exclusive launch with The Guardian, followed by coverage in The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, Forbes, Reuters, NBC News and major regional outlets across Asia and Africa.
Cultivate also spearheaded the Youth Water Agenda, a global campaign to mobilise young people as advocates for better water governance, and supported production of the Flowing Forward podcast to create another channel for the Commission’s ideas and voices.
The launch of Turning the Tide created early cut-through before the UN 2023 Water Conference opened. Across launch day and the two weeks that followed, the campaign generated 1.62 billion media reach, 949 media mentions across 35 countries, 14.75 million social reach, 19,000 microsite views and 3,400 report downloads.
The strategic approach also showed up in the conversation itself. During the UN 2023 Water Conference week, GCEW and Turning the Tide held 17 per cent share of voice, higher than the United Nations and World Bank combined.
The final report campaign extended the Commission’s reach again, generating more than 5.2 billion reach, more than 1,000 placements and coverage in 20 countries. Coverage included The Guardian, The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, Forbes, Reuters and NBC News, with strong regional pickup across Asia and Africa.
- Co-led communications strategy and led delivery over 2.5 years across the life of the project
- Brand identity, message architecture and narrative framework
- Commission website, report microsites and digital campaign infrastructure
- Report design, publication production and launch assets for Turning the Tide and The Economics of Water
- Global media strategy and outreach for two flagship report launches
- Embargoed media briefing programmes, journalist materials, interview preparation and international pitching
- Op-ed development and placement across priority global moments
- UN 2023 Water Conference communications, including press conference and SDG TV segment
- Social media strategy, paid promotion, campaign toolkits and visual assets for LinkedIn, X and other channels
- Communications support across UN Water, COP28, World Economic Forum, World Bank and IMF meetings, World Water Forum, World Water Week, Summit of the Future, COP16 and COP29
- Monitoring, evaluation, social listening and communications reporting
- Youth Water Agenda campaign, including influencer engagement, social toolkit and video series
- Flowing Forward podcast production and promotion
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