Cinema advertising contractor, Pearl & Dean and UK National Parks offer the world of cinema advertising a breath of fresh air today, as they join forces to launch “Wild Spaces.” This is a nationwide advertising project where purpose driven brands that want to help nature thrive can be featured in a dedicated advertising reel that funds nature restoration projects across National Parks. This shows that with some creative planning, media spend can be leveraged to support the halt of biodiversity decline in the UK and help connect audiences young and old to nature.

Created by Pearl & Dean’s experience agency, Dive, in collaboration with National Parks Partnerships, “Wild Spaces” is an industry and media first, enabling film-lovers to support nature simply by visiting the cinema. Expert at creating mutually beneficial partnerships, Dive collaborated on this agreement with MG OMD to identify ways for Pearl & Dean, and cinema advertising in general, to contribute to being a more sustainable society, while continuing to achieve commercial success.

The team at MG OMD identified this as a fantastic opportunity for giffgaff to leverage both their industry leading sustainable media planning principles and their reputation for innovation. A premium, never seen before spot within the reel was a fitting platform for giffgaff to standout and differentiate itself from its competitors.

Pearl & Dean welcomes mobile network giffgaff as the “Wild Spaces” exclusive launch partner, and first brand to advertise in the Wild Spaces reel. Giffgaff has a strong track record in championing industry-led approaches to tackling the climate crisis, adopting planet-positive advertising practices and inviting media partners to invest and collaborate to help tackle the biodiversity crisis. This project is a natural extension of giffgaff’s commitment to conscious advertising and a powerful way to connect audiences to the critical role that National Parks plays in protecting and restoring our natural world. Giffgaff will hold the spot exclusively for the first six months of the project from September 2024, before it’s opened to other advertisers from March 2025.

Shining a spotlight on the work that is needed in National Parks and why continued investment is so vital, the “Wild Spaces” reel will provide a moment of reflection for cinemagoers, by bookending the brand ads with bespoke creative content. The “Wild Spaces” reel will conclude with a short episode, produced by Dive, showing viewers how these vital habitats are being restored.

The aim of “Wild Spaces” is to generate regular, long-term funding for National Parks. The first project will support peatland restoration at Kinder Scout in the Peak District National Park. Kinder Scout (cared for by the National Trust) is the highest peak in the region and is very close to the industrial centres of Manchester and Sheffield. In the industrial revolution, smoke collected over the Peak District and came down as acid rain which killed the vegetation that covers the peatland.

The restoration process, conducted by Moors for the Future Partnership and the National Trust, includes reintroducing vegetation, especially Sphagnum moss. This species of moss is the keystone species of blanket bog, as well as other native moorland plants like cotton grass, crowberry and bilberry. Sphagnum moss can hold a huge amount of water and is effective at reducing flooding in the towns downstream from Kinder Scout. The restored moorlands play a key role in tackling the worst effects of climate change by taking carbon in from the atmosphere as well as reducing the risk of wildfire and floods, and improving the habitat for a rich array of wildlife. Including the Golden Plover, Skylark, and Curlew.

Over 50% of the UK population live within an hour from a National Park and 90% of people believe the National Parks are important to them. A recent report estimates that there is a funding gap of £56 billion to deliver all the UK’s nature-related ambitions over the next 10 years. Similarly, to meet UK National Parks’ own nature restoration goals, multiple funding routes for restoration need to be pursued. This includes government funding, philanthropy, private finance and initiatives such as Wild Spaces, each one of which has an important role to play.

The work funded by Wild Spaces will be carried out by the end of March 2025.

Find out more at yourwildspaces.com.

Richard Williams, Business Development & Strategy Director at Dive said: “We want a trip to Pearl & Dean cinemas to become a socially responsible act. Just like consumers, brands want to align with platforms that reflect their values and contribute to society. This partnership achieves just this, whilst also raising awareness about the crucial need for nature restoration and the incredible work already done. Wild Spaces was created to help our national landscape so that it can continue to provide the air, water, and beauty we need.”

Clare Turner, Chief Commercial Officer at Pearl & Dean said: “This partnership allows us to simultaneously contribute to securing the future of our beloved green spaces whilst driving cinemagoers’ awareness of the need to ignite long-term sustainable change. It brings together the beauty of the great outdoors and the unique, attention-grabbing magic of cinema. The UK National Parks are visited over 100 million times each year – there is no denying that they are a source of joy for so many people.”

Alison Barnes, CEO of the New Forest National Park and lead CEO for the National Parks Directors of Conservation working group said: “The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries on Earth, with many species suffering habitat loss and declining numbers due to a rapidly changing climate. Nature is in urgent need of support, and the fifteen UK National Parks are committed to working collectively to both recover and restore the myriad of ecosystems that are vital within our landscapes. We know that when we work in partnership and with our communities, we can make great strides in supporting landscape-scale nature recovery, and we’re excited to work with Pearl & Dean to share the beauty and diversity of the National Parks on the big screen.”

Georgina Bramall, Marketing Strategy Director at giffgaff said: “At giffgaff, we’re committed to mobilising the media and advertising industry to play its part in tackling the climate crisis. We’re delighted to collaborate with Pearl & Dean to invest in and showcase the important role that National Parks plays in protecting and restoring our natural world. We’re proud to support this initiative, helping to connect audiences, through the magic of cinema, to the UK’s wild spaces.”

Tessa Jourrou, Account Director at MG OMD said: “We were thrilled to facilitate this partnership with giffgaff, Pearl & Dean and National Parks. It was a perfect match with giffgaff being a B Corp and aligning with their sustainable media planning principles. As an agency we are always looking for media opportunities to be up to good by reducing carbon emissions and giving back to the community and the planet. This is just the start of a really exciting long-term partnership that goes way beyond just a cinema spot.”