Simplicity in Messaging Cuts Through Fatigue
Climate change communications risk being drowned out by fatigue and competing crises unless they connect directly to people’s daily realities, Whitney Dailey of Allison Worldwide said at the Climate Week 2025 Communications Town Hall hosted at Anchin and organized by CommPRO.
Dailey, who leads the agency’s Purpose Center of Excellence, shared insights into how consumers respond to climate action when you talk to them in the context of their daily lives. We found, maybe not surprising, that fatigue is happening in so many different areas of people’s lives,” she said. “They’re tired of the news cycle, they’re stressed about their wallets, about the price of items in stores.”
That context, she argued, is shaping how audiences perceive climate messaging. “We can’t take climate out of that context,” Dailey said. “It’s one of many problems people are dealing with. So if they don’t have time to listen to your climate communication today, it’s because they’re overwhelmed.”
Her prescription for communicators is straightforward: make climate messaging simple, practical, and relevant to daily choices. “Simplicity in messaging and connection to consumers’ everyday lives needs to be a critical part of your messaging if you’re going to break through,” Dailey explained. “It has to meet them on their front doorstep if you’re looking for them to engage back with you.”
For communicators navigating an environment of greenwashing accusations and political polarization, Dailey’s insights offer a reminder that audiences rarely live inside sustainability reports or ESG dashboards. They live in households and communities where competing stresses are constant. Effective climate storytelling, she argued, requires empathy, clarity, and relevance.
As the communications industry searches for ways to rebuild trust, Dailey’s insights underscores a basic truth: the more climate communications reflect the rhythms of daily life, the more likely they are to inspire real action.
