Why progressive campaigns need to stop focusing only on what’s broken

How many times have you read something along the lines of: “This is our last chance to avoid climate chaos”? Probably more times than you can count. It’s become a climate messaging cliche. It's urgent, emotional, and designed to jolt people into action. But the more we hear it, the less it moves us. When the “last chance" comes quarterly, the phrase stops hitting like an alarm and blends into the background noise. 

Progressive campaigns, especially in the climate space, are adept at diagnosing problems. We can recite the stats, show the disasters and name the climate criminals. But these campaigns often miss a trick when it comes to showing people what’s at stake. The thing we’re fighting for. Crises grab attention, but vision sustains movements. If there's no light at the end of the tunnel, we risk exhausting our audiences, or worse, making them apathetic.

What’s missing from the story?

Fear can be motivating, but people often need more than fear to act. They need hope and belief in a future that’s worth striving for. It's no secret – yet many campaigns still fall into the trap of focusing almost solely on the problem: rising emissions, political inaction, corporate greenwashing. 

Take, for example, sections of the Australian climate movement’s recent communications around the federal government’s approval of new fossil fuel projects. The messaging from many advocacy groups was justifiably angry and urgent. But in the rush to condemn in a crisis situation, we often forget to connect these critiques to a bigger, more inspiring story: that Australia could be a global leader in clean energy, that communities are already creating solutions, that there is another way.

Ironically, conservative movements are often better at telling hopeful stories. 

The policies may be regressive, but their narratives are often reassuring and empowering: a return to stability, economic security, tradition, and control. 

Their audiences aren’t bombarded with failure. They’re being sold a version of the future that feels safe.

Progressive campaigns could benefit from taking a similar approach, only better, and guided by truth. 

That means showing people what success looks like. Celebrating wins and telling stories that activate hope and agency, not just outrage and fear.

A vision for a renewable Australia

The recent “Our Renewable Future” campaign by ACF and WWF-Australia strikes the balance well. Rather than centring on the climate crisis or government failures, it paints a clear, hopeful picture of an Australia powered entirely by renewables – and doing it in harmony with nature. The campaign offers a plan that’s technically sound, but emotionally resonant: clean energy without sacrificing wildlife, stronger communities with good jobs, and a safer climate future that’s within reach.

What sets this apart is its tone and structure. It doesn’t sugar-coat the situation, but it pairs critique with compelling solutions. It invites people to imagine Australia as a global clean energy leader. And crucially, it presents a pathway forward. The focus is not just on what needs to stop, but what we could build together. That kind of vision-led messaging is what turns awareness into belief and belief into action.

So why don’t we do it more?

Part of the answer lies in how campaigns are resourced and structured. Funding cycles often reward short-term outputs, like media hits or petition signatures, over narrative shifts that can take a long time to achieve. For climate advocates in particular, urgency has become the dominant approach to communication. It's not necessarily because it's the most effective, but because it fits the rhythm of campaigns: one that rewards reaction over reflection.

There’s also the pull of the news cycle, which demands controversy and catastrophe. Positive stories, especially ones about steady progress, often struggle to cut through.

But we’re seeing examples of what a more balanced approach can look like.

Rebalancing the story

A better campaign narrative must tell the truth, but it doesn't stop there. It connects the dots between what's wrong and what's possible, giving people a clear path to run towards, not just something to run from.

Here are a few practical pointers:

Use the future tense: Replace "We must stop..." with "Here's what we could achieve..."

Celebrate progress: Wins, even small ones, show that change is possible. The system is not untouchable.

Put people at the center: Share stories of communities actively creating the future now. Highlighting relatable characters rather than abstract concepts, like carbon markets, increases emotional connection and message retention.

Pair critique with vision: For every injustice named, offer an image of justice delivered. Acknowledge the audience's pain or anger while offering them a role in shaping something better. It’s a way to keep the audience engaged and build momentum without overwhelming or alienating people.

Campaigns are not just vehicles for information, they're engines for belief. When we combine truth-telling with hopeful vision and a clear sense of agency, we build something much more powerful than outrage.

What next?

At Campaign Republic, we help organisations shift from problem-focused messaging to vision-led communications. If your campaign is stuck in crisis mode, let's talk. Because changing the story can help deliver the change you're striving for.