With Many Roots turns 3

On Independence Day, a lesser known anniversary slipped by; With Many Roots turned 1. That is to say, the business I set up a year ago is still in existence OR in other words, I haven’t completely failed.

After spending a few painful hours trying to tease out the future vision of With Many Roots, my mentor and advisory board member set me a task: ‘Write me an annual report. It can be a list, a picture or an essay but show me what you’ve achieved in the last year. And I want it in a week’s time.’

So here is a breakdown on the company’s achievements in its first year.

1. Successfully set up company and accounting procedures
2. Built website and started to blog
3. Landed an additional 2 clients; establishing comms strategy and framework for startup, introductions to social media, digital marketing, content strategy
4. Learning Spanish for 9 months
5. Some cash in the bank

1. Have built an organic social media presence across major platforms, engage in conversation and known to be a reputable source of information
2. Coordinated and managed more than 9 events across 4 countries reaching more than 2000 people from all walks of life
3. This involved working with in country partners, securing venues, overseeing logistics and leading on content as well as marketing and sharing key messages during the events and exhibitions: New York, Lima, Indonesia and Bonn
4. Manage volunteers and in country logistic support to deliver successful events
5. Worked with our indigenous partners to create official UNFCCC side events with a difference
6. Launched 8 project films, building up to each film launched in 5 languages simultaneously with a social media pack tied to every film including visuals specifically designed for social media
7. Video views stand at 48, 580
8. Built up a series of partnerships in the NGO, forestry, indigenous peoples rights space – brought different groups together with different but complementary specialities under one banner
9. Utilize wider network to encourage key influencers to see and share content
10. Additional film screenings at international events (Senegal, FLEGT week-Brussels), film festivals including Cannes side event, fundraising events, community and educational screenings in Indonesia and Peru
11. Positioned our content to not only reach new audiences but also for NGO partners to use with their audiences for emotional engagement
12. Boosted online video engagement by facilitating articles in El Pais, Mongabay, Mind Unleashed, Rainforest Action Network, Idle No More, Jakarta Post, Slate, e360 and others
13. Manage email marketing, list development and content, delivering consistently above average open rates against industry benchmarks
14. Developing all project collateral
15. The campaign is well known about in the forest and indigenous peoples space
16. Continuation of funding after the initial 12 month period