World Wildlife Fund Strategic PR Plan Amanda Sikoral PR Workshop 4490
The World Wildlife Fund needs donations in order to be successful. The strategy for this company is to: •
Increase donations o Hold local fundraising events o Partner with local zoos
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Build public awareness of the wildlife conservation efforts o Build a strong social media presence o Send people around to schools across the country to teach kids about wildlife conservation and its importance
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Teach people about the benefits of donating to WWF o Send out information packets o Have flyers and informational brochures at all zoos/pet stores/any place that deals with animals
The World Wildlife Fund protects over 80 endangered species including the Giant Panda, Tiger, and Asian Elephant. They also focus on preserving nature’s most valuable ecosystems such as forests, oceans, tundra’s, etc. The WWF runs mostly on donations with 84% of expenses going towards conservation efforts.
The World Wildlife Fund needs a PR plan because they need to increase donations in order to be truly successful in their wildlife conservation efforts. There are over thirty animals in the world who are considered “critically endangered� including the Mountain Gorilla, Asian Elephant, and Bengal Tiger just to name a few. These animals are in desperate need of conservation or they will become extinct. The World Wildlife Fund works to make it so none of these animals become extinct. The WWF needs donations and in order for that to happen, they need an extensive PR plan.
World Wildlife Fund Company Profile Who we are: The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.1 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature. (courtesy of http://www.worldwildlife.org/about) History: WWF is one of the world's largest conservation organizations. It was conceived on the 29th April 1961. Its first office opened in September 1961 in the Swiss town of Morges. Our Mission: WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Projects: Since our founding, we’ve invested nearly US $10 billion in more than 13,000 conservation projects in over 150 countries. WWF runs about 1,300 projects at any one time.
Our Partners: In carrying out its work, WWF cooperates with many partners, including UN organizations, IUCN, and development agencies such as USAID and the World Bank. WWF also works with business & industry partners.
Financials:
(photo courtesy of www.wwf.org)
84 % of WWF's spending is directed to worldwide conservation activities. How We Contribute To Society: WWF advocates for governments and international institutions like the World Bank to adopt, enforce and strengthen policies that promote biodiversity and responsible natural resources management. We also provide them with the support and technical assistance they need to do so. By seeking smarter solutions to conservation challenges, our work ensure that public laws and policies – at the local, national, regional and international levelcreate a more sustainable future for people, wildlife and natural resources. Visit worldwildlife.org for more information
Industry Market/Trends The conservation industry is ever changing. There are many conservationists who focus on various areas such as wildlife preservation, “going green”, and nature conservation. The market is heavily saturated with various charitable organizations focusing on the preservation of some of Earth’s most valuable creatures and resources. The biggest trend within the conservation industry that has been growing since the 1960s is the movement to go green. Going green, or otherwise known as eco-friendly, became popular in the late 1960s and really enhanced when Al Gore created the film “An Inconvenient Truth”. The market size is relatively large with many different areas of conservation efforts; the protection of the rainforest, the efforts to keep species from becoming extinct, and the eco-friendly movement, to name a few.
Competitive Analysis Greenpeace is a major competitor within the conservation industry because they focus on a wide variety of issues. They have a variety of efforts such as protecting the forests and oceans to fighting nuclear power and climate change. As for their PR efforts, they have a blog in which they discuss at length the campaigns that they are currently working on. They also have many ways for people to volunteer and join their fight for societal justice. For example,
they have a campaign to #StandForForests which you can go onto their website and enter your information to get involved in protecting the forests of Boreal. There are also countless press releases on their website, greenpeace.org, describing their campaigns as well as issues that are going on around the globe. Greenpeace has a section for media where they have countless pictures and videos of the efforts being made to fight the many issues they’re taking on.
With regards to social media presence, Greenpeace has Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts. They are very active on social media, posting multiple times a day with messages about their causes and how people can take action. They also use hashtags whenever possible to further engage their followers. Greenpeace is really doing everything in their power to show the world how they are trying to fight many different issues.
The Wildlife Conservation Society is an even more high profile competitor to the WWF because they deal specifically with the conservation and protection of wildlife and wild places. As for their PR efforts, they have a page on their website specifically dedicated to press. They also own and operate the five major zoos in New York City. They focus on the “four of the biggest issues
facing wildlife and wild places: climate change; natural resource exploitation; the connection between wildlife health and human health; and the sustainable development of human livelihoods”(web). The WCS has a page on the website where all of their press/news releases are kept. There is also a blog as well as op-eds that are published in newspapers such as the Huffington Post and National Geographic.
With regards to their social media presence and activity, the WCS has a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Instagram. They are fairly active on Twitter as well as well as Instagram but have not posted anything on their YouTube account. They are also active on Facebook, averaging about two posts per day. They do not have as many followers as the WWF or Greenpeace, but they are working towards the same issues.
SWOT Analysis • • Strengths •
Work on a global scale to ensure that all species are protected from extinction Have corporate sponsorships that lead to increased conservation awareness as well as marketing and communication They have an incredible social media presence with over 1.2 million followers on Twitter who are actively engaging everyday
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Weaknesses
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• Opportunities •
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Threats •
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They operate mainly on donations, so if donations are not continuously coming in, the charity will not continue to be able to protect wildlife They have to focus on how to effectively balance the preservation of wildlife without affecting the quality of the human lives surrounding those areas. They are focusing on a lot of different conservation efforts that it may become difficult to be attentive to every need There will always be work for them to do because of the countless amount of wildlife on this planet They can partner with certain zoos and animal welfare groups to ensure that their name and organization be globally recognized As the world continues to grow there are more opportunities for donations and to get into the minds of the youth of the world in order to convince them to donate There are many organizations working to fight the same battles as the WWF, there is a chance that they could become bigger and receive more donations The social media presence of other organizations could overpower the WWF and get people to donate to other charities People could stop donating all together
Media Audit According to research, the traditional media is simply talking about the WWF’s conservation efforts. There are many articles that discuss a rare video capture of a Siberian Tiger family in Russia that was taken by the WWF’s cameras.
There are also a lot of articles about WWF’s “Earth Hour” which is an event created by the WWF for March 28th at 8:30 p.m. where people can pledge to “Go Dark”; turn off all electronic devices or anything that uses electricity, in order to promote awareness for the topic of global warming. There are also many articles talking about people who have recently pledged their support for the WWF.
As for social media, people are talking about Earth Hour as well as the National Wildlife Day that happened on March 3rd. People are also actively engaging with the various campaigns that the WWF currently has such as Giant Panda protection and the #StopWildlifeCrime campaign. The reaction to the WWF is generally positive with a few negative comments that have no meaningful content.
Overall, the WWF has a generally positive public opinion with people actively engaging its issues on social media as well as traditional media. The online articles and newspapers are currently talking about Earth Hour, which seems to be an increasingly popular campaign effort being backed by companies such as Timex, Girls Scouts, and Party Lite. The media coverage of the WWF focuses on the issues at hand and displays them in a primarily positive light.
Objectives: •
Increase donations by 25% by the end of this year (2015-2016) o Increase donations by holding events and creating learning opportunities for people who may not be aware of WWF’s mission
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Increase awareness of WWF’s conservation efforts within the tri-state area over the course of the next 3 years (2015-2018) o Hold events, informational sessions, send out press releases and pamphlets, build strong relationships with zoos in order to increase awareness and spark activism in the people of the area.
Target Audience: The target audience for the WWF’s plan to increase awareness and donations would be: Demographic: Males and Females ages 10-65 -
Anyone can learn about conservation and have a passion to save animals, this particular age group includes young people who may not have the knowledge and older adults who may have the money available for donations.
Psychographic: People who have a passion for:
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Conserving the planet
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Activism
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Animals
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Philanthropic efforts
Sample media targets: The media targets that could be used to reach these audiences would definitely be news programs such as NBC or CBS as well as publications: Time Magazine, National Geographic etc. For the younger people, kids television programs as well as mobile technology could serve as great targets to get the word out there about the WWF. There could be an app created for the younger generation to learn about conservation in a fun and interactive way.
Key Messages: •
Together we can save the planet.
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Educate. Donate. Save.
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Save the animals, save the world.
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Conserve life.
Strategies/Tactics: -Create and run a social media campaign in order to increase donations o Tactics§
Tweet every day from the @WWF account asking trivia questions about the animals represented within the foundation.
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This will work to increase donations by making people increasingly interested and involved in the mission of WWF.
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Post to the WWF Facebook page every day; informational articles or funny pictures involving the animals represented within the foundation. Be sure to engage with people and encourage them to donate.
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This will work by relating to the people on Facebook with funny pictures or articles worth sharing. Young people on Facebook love to share fun articles and we will be able to make donating appear fun and exciting.
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Post to the WWF Instagram page once a day. Repost people who have posted about animals or activism. Comment on as many pictures as possible.
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This will work because people will feel as though the WWF is interested in what they’re doing; if people think that an organization is interested in them, they might become interested in the organization.
-Hold multiple events at local zoos and places involving animals o Tactics: §
Hold a “Donation Day” at the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, NJ. This will be a day where guests of the zoo will not pay the standard admission; instead they will donate whatever they want as an admission price (even if it’s $1) and 75% of what they donate will go to the WWF foundation.
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This will work because people do not enjoy being pressured into donating money. This will be a way for people to have the relaxation of a “no pressure”-donating situation and still feel as though they’ve done a good deed.
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There will be informational sessions throughout the zoo talking about the WWF and the animals it’s trying to preserve.
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Partner with Dunkin Donuts and create two new flavors of coffee/tea: “Under the Sea Salt” (which will benefit Sea Turtles), “Tongue Twisted Toffee” (which will benefit Tigers), and “Playful Pure Passion fruit” (which will benefit Giant Pandas). When people buy one of these drinks, 25% of the profit will go to the WWF. There will also be brochures and signs about the event, which will take place during the summer months, June-August.
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This will work because people will be donating by doing something as simple as buying coffee or tea. People will be more inclined to donate if they know that buying and drinking coffee is something they know they’re going to do already.
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Hold informational sessions at Public Libraries around the tri-state area with activities and fun things to do. This will provide information about the WWF and their mission as well as have opportunities for people to sign up to donate.
This is a unique event because it will be catered towards the young and the older generation. §
This will work because libraries are places where everybody has been at least once in their life. People will see these informational events being promoted around the town and want to see what they hype is about. There will be fun activities for the young children as well as informational opportunities for the adults.
-Create a promotional campaign in order to increase donations §
Tactics: §
Start an email campaign to send out to all people who have ever donated or could potentially donate to the WWF.
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This will work because everyone checks his or her email everyday. There will be creative messaging that will make people think before they hit delete.
-Secure media coverage to all of the major news networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) as well as websites such as Buzzfeed §
Tactics:
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Send out press releases to all the major news outlets: NBC, CBS, ABC; talking about the events that the WWF will be holding around the tri-state area and asked to be put on ABC’s “Community Calendar”. o This will work because people will want to see what these events are about and the news outlets will want to feel as though they are contributing
to
their
corporate
social
responsibility. §
Call people at Buzzfeed.com to try and collaborate with them on writing fun articles about the animals represented by the WWF or “Reasons why you should be an activist”
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This will work because the younger generation loves Buzzfeed. This will also create opportunities for content sharing and organic reach, which will increase the likelihood of donations.
Promotional Materials:
3.) 4.)
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Social Media News Release
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Donation Day Event Outline
Example of T-Shirt for Donation Day Example of Keychain for Donation Day 5.)
6.)
Donation Day Flyer
Various Social Media Posts (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)
Contact: Amanda Sikoral Email: amandamsikoral@wwf.org World Wildlife Fund Announces “Donation Day” at Turtle Back Zoo WEST ORANGE, NJ, March 25, 2014 Core Info: •
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The WWF announced on Monday that they will be hosting a Donation Day at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ on Saturday April 11, 2015. Normal admission will not be charged on this Saturday; instead, zoogoers will have the opportunity to donate however much they would like with 75 percent of the profits going towards the WWF. The WWF’s main goal is conservation efforts. The Turtle Back Zoo, accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, is host to over 300 species. The zoo is amongst the elite zoos and aquaria of the United States which means that the zoo adheres to the highest standards for zoos in the country. The Zoological Society of New Jersey considers the Turtle Back Zoo the number one zoo in New Jersey. Donation Day will create a learning opportunity for the WWF and Turtleback Zoo
Quotes: “We really think that partnering with the Turtle Back Zoo is an excellent idea,” said WWF CEO Carter Roberts. “Donation Day will serve as a great opportunity to not only promote awareness for the WWF and our conservation efforts but also provide the Turtle Back Zoo with excellent exposure.” “We were extremely excited when the WWF reached out to us for this Donation Day opportunity,” said Adam Kerins, executive director of the Turtle Back Zoo. “The WWF is all about the conservation of animals and we work
tirelessly here at the zoo to aid in those efforts. Donation Day will be a great success.” Boilerplates: The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.1 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.
Turtle Back Zoo is committed to providing an enriching recreational experience that fosters excellence in wildlife education and wildlife conservation, so that present and future generations are inspired to understand, appreciate and protect the fragile interdependence of all living things. Visit the WWF website: worldwildlife.org Visit the Turtleback Zoo website: turtlebackzoo.com/ (Images of Turtleback Zoo) (Video of WWF efforts) Social Media: Twitter: @wwf Instagram: @wwf Facebook: facebook.com/worldwildlifefund
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Donation Day (Saturday, July 18 2015): 9:00-10:30 a.m.- Prep for Event - Arrive at Turtle Back Zoo by 9 a.m. - Set up four booths around the park/use banners/gather promotional materials - Assign each WWF member to a booth (position) 10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.- Hold Informational Sessions - Each booth will have an informational session about the WWF in which people will receive prizes at each booth for answering questions and playing games. 12:15-2:00 p.m.- A WWF Luncheon - All members of Donation Day as well as patrons will be able to each lunch together - The Turtleback Zoo will have a special menu specifically for this event - All food purchases will have a 20% donation to the WWF - Guests of the zoo will be able to sit with members of WWF and answer any questions they may have as well as socialize 2:15-4:00 p.m.- “Endangered Tour� - Tour guides/Members of WWF will conduct tours around the zoo of the animals that the WWF is protecting in the wild - They will go around and show guests of the zoo which animals they are specifically protecting and give information on the endangered species 4:15-7:00p.m.- Fun for Funds Party - WWF as well as the Turtleback Zoo will hold a dance party/end of event bash with music and food - People will be able to socialize and get any more information they need about donating to the WWF
Prizes at Donation Day:
Donation Day Flyer:
Social Media Posts: Twitter @wwf-
Instagram @wwf-
Facebook: facebook.com/worldwildlifefund
Timeline/Calendar: June 2015 on: -
start social media campaign
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tweet every day at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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post on Facebook everyday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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post on Instagram everyday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
June-August 2015: -
run the Dunkin Donuts campaign where 25% of the specialty drink proceeds will go to benefit the WWF.
July 2015: - Donation Day to be held on the third Saturday of the month at the Turtleback Zoo. September 2015 – April 2016: -
hold WWF informational sessions at Public libraries around the tristate area
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In April, hold events at the libraries for children and adults with activities and informational sessions about the WWF
January 2016: -
send out press releases to all major news outlets about the local events that the WWF is holding.
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Initiate email campaign to all people who have donated as well as potentials donors
June 2016: - Contact Buzzfeed to see if they can write some articles on the WWF Budget: •
Brochures/Printing/Pamphlets o QTY: 5,000 o Total: $840.00
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Donation Day Expenses o Employees: §
QTY: 10
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Total: $5,453 (Each gets $500 stipend for day)
o Informational Booth: §
QTY: 3 (to be sporadically placed throughout zoo)
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Total: $1,200
o Banners: §
QTY: 3 (large banners)
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Total: $135
o Giveaways/T-shirts/Keychains §
Tshirt QTY: 300 (S,M.L,XL)
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Total: $2,511
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Keychain QTY: 300
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Total: $261
Email Campaign o Campaign Monitor o Total: $249 for Unlimited emails
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Library Tours o One speaker for each event §
Total: $300 per event (for speaker)
o Food/Drink §
Total: $664
o Activities planned/Blow up games/Petting Zoo §
1 bounce house •
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Total: $550
Petting Zoo •
Total: $638
o Banners:
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QTY: 1 (to be taken around to all libraries)
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Total: $55
Total Travel Expenses
o Donation Day §
Travel: $388
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Food: $476
o Library Tour §
Travel: $1239
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Food: $900
Evaluation & Expected Outcomes: •
To increase donations o Measure donations month after month to see the increase after the events and promotions. Check totals at the end of fiscal year. o Check attendance at events o Compare last year’s numbers to this year o Specifically look after events such as Donation Day/Library Tours to see if donations increased dramatically.
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To increase public awareness about the WWF o Tweet questions after events to see how much people have learned o Tweet questions all of the time to see how much people know
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Consistently encourage people to create a conversation about the WWF through use of social media
o Engage with people over social media to see how much they know and ask if they attended events or participated in campaigns (Over the course of the year/by the end of 2016)
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Teach people about the benefits of donating o Encourage the people who donate to make testimonials about how they love donating o Include the testimonials on the WWF Facebook or Instagram page o Ask people to who donate to submit a brief survey of why they feel it’s important to donate.
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Measure attendance at events: o Make people sign in/get email addresses & phone numbers to stay in touch
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Gain media coverage through Buzzfeed, NBC, ABC, CBS o Send out press releases to each one of these media conglomerates
o Encourage them and their employees to become donors •
Create a stronger social media presence o Use Google Analytics and Klout to track social media influence o Check to see how many people engage on social media daily (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)