Communications on a landscape scale

Shane HarrisTourism & Communications Manager

• “People will protect nature because they want to, not because they have to.”

– ‘branding biodiversity’, Futerra

• If people don’t know about our special animals and plants…

• If people don’t value our special landscapes…

• Will they care when they’re threatened?

Communications – why bother?

• Branding – on a shoestring

• Newsletters – print vs electronic… a case study

• Social media – conversations with new audiences

• Crystal ball – challenges we face

• Final words

Outline

• Pre-2007 – confused identity– lack of consistency– levels of conflicting identity

– Geopark/AONB status– = dog’s breakfast!

• Jan 2007 launched Logo and Branding Guidelines– consistent approach

adopted– family of communications– belonging

Branding… history

• Changes in Geopark logos

• End of landscape scale projects

• ‘Landscapes for life’ branding guidelines– AONB Family push– Framework to work

together– Need to support &

integrate

• Time for a refresh!

Branding… developing story

• The challenge:– implement ‘Landscapes

for life’ brand guidelines– highlight Geopark status– retain a ‘local’ North

Pennines feel– Consistent approach

across all Partnership communications – print, posters, letterhead, website, email signatures…

– very limited budget

Branding… the refresh

• The solution:– Landscapes for life logo

on front– retain ‘landscape rip’– single ‘hero’ image– title/sub-title colour block– local area logo on back

cover

• Issues:– loss of local identity?– partial implementation?– team resistance

Branding… the refresh

• 2011/12– opportunistic refresh– CMS change– full implementation of

‘Landscape for life’ brand guidelines

Branding… website

• Branding refresh included:– Letterhead– Compliments slip– PowerPoint slides– Email signatures– Poster template

• Consistent ‘look and feel’ across all communications

Branding… letterhead etc.

• Necessary evil…– consistent look and feel– unified identity– reinforces messages– Landscapes for life –

‘together we’re stronger’

• Used local designer…– realistic costs (£1,290!)– lots of ‘hand holding’– needed clear vision– time to develop: 6-8mths

Branding… thoughts

• Two paper editions of North Pennines News a year

• Design, print & distribution costs

• c£5K per edition (26p each)• Advantages:

– Reach 14,000 households– No opt-in– Profile/prominence

• Disadvantages:– Cost– Carbon– Time consuming

Newsletters… case study

• First done Jan 2011• £500 set up – thereafter £20

flat fee + 2p per email • Per year

– 4 enewsletters (1,304)– 4 Sustainable Tourism Enews (513)– 2 Volunteer Ebulletins (292)

• Costs per year £356.72• Advantages:

– Cost savings– More immediate/adaptable– SEO– More engaged

audience/subscribers

• Disadvantages:– Reduced reach – More ephemeral

Enewsletters

• Transition from traditional to new media…

• Print being gradually replaced by electronic

• Currently - One edition of North Pennines News per year and a variety of enewsletters

• Cost savings of c£4K per annum

• Ultimately…

Enewsletters vs Printed newsletters

• “Content isn’t king, Conversation is King. Content is just something to talk about.” Source: HitRiddle

• facebook – More than 901 million (1bn by end 2012, 14% of world population)

• twitter – 555 million (10 million in UK)

• Google+ – 170 million

• Pinterest – 11.7 million

• Linkedin – 150 million

Social media… overview

• Microblogging– tweet content – care required!

• About what you are doing• Joined Aug 2010

– 2,060 ‘followers’ currently

• Themed campaigns– Bike Week 2012 – 12K+

– Green Tourism Week 2012:• 39RTs, 19k/118K reach

• Potential– Yorkshire Dales 8K, ANPA 15K,

RSPB – 29K

Social media - twitter

• Building loyalty/ informal conversations

• Joined February 2011– 320 ‘likes’ currently

• Images/video clips popular

• Potential: – Yorkshire Dales 3K,

ANPA 2.5K, RSPB 23K

Social media - facebook

• Here to stay!• Free but consumes time…

– willingness to engage

• Challenge is to integrate effort across platforms

• Responding to new kids on the block?– Pinterest

• Third of all traffic to www.greentraveller.co.uk arrives via their blog (500K unique vis per mth)– SEO – increasingly

important?

Social media – the future?

• Mobile technology – apps, mobile-friendly websites

• Social media – conversation rather than broadcasting…

• Reducing resource– time and money

• Transition from traditional media to new media– When will print die?

The future…

Alongside this…

• Ever more important to:– engage and win support– crowded market place

• ‘We are family’– must speak with one voice across the AONB Family

– desirable to work with other Protected Landscape

categories…

The future

• Communications must:– reflect our QUALITY

landscapes – encourage people to

VALUE them – and INSPIRE everyone

to care about and take action…

– … to CONSERVE and ENHANCE them

Final words