Communications Plan: Pacific Wild

Pacific Wild Communications Plan 2014/2015

document created by team three

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Pacific Wild is a non-profit organization committed to the defense of wildlife and their habitat along Canada’s Pacific coast, specifically within the Great Bear Rainforest.

Our mandate is to use innovative research, public education, community outreach, and awareness to achieve lasting environmental protection; we will partner with diverse individuals and communities—including the First Nations community—to support this. Through our efforts Pacific Wild is able to mobilize a concerned global citizenry to achieve large-scale wildlife protection. www.pacificwild.org

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Goals And Stratagies

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Company SWOT Analysis

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OPPORTUNITIES/THREATS FOR MULTIMEDIA ART FUNDRAISER

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TOOLS

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AUDIENCE PROFILE

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BUDGET

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SPONSORSHIP

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EVENT TIMELINE

10 MEASUREMENT

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GOALS AND STRATEGY Pacific Wild’s main communication goals are to build awareness of the non-profit organization and its vision, while raising funds for research and conservation efforts.

Funding goals will be achieved through the growth of regular donations (e.g. bi-weekly, monthly, annually) as well as through one-time donations. Event ticket sales and “merchandise” sales will also contribute to our fundraising efforts. In order to reach our annual fundraising goals, we will host a multimedia art event on April 22, 2015 to coincide with Earth Day. By hosting it on a holiday that directly relates to our initiatives, we hope to build upon—and take advantage of—the current hype. We will also use the Northern Gateway Pipelines Project as leverage for our fundraising and awareness efforts. While there will be expenses involved with the community event, we will look to company sponsorships and city grants for financial support.

Our awareness strategy is predominantly digital: an email marketing campaign, a social media campaign, and an online advertising campaign. We will also develop guerilla-marketing tactics, and look to partnerships for advertising support via contra. By affiliating our organization with like-minded individuals and/or companies, we hope to amplify our current social reach, and enhance our contribution to the greater cause.

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COMPANY SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

Opportunities

Pacific Wild is an established organization that is affiliated with the Tides Canada Initiatives Society, a well-funded society that provides “uncommon solutions for the common good”. Our organization is located in the Heiltsuk First Nation territory, and supported by their community.

The Northern Gateway Pipelines Project provides a sense of urgency and a call for action: if we don’t protect our wildlife and conserve our land now, when will we?

Weaknesses Pacific Wild is a non-profit organization, which means that funding for research and conservation efforts is limited; we are reliant on sponsorships and government grants. We are not widely known due to a lack of exposure and limited publicity.

In British Columbia, where our conservation efforts are focused, residents show appreciation and respect for nature and wildlife. People are passionate about our causes, which means that financial and verbal support (through letters to elected officials) will be easily achievable. Multimedia—such as wildlife photographs and video clips—in our marketing material and on our website, will evoke emotions in potential donors, thus increasing our chances of gaining support. We also have support from the First Nations community.

Threats The threats that Pacific Wild faces are: lack of awareness to the cause, donors’ apathy to the situation, and our competition with similar non-profit organizations.

OPPORTUNITIES/THREATS FOR MULTIMEDIA ART FUNDRAISER Opportunities

Threats

• Earth Day (topic is top-of-mind) • Timely: Northern Gateway Project Pipelines project • Art Gallery (photographs and paintings) with prints for sale to raise funds • Bands to draw public attention and support social media reach • David Suzuki, or a prominent environmentalist, as our keynote speaker • Alcoholic beverages for sale (beer/wine) to raise funds • Reasonable prices for tickets ($20, adv., $25, reg., $30, door)

• Competing with similar organizations for donations and Earth Day events • Chance of equipment malfunction during the event (e.g. audio, visual, lighting) • Strict schedule (speaker, bands, artists) - can’t guarantee guest punctuality

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TOOLS The following tools will be used to raise funds for, and bring awareness to, Pacific Wild: social media, our website and blog, marketing material, and email lists. Social media will allow us to reach a broad online community of followers of our cause. We currently have approximately 26,700 followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Posters, flyers, and brochures will give passersby and attendees more information about the event, as well as Pacific Wild. The opportunity to sign up for our email subscription list will be available at the event so that we can add new subscribers and update existing members. Our website, blog, and advertisements will promote Pacific Wild and the event, in addition to promoting our performers, artists, and donors/sponsors. Traditional advertising, such as radio and television commercials, will also be considered.

AUdiENCE prOFiLE The target audiences for Pacific Wild are volunteers, donors, and local media. We will inform them of our vision and look to them for support. Our partnerships with local artists and musicians will aid us in sharing our organization’s goals through their existing social reach. With the help of our sponsors and spokespersons, we will raise funds and awareness through events and campaigns that address our growing concerns for this fragile ecosystem.

We encourage partnerships with advocates of the First Nations community and scientific researchers, as they allow us to aid the research development and conservation efforts for the environment. With the help of funds, scientific research, and awareness to the cause, we will preserve our ecosystems and continue to watch them flourish.

Our partnerships include the following: Donors/funders/sponsors Researchers and First Nations community Event day volunteers and Pacific Wild Amplify Team volunteers Local media, local artists and musicians, general public Event sponsors include: local breweries/wineries, AudioVisual Companies, SITKA, and Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) Spokespersons include: (David Suzuki, Severn Suzuki, Tamo Campos, The Nature Trust of British Columbia, the British Columbia Environment Industry Association, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada)

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BUdGET The budget for Pacific Wild’s multimedia art event is $15,000, with the actual event sitting under the estimated cost at $11,703. This estimate includes $1,603 going towards event materials and $10,100 going towards the speaker.

Out of the $1,603 for the event materials: $500 is funding for the printing of marketing material, $110 for the liquor license, $55 for the lighting, $235 for the sound system, $60 for the projector, $140 for the stage, $75 for the stage backdrop, $85 for the bar, $42.50 for five tables and $200.00 for a 6’ stuffed Spirit Bear. All equipment will be rented from Pedersens and RSM Productions. The Spirit Bear will be bought from Vermont Teddy Bear and the printing will be done by Hillside Printing Co. Ltd. Out of the $10,100 for the speaker, $10,000 is for the speakers’ attendance and presentation, while $100 will go towards the speakers’ gift. The speakers’ gift is a gift basket that will include gifts from our various eco-friendly sponsors, including: Mountain Equipment Coop, The Good For You Gourmet, Good Planet, Bee Green Magazine, and NutriStart.

ESTIMATED COSTS Current budget: $15,000 | Projected cost of event: $11,703 • Printing for marketing materials ($500) $500 $500) • Liquor license ($110) $110 $110) • Public figure (David Suzuki: $30,000; prominent environmental and wildlife figureheads: approximately $10,000/hour) $10,000/hour • Equipment rental (www.seattle.pedersens.com and www.rsmproductions.com/victoria/) Lighting ($55) Sound ($235) Projector ($60) Stage ($140) Photo booth ($600)

Printing $500

Bar $85

Lighting $55

Spirit Bear Toy $200

Liquor License $110 Sound System $235 Projector $60 Stage $140

Backdrop $75

Tables $42.50 Gift $100

Speaker $10,000

Extra Money $3,297

• • • • • • Spirit Bear (Kermode Bear) 6 feet (www.vermontteddybear.com) ($200) • Backdrop ($75) • Bar ($85) • Table ($42.50) • Gift for speaker: environmental gift basket of purchases and various donations.

Donors: Mountain Equipment Coop, The Good For You Gourmet, Good Planet, Bee Green Magazine, City Green, Nutristart (approximately $100)

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SPONSORSHIP Good For You Gourmet: www.wholefoodsvictoria.ca/cateringservices Bee Green: http://www.beegreen.ca MEC: www.mec.ca/Main/home Good Planet: www.goodplanet.com City Green: www.citygreen.ca NutriStart: www.nutristart.com

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Ja nu ary

De ce mb er

EVENT TIMELINE 6 write grant proposals 9 submit liquor license application 15 contact potential sponsers

5 secure venue 7 secure speaker

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Fe bru ary

15 book bands 1 marketing materials 6 call for artists begins 9 1st social media blitz 15 $20 early bird ticket sales begin 20contact corporate sponsers

3 pay deposits for equipment rentals 9 submit information to volunteer victoria

Ap ril

18 finalize event day schedule 1 early bird ticket sales end/$25 regular priced tickets 7 2nd social media blitz & contest for free tickets 7 recruit volunteers 9 press releases go out to media

22 EVENT DAY tickets $30 at door

M ay

1 debrief & wrap party at SITKA

Event day Timeline 7pm-11pm Setup- 4pm Sound Check- 5pm Volunteer prep- 5:30pm Doors open/Band- 7pm Welcome Ceremony- 8pm Founder and Prize- 8:15pm Speaker- 8:30pm Special Thanks and Band- 9pm 9

MEASUREMENT The metrics used to determine whether or not our event is a success will be as follows.

Fundraising

Ticket sales • 100% of tickets for the event sold Funding goal reached or exceeded • Reaching our fundraising goal of $10,000 through the sale of art pieces and by donations collected at the event and through the event website

Awareness

Social media awareness • Level of engagement

Facebook currently 13,266 likes (goal: 20% increase)

Twitter currently 1,135 followers (goal: 40% increase)

Instagram currently 12.3k followers (goal: 10% increase) “Lifetime” affiliates & partners • The multimedia art event will help Pacific Wild branch out and create new affiliates and sponsors from green and eco-friendly companies around Victoria. This will be measured by calculating how many partners Pacific Wild has after the event, compared to prior to the event.

Membership increase of Pacific Wild Amplified Team • Based on a sold out event, we will strive for at least 5% of our attendees signing up for the Pacific Wild Amplified Team newsletter.

Post-event survey • A brief survey will be emailed after the event to all who attendees who purchased their tickets online. The survey will consist of five to ten questions asking: what they liked, what they disliked, and what they would improve for next time. Based on the survey responses, Pacific Wild will be able to better understand its audience, and improve future events.

Website analytics • Marketing material around Greater Victoria, combined with social media hype about Pacific Wild’s multimedia art event, will help drive traffic to our website. All social media posts will have a link or hyperlink to our website for ease of tracking traffic through analytics.

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