Social Marketing
Cultivating the Green Consumer
Submitted on Sep 16, 2008 (Original item from 2008) Diet and Nutrition | General Animal Protection
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Consumers say they want to buy ecologically friendly products and reduce their impact on the environment. But when they get to the cash register, their Earth-minded sentiments die on the vine. Although individual quirks underlie some of this hypocrisy, businesses can do a lot more to help would-be green consumers turn their talk into walk. [Excerpted from article]
What Will Things Look Like in 10 Years?
Submitted by Che on Sep 11, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | Animal Experimentation | Companion Animals | Entertainment Animals | Farmed Animals | General Animal Protection | Wildlife and ExoticsAs I was organizing some old files the other day, I came upon a 10-year vision statement for the animal protection movement, which I wrote for a meeting a couple of years ago. A vision statement is a picture of how you would like the world to be. My 10-year vision is necessarily high-level and incomplete, but it may provide interesting food for thought as we consider the future of animals, their advocates, and the public’s awareness, attitudes, and behavior.
Where My Army At?
Submitted by Che on Aug 31, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | General Animal ProtectionIs grassroots animal activism still relevant in the United States? Does a grassroots movement even exist anymore? For a cause like animal advocacy, which has yet to reach mainstream proportions, an "army" of committed volunteers is essential for positive momentum. For the animal protection movement to be successful in the long-term, we will need to rebuild our grassroots organizations and networks and develop closer relationships between local and national groups. Here are five ideas to do just that.
"The Seed Never Sees the Flower"
Submitted by Che on Aug 25, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | General Animal ProtectionTake a look around: Despite decades, even centuries of work by advocates, people still have a long way to go on a variety of important issues like race, gender, poverty, etc. The same is true of animal advocacy, which by comparison is a relatively young cause. But in spite of the arguably slow progress of advancing the status of animals in today's society, there is reason for advocates to be optimistic.
Animal Advocacy at the Crossroads: The Takeaway
Submitted by Che on Aug 12, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | General Animal ProtectionIn animal and environmental advocacy circles, the debate over what makes effective advocacy is a long-standing one that isn't likely to be resolved soon. But as thoughtful activists, it's our job to continuously audit our own efforts and make improvements when possible. A recent report from the World Wildlife Fund provides some interesting takeaways for the environmental movement that are also quite relevant for advocates focused on animal issues.
Do the Purists Know Something We Don't?
Submitted by Che on Aug 05, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | General Animal Protection | Research Tools and MethodsA new report from the World Wildlife Fund says that successful social movements are "unequivocal in articulating what (they) stand for." It may seem like a fairly innocuous statement, but at the root of it rests one of the most fundamental questions facing social change advocates. Namely, if one's messages must always adhere to a specific set of core values. For animal advocates, this includes whether or not it is legitimate to use non-animal reasons to motivate animal-friendly behavior.
Is the Animal Protection Movement at a Crossroads?
Submitted by Che on Jul 28, 2008 Advocacy Strategies | General Animal ProtectionA recent publication from the World Wildlife Fund asks important questions about encouraging environmentally-friendly behavior among consumers. The report addresses the long-term efficacy of marketing-based, incremental advocacy approaches and argues in favor of more values-based messaging. The discussion is relevant to discussions among animal advocates regarding whether or not to use tangential motivators to encourage animal-friendly behavior.
Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals (Summative Evaluation)
Submitted on Jul 26, 2008 (Original item from 2007) Advocacy Strategies | Wildlife and Exotics
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This report provides an assessment of the overall influence of the Journey to Planet Earth: State of the Ocean's Animals program on a sample of TV viewers as well as the scope and impact of outreach programs conducted by museums and science centers. Specific responses regarding program content are included in the report.
Pill Popping Pets
Submitted on Jul 20, 2008 (Original item from 2008) Companion Animals
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The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior-modification and "lifestyle" drugs specifically for pets. The New York Times reports that the combination of new drug therapies and training techniques can solve problems that previously have led to euthanasia.
The Environment Movement at a Crossroads
Submitted on Jul 15, 2008 (Original item from 2008) Advocacy Strategies | General Animal Protection
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"Weathercocks and Signposts" critically reassesses current approaches to motivating environmentally-friendly behaviour change. Current behaviour-change strategies are increasingly
built upon analogy with product marketing campaigns. They often take as given the "sovereignty" of consumer choice, and the perceived need to preserve current lifestyles intact. This report constructs a case for a radically different approach. It presents evidence that any adequate strategy for tackling environmental challenges will demand engagement with the values that underlie the decisions we make – and, indeed, with our sense of who we are. [Excerpted from report]