About Wilder National Parks

Surprisingly, research shows that three-quarters of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) within England’s national parks are in a poor condition and often in a worse state than elsewhere. Sparse and desolate natural spaces have become so much the norm for the British public, we have forgotten what thriving natural spaces really are.

The goal of the campaign was to demonstrate public support for national parks that make space for nature regeneration, and raise awareness of what that could look like. This included encouraging individual online responses to the UK Government public consultation.

How we worked

I was taken on in February 2022 to cover for Digital Lead, which was in the process of being recruited. As well as maintaining ‘business as usual’ digital output, such as organic social media and the monthly email newsletter, I helped run the Wilder National Parks Campaign. 

Paid social media

Initially led by an agency, I later took on the management for both Facebook and Twitter campaigns to maximise cost efficiency. Since rewilding is a controversial topic to some people, the campaign also benefited from some specific targeting and responsive moderation to reduce conflict in the comments. These ads drove a high proportion of our signatures.

Strategic Email Marketing

Initially our approach was a simple set of asks sent out to our mailing list, with a couple of variations for where in the UK people seemed to be (Scotland and Wales were not covered in the consultation). 

However, some additional recommendations I made to the team, based on success in previous client campaigns were: 

• A re-engagement campaign: Subscribers who opened the initial launch email but hadn't signed were targeted with a high-urgency "2 weeks to go" email. Counterintuitively, this segment outperformed the initial ask, so well worth the effort.
  

• Integrated share buttons: I introduced built-in click-to-share buttons (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) across all emails, not before tried by the team. This resulted in an additional 1,500 signatures, with WhatsApp being especially effective. 

Organic social media 

I created 12 original organic content pieces across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, tailoring messaging to fit each channel’s culture. This included a text based social-optimied video highlighting key species that are a part of rewilding, such as wildcats and pine martens.

Across all platforms, direct asks, countdown posts (e.g., "5 days to sign"), and high-profile video messaging (featuring Megan McCubbin and Chris Packham) drove the most engagement.

Strategic influencer and partner amplification

Rewilding Britain has some genuine supporters with high profiles, like George Monbiot, Chris Packham, Deborah Meaden and Kate Raworth. It also works closely with other organisations like Wild Justice and RSPB.

So, behind the scenes I co-ordinated with senior leadership to construct asks, and design personalised posts for these influential figures to share in support of the campaign, via email and social media. I found, to no surprise, that being contacted by people they knew personally, was much more likely to result in a heartfelt and effective post, rather than a more impersonal request from our brand account. This resulted in some of the biggest conversion spikes.