News
Futerra Report: 'Branding Biodiversity'
Published 20 July 2010 in Sustainable Development
On 13 July Futerra published a report on how to effectively communicate on biodiversity issues that urges campaigners, policy makers and the media to replace messages of biodiversity loss and extinction with messages based on 'awe and wonder', the economic value of biodiversity and requests for action.
The report, Branding Biodiversity, divides biodiversity messages into 4 categories: loss, love, need, and action. Futerra hopes it will provide communicators with an effective formula to use in their own messaging.
The report states that "Across myriad environmental issues, communicators have learnt the hard way that supplying technically-correct, logical information doesn’t seem to change behaviours.", and argues that messages of "loss" are not "motivator[s] for change".
Futerra instead suggest that messages of "love" that inspire "awe, fascination and
wonder for the natural world" are a more effective motivator for action. If these are combined with "need" messages - providing economic reasons against biodiversity loss - and "action" messages that make specific requests of the public or policy makers, then the communications will become more powerful.
Futerra is a UK sustainability communications agency. The agency recently produced "Sell the Sizzle", a report on climate change communications which urges "climate campaigners and business advertisers to stop selling visions of hell. Instead we must all create and sell a new vision of a 'low carbon heaven'".
To download Branding Diversity and Sell the Sizzle, visit:
http://www.futerra.co.uk/revolution/leading_thinking