Hunter Outreach & Awareness Campaign

In 2016, Pac/West was retained by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a targeted outreach and awareness marketing campaign aimed at increasing the number of hunting licenses sold in Oregon, which in turn fund conservation efforts in our state. The campaign targeted hunters, hunters with lapsed licenses, and a demographic we identified through research as most likely to become first-time hunters.

Research

We began by reviewing all secondary research available. Then, partnering with Moore Information, an Oregon-based research firm, we conducted stakeholder interviews to identify issues and barriers to our overall success. Next, using ODFW’s database, we conducted a survey of current and lapsed hunters to determine perceived benefits and barriers to renewing hunting or fishing licenses every year, and to test possible message points. Moore Information also conducted a statewide survey to explore general public opinions, as well as identify new target audience(s) most likely to do the desired behavior, their perceived barriers, and the benefits that may move them to take action.

After analyzing all data, several creative concepts were developed for each target audience and goal: Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation. The concepts were tested with two focus groups, one with men and another with women who represented a cross section of the target audiences. Pac/West developed a multi-phase promotional mix for each targeted audience, as well as a user-friendly website for the campaign.

Project Implementation

Based on research, we used the following methods to reach specific audiences and engage with different target demographics: digital media, social media, direct mail, print, email, TV/radio/Pandora/Spotify, stakeholder outreach, and event outreach.

During the current first phase of the campaign, digital advertisements were placed, each targeting one of the three audience segments for Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation. The digital ads resulted in click through rates up to .24%, three to four times the industry average. The series of digital ads, along with social media and mailers, drove traffic to a landing page we developed for the initiative, www.oregonhunter.info (no longer in use). The website was designed to be user friendly, ADA compliant, and compatible with mobile devices.

The site allowed us to greet visitors with an attractive, mobile-ready website that matched the look and feel of our marketing materials, while directing users to key pages on ODFW’s website. We measured traffic and site interaction using Google Analytics, providing ongoing reports to ODFW to determine the success of the various marketing elements.

In addition, a total of four mailers were sent to lapsed hunters in ODFW’s database, ages 57-75 and living in the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon.

Take a Friend Hunting Contest

In early February 2017, Pac/West launched ODFW’s new adult mentor program, the “Take a Friend Hunting” contest. The contest was part of ODFW’s efforts to raise awareness of the benefits of hunting among Oregonians and promote participation in the sport by encouraging experienced adult hunters to take out other adult friends and family members who had either never hunted before or had not hunted in several years. Mentors were entered into a drawing to be rewarded for the role they played to help a new hunter get started or a former hunter return. We solicited donated prizes from outdoor businesses Cabela’s, Bi-Mart, David Kurt Knives, Leupold, Nosler, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Vista Outdoors, and Weatherby. Sportsmen conservation groups Boone & Crockett Club, Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and Mule Deer Foundation also donated prizes.

We used digital and social media advertising to promote the contest. Using programmatic digital targeting, we focused ad delivery to existing hunters, people who participated in shooting sports, and those who enjoyed outdoor recreation. We also targeted Oregon’s metropolitan areas, and women and underrepresented ethnic groups. While Facebook does not have the ability to micro target, we still used the platform to inform people who followed ODFW, and other hunting and conservation groups, about the contests. Both efforts resulted in tens of thousands of clicks to the contest landing page. Our digital and social media advertising results have been five times higher than the industry standard. We also used Instagram story ads which performed at a .59% click through rate.

The Take a Friend Hunting contest received tremendous amounts of public interest and great feedback from industry leaders. About 40% of the mentee signups were women, a demographic that is very difficult to reach in the industry. Also, those that participated in the contest both as mentors and mentees were younger than the general hunting license holders and a higher percentage were women.

In the first year of the Take a Friend Hunting contest, we generated over 200,000 visits to ODFW’s website due to contest ads, 40% of whom were women. The Take a Friend Hunting contest resulted in over 1,500 participants in the first year, which means nearly 800 people were introduced to hunting for the first time. This helps to increase the longevity of Oregon’s hunting population and shows our target marketing was successful. Equally importantly, it also helped ODFW spread awareness about hunting and wildlife conservation. Purchases of hunting licenses and equipment funds wildlife management efforts, as well as research, habitat restoration, and other work that benefits both game species and wildlife species that are not hunted.

Our efforts on the campaign resulted in multiple prestigious industry awards, including from the Public Relations Society of America Oregon Chapter and the PR News’ 2018 Elite Agency award in Marketing Communications for the Take a Friend Hunting program. We also received Honorable Mention in the Marketing to Women and Consumer Marketing categories.

The focus of this effort, including the contest, was to educate Oregonians on the benefits of hunting and encourage those inclined to participate. As a result, Oregonians have increased participation, better appreciation for hunting, and a greater understanding of the benefits hunting brings to the environment, economy, and society.