The Challenge
BC is home to more biodiversity than any province or territory in Canada, yet, 43% of the province’s assessed species have low or dwindling populations.
The Nature Trust of BC wants to challenge this alarming stat. As BC’s leading non-profit land conservation organization, its mission is to conserve BC’s biological diversity through securing and managing ecologically significant land in perpetuity.
Yulu partnered with The Nature Trust of BC ahead of a busy year full of land conservation announcements leading up to its 50th anniversary of conserving land, and having 500 conservation properties across the province. Yulu’s role was to raise its profile with British Columbians, strengthen media connections and ultimately support and encourage donations now, and in the future.
The Strategy
Using insights from The Nature Trust of BC, Yulu developed a communications plan that focused on amplifying new property acquisitions, and highlighting why these parcels of land are ecologically important. For each key milestone, Yulu evaluated the newsworthiness and storytelling impact to inform a tailored media strategy that would build journalist relationships and reach the relevant audiences.
This included hosting a news conference to announce a $6M donation from the Wilson 5 Foundation to enable The Nature Trust to re-naturalize and enhance the Mariner Way, a property at the mouth of the Englishman River Estuary on Vancouver Island.
As well as media relations, Yulu executed an influencer strategy tied to World Nature Conservation Day on July 28. The campaign called for social media users to take a moment to #CelebrateBC and its conservation in honour of The Nature Trust, by sharing their favourite photo in the outdoors.
The Results & Impact
Yulu has represented The Nature Trust of BC since July 2021, and during this time media relations has proven to lead to direct donations being made to help protect ecologically important land. Over an 18 month period, Yulu has secured:
- Over 240 pieces of coverage, including Global TV, CHEK TV, Daily Hive, Castanet, and Explore Magazine
- 30 new media relationships
- Amplified 19 land announcements (both fundraising & project closing announcements)
- The World Nature Conservation Day influencer campaign resulted in a total reach of over 758K, 58 posts with the campaign hashtag, and an engagement of over 7,500.
