Feb. 5--For 50 years, The Nature Conservancy took pride in the quiet way it protected millions of acres of open space and wildlife habitat in the United States and around the world.
But it now finds that silent deeds do not speak loudly enough to recruit members, generate contributions and ensure its survival.
Last week, television commercials narrated by actor Paul Newman and print ads featuring landscapes on the Oregon Coast and elsewhere made their debut in Portland, Denver and Charlotte, N.C. The advertisements, backed by a $1 million media buy, are intended to introduce The Nature Conservancy in the three test markets and, eventually, to audiences nationwide.
Where once there was The Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club and a handful of other groups, environmental advocacy now extends to hundreds of organizations that must compete for a niche -- and battle a rising number of conservative organizations trying to discredit their messages. Environmental groups are finding that cultivating a well-defined, well-known public image is essential.
That starts with name recognition. It's why the National Wildlife Federation joined McDonald's for a "Happy Meals" promotion. And why the iconoclastic group Greenpeace commissions public opinion polls about itself.
"We want to know how we're perceived and what the public likes and doesn't like," said Bill Richardson, spokesman for Greenpeace in Washington, D.C.
Thirty years ago, few could have predicted that environmental groups, with their humble grassroots beginnings, would become sophisticated marketers, said Michael Kraft, interim chairman of the Department of Public and Environmental Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
But environmentalism isn't a fringe movement any more.
"Now these groups hire PR specialists, marketing specialists, direct mail specialists and fund-raising specialists," Kraft said. "They're professionals. They've got big budgets. . . . If they position themselves correctly, they can have a much broader constituency."
In 1998, The Nature Conservancy commissioned a public opinion survey that proved how little Americans knew about the conservancy as well as others of the nation's oldest and most prominent environmental organizations.
The survey asked 1,200 Americans who described themselves as "very concerned" about the environment to name the environmental groups they were familiar with. Seventeen percent of the respondents named Greenpeace, more than any other. The Sierra Club drew a mention from 13 percent; 10 percent knew of the National Wildlife Federation; just 5 percent named The Nature Conservancy.
The results surprised Philip Kavits, vice president of communications for the National Wildlife Federation. With more than 4 million members, the federation is one of the largest and most aggressive groups in getting its name before the public, he said.
The latest example of National Wildlife Federation's campaign to build lasting and favorable recognition with the public is "Animal Baby," a new magazine aimed at babies and toddlers 12 months to 3 years old. Now the federation offers publications for infants through adults, Kavits said. The group produces films for television and the movie screen and provides a pathway to the World Wide Web through its Internet provider business, nwf.net.
The organization also broadens its reach through licensing and promotional agreements with for-profit businesses. Wild Birds Unlimited, a retail chain catering to backyard bird-lovers, sold products bearing the National Wildlife Federation logo -- a symbolic triangle depicting mountains, people and wildlife -- through such an agreement.
Kavits said the group has also partnered with some businesses with which other environmental groups would not want to be associated. As part of a special promotion, customers who purchased at least eight gallons at BP/Amoco gas stations could also get stuffed toys, "Endangered Wildlife Friends," tagged with the National Wildlife Federation logo and bearing the message that fossil fuel consumption contributes to global climate change. The federation was compensated for lending its name, though Kavits declined to reveal the amount.
What's most important, he said, was that the promotion offered the federation "the opportunity to reach a new audience."
Marketing experts refer to this type of activity as "branding." Or, roughly translated, the lengths to which businesses, organizations and some individuals will go to burn a favorable image into the public's minds and hearts -- and to be distinctly remembered for it.
"There's no doubt that it's more important now than it's ever been because of media proliferation and because we have so much more stimulus in our lives," said Daryl Travis, author of the book "Emotional Branding."
The Nature Conservancy created the position of "director of brand marketing" about a year ago and hired Nancy Crozier, who had fulfilled a similar role for the American Red Cross. Crozier began her work for The Nature Conservancy by conducting "value research."
"We found a lot of decision-making is with both head and heart," she said. "When you talk to people about things they personally value, they would say 'Just connect me emotionally with that sense of place, the landscapes, I want to make sure they remain unspoiled forever.' "
If Crozier can successfully connect with those values, she said, then The Nature Conservancy will meet its goals.
By 2010, the group wants to have conserved 500 landscapes in the United States and 100 more in 35 countries abroad. In Oregon within the next three years, The Nature Conservancy has set goals to improve upon 15 of its existing preserves and acquire 10 new preserves. It also plans to join with partners in creating yet 10 more preserves.
The conservancy's ambitious Oregon agenda is among the reasons the Portland region was selected as one of three test markets for its new media campaign.
But other efforts are under way, as well, to raise the nonprofit's profile.
Last fall the conservancy's Oregon chapter hired lobbyist Hilary Abraham as director of government relations. One of her first efforts: to secure The Nature Conservancy's eligibility for contributions through a check-off on state income tax forms. It could be worth $100,000 in contributions, said Stephen Anderson, conservancy spokesman.
To be listed in the 2001 tax preparation booklet, The Nature Conservancy of Oregon must gather 10,000 signatures from registered voters. If it succeeds, it will not only enjoy fundraising exposure but all-important name recognition, even to those who choose not to contribute.
About 27,000 Oregonian households are members of the conservancy. Polling indicates that 12 percent of the state's conservation-minded residents are aware of the organization. The conservancy is counting on its advertising over the next eight weeks as well as its other activities this year to boost those numbers.
"We can't accomplish our mission without engaging more people," said Russell Hoeflich, the group's Oregon director. "The bottom line is Oregon is changing fast. Unless we do something now, we're going to lose those opportunities."
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(c) 2001, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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