The key problems associated with the wildlife trade are legal overextraction, legal overproduction and legal overconsumption. These are enabling the illegal trade to also flourish and, combined, they are driving biodiversity loss.

Decades of conservation charities showing the public campaigns with pictures of iconic or cute animals hasn’t worked to stop their consumption. Similarly, decades of lavish wildlife documentaries haven’t made a dent in overextraction of biodiversity or habitat loss.

If the aim of a campaign is to reduce demand it needs to focus on the consumer not the animal being consumed. Campaigns focusing on iconic and cute species are more likely designed to fulfill the needs of conservation organisations (i.e. fundraising) and donors (to feel good).

If we want to change consumer behaviour, we need to follow the advice of those who have done this more successfully than anyone else – the anti-smoking experts. As one of the best known told us: “Negative messaging campaigns do the grunt work. Positive messaging campaigns make them palatable for (government) donors to fund”.

In the main, the only ways to change consumer behaviour in relation to the consumption of wild species is to trigger:

1. Status anxiety – consumer is rejected by peer group or group they aspire to be a part of
2. Health anxiety – consumer is worried about health implications of buying ‘product’

In addition to these main reasons, in some cases for the illegal trade in wild species, some consumers, in some countries, may be worried about the implications of being caught. But it is important to remember that many consumers of illegal wildlife products feel above the law, basically because they often are.

Addressing consumer demand also means threatening the companies involved in the trade. The only way to change their desire to supply is if they lose money, the profits became too marginal, or brand value is lost in selling the ‘product’.

Hence both consumers and the supplying companies need to lose status as part of a well-designed demand reduction campaign. With these in mind, and by way of an example, Nature Needs More has created the Wildlife Trade Honesty Ads Campaign.

With each of the adverts we create, we have outlined a separate campaign brief to set the tone for successful project execution, including how a success outcome will be measured. In the case of the Wildlife Trade Honesty Ads campaign, the measure of success is if the desire to supply and/or the desire to consume by the key user groups are reduced. In the medium to long term this would translate into a reduction in extraction and production.

The aim of the campaign brief is to help creatives understand the project, the target audience, deliverables, tone of voice, timelines etc.  Key to the brief is that it:

1. Understand target audience: Campaigns must be seen by and resonate with target audience. Clearly define the audience to provide insights into demographics, preferences, behaviours, and pain points.
2. Minimise miscommunication: Misunderstandings waste time and resources. The brief is there to bridge the gap between everyone involved in creating a shared understanding of the project’s scope.
3. Clarify objectives: By providing a detailed understanding of the project’s purpose, efforts and resources can be used more efficiently.
4. Ensure consistency in messaging: Well-structured creative briefs help maintain consistency in messaging across different platforms and channels.
5. Measure success: Include measurable goals and success metrics to benchmark project progress. See Campaign Evaluation Techniques.