Wildlife Action Language IN, Wildlife Action Results OUT

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There’s been quite a few public opinion polls and surveys lately which paint a distressing picture of waning public urgency around global warming. So when the Due Diligence Test Panel rates a global warming email more highly than a batch of competing pieces, it’s worth noting what the authors did right.

The author, in this case, is World Wildlife Fund. WWF organizes the annual Earth Hour, a simple “take action” campaign to send a message to officials about public support for global warming action. They’ve done a great job: The chart above shows how the two events have each produced a sharp spike in Google search activity. Meanwhile, longer running wildlife-themed events like International Migratory Bird Day and National Wildlife Refuge Week don’t produce enough search activity to even register.

Here are some numbers that the sounding board gave the Earth Hour email and a batch of comparable pieces. For a piece about global warming these days, the Earth Hour numbers are damn good:

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So what has World Wildlife Fund done right? I think it’s two things. The first is that they have followed Step One; Begin with Behavior to the extreme. Earth Hour is all about a simple action: turning off your lights. In comparison, wildlife refuge week and migratory bird day both have complex messages and activities that all revolve around that nebulous idea of “raising awareness.”

The second is that WWF has fully honored both the letter and the spirit of the Words That Work list: working together, doing your part, and making a difference. When I asked the test panel what they liked best about the piece, the answers revealed how much WWF’s effort here has paid off:

• “The fact that so many people joined in the cause last time around.”
• “The strongest thing about the piece was the statement that one billion people participated in Earth Hour last year. That shows that this issue is important and should encourage people to participate this year.”
• “The numbers quoted about world wide and American participation seem quite compelling.”

Click the links below for the original materials:

• Email: Take Action for Polar Bears, Tigers and Marine Turtles
• Due Diligence Test Panel review of this email

By the way, Earth Hour 2010 will be held on March 27th.

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