Firebird PR > Portfolio > Wildlife & Nature Conservation > Molewatch

Case Study: MoleWatch

Raising awareness about the conservation of moles on behalf of the People's Trust for Endangered Species

Area of expertise: Wildlife and nature conservation
Client: People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)
Project: MoleWatch Public Awareness Campaign

The brief

The People's Trust for Endangered Species launched MoleWatch, an online nationwide survey, in early 2008 to investigate the conservation status of moles (Talpa europea) in the UK.

PTES appointed Firebird Public Relations to deliver a PR campaign encouraging members of the public to take part in MoleWatch.

Objectives

To contribute towards the first-ever detailed UK-wide distribution map of molehills
To ensure the MoleWatch survey achieved a nationwide audience reach
To recruit a minimum of 10,000 individuals' sightings

Strategy and plan

We developed a PR campaign targeted at national environment correspondents, the gardening press and regional radio. We also used the BBC's General News Service to schedule 20 interviews with a PTES spokesperson.

Evaluation and measurement

In the week following the PR campaign launch, 117,000 molehills were recorded online
We secured:

national television coverage on BBC Breakfast News, BBC lunchtime news and CBBC Newsround
national radio coverage on BBC Radio 4 News, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, BBC Radio 2 News, and BBC Radio Five Live
national newspaper coverage in The Times and The Daily Express
regional radio coverage through interviews with PTES spokespeople on 22 local BBC radio stations, including: BBC Scotland, BBC Radio Wales, BBC London, BBC West Midlands, BBC Jersey, BBC Radio York, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and BBC Manchester
long lead consumer, lifestyle and wildlife magazines coverage in Homes and Gardens, Gardens Monthly, Pet Focus and Dogs Monthly

Information about the MoleWatch survey appeared on at least 45 different websites and social networking sites, including BBC News Online, Guardian Unlimited, Telegraph Online, icWales, Farmers Weekly Interactive, gardening.co.uk, and Wildlife UK Forum

Read national newspaper coverage of MoleWatch in The Times

PR Services provided

Media Relations

Successes

Extensive national media exposure
Raised awareness of the conservation status of moles

Testimonial

"As a conservation charity we continually survey and monitor the distribution of various species in the UK to track their well being and these surveys rely on widespread public participation. With Firebird PR's help, we launched MoleWatch in January 2008 to map the nation's molehills and hence the presence or absence of moles. We weren't at all sure how the campaign would go, many people regarding moles as a pest. But we shouldn't have worried. Firebird PR managed to secure widespread coverage in national and regional news outlets across all types of media, including TV, as well as specialist coverage in gardening, lifestyle, wildlife and conservation titles. They achieved a potential audience reach of nearly 55 million, leading to several thousand people taking part in the survey; a very important contribution to our work."

Jill Nelson
Chief Executive, People's Trust for Endangered Species