This document discusses communications strategies on a landscape scale. It covers branding the landscape through consistent guidelines, producing newsletters in both print and electronic formats, and using social media like Twitter and Facebook to engage new audiences. The challenges of limited budgets, transitioning to new media, and maintaining a unified identity across partner organizations are also addressed. The importance of communication in building support and inspiring conservation of special landscapes is emphasized.

1. Communications on
a landscape scale
Shane Harris
Tourism & Communications Manager

2. • “People will protect
nature because they
want to, not
because they have
to.”
– ‘branding biodiversity’,
Futerra

3. Communications – why bother?
• If people don’t know
about our special
animals and
plants…
• If people don’t value
our special
landscapes…
• Will they care when
they’re threatened?

4. Outline
• Branding – on a
shoestring
• Newsletters – print vs
electronic… a case study
• Social media –
conversations with new
audiences
• Crystal ball –
challenges we face
• Final words

6. Branding… history
• Pre-2007
– confused identity
– lack of consistency
– levels of conflicting identity
– Geopark/AONB status
– = dog’s breakfast!
• Jan 2007 launched
Logo and Branding
Guidelines
– consistent approach
adopted
– family of communications
– belonging

7. Branding… developing story
• Changes in Geopark
logos
• End of landscape scale
projects
• ‘Landscapes for life’
branding guidelines
– AONB Family push
– Framework to work
together
– Need to support &
integrate
• Time for a refresh!

8. Branding… the refresh
• The challenge:
– implement ‘Landscapes
for life’ brand guidelines
– highlight Geopark status
– retain a ‘local’ North
Pennines feel
– Consistent approach
across all Partnership
communications – print,
posters, letterhead,
website, email
signatures…
– very limited budget

9. Branding… the refresh
• The solution:
– Landscapes for life logo
on front
– retain ‘landscape rip’
– single ‘hero’ image
– title/sub-title colour block
– local area logo on back
cover
• Issues:
– loss of local identity?
– partial implementation?
– team resistance

10. Branding… website
• 2011/12
– opportunistic refresh
– CMS change
– full implementation of
‘Landscape for life’ brand
guidelines

11. Branding… letterhead etc.
• Branding refresh
included:
– Letterhead
– Compliments slip
– PowerPoint slides
– Email signatures
– Poster template
• Consistent ‘look and
feel’ across all
communications

12. Branding… thoughts
• Necessary evil…
– consistent look and feel
– unified identity
– reinforces messages
– Landscapes for life –
‘together we’re stronger’
• Used local designer…
– realistic costs (£1,290!)
– lots of ‘hand holding’
– needed clear vision
– time to develop: 6-8mths

14. Newsletters… case study
• Two paper editions of North
Pennines News a year
• Design, print & distribution
costs
• c£5K per edition (26p each)
• Advantages:
– Reach 14,000 households
– No opt-in
– Profile/prominence
• Disadvantages:
– Cost
– Carbon
– Time consuming

15. Enewsletters
• First done Jan 2011
• £500 set up – thereafter £20
flat fee + 2p per email
• Per year
– 4 enewsletters (1,304)
– 4 Sustainable Tourism Enews (513)
– 2 Volunteer Ebulletins (292)
• Costs per year £356.72
• Advantages:
– Cost savings
– More immediate/adaptable
– SEO
– More engaged
audience/subscribers
• Disadvantages:
– Reduced reach
– More ephemeral

16. Enewsletters vs Printed newsletters
• Transition from traditional to
new media…
• Print being gradually
replaced by electronic
• Currently - One edition of
North Pennines News per
year and a variety of
enewsletters
• Cost savings of c£4K per
annum
• Ultimately…

18. Social media… overview
• “Content isn’t king,
Conversation is King.
Content is just something to
talk about.” Source: HitRiddle
• facebook – More than 901
million (1bn by end 2012,
14% of world population)
• twitter – 555 million (10
million in UK)
• Google+ – 170 million
• Pinterest – 11.7 million
• Linkedin – 150 million

19. Social media - twitter
• Microblogging
– tweet content – care required!
• About what you are doing
• Joined Aug 2010
– 2,060 ‘followers’ currently
• Themed campaigns
– Bike Week 2012 – 12K+
– Green Tourism Week 2012:
• 39RTs, 19k/118K reach
• Potential
– Yorkshire Dales 8K, ANPA
15K, RSPB – 29K

20. Social media - facebook
• Building loyalty/ informal
conversations
• Joined February 2011
– 320 ‘likes’ currently
• Images/video clips
popular
• Potential:
– Yorkshire Dales 3K,
ANPA 2.5K, RSPB 23K

21. Social media – the future?
• Here to stay!
• Free but consumes time…
– willingness to engage
• Challenge is to integrate
effort across platforms
• Responding to new kids on
the block?
– Pinterest
• Third of all traffic to
www.greentraveller.co.uk
arrives via their blog (500K
unique vis per mth)
– SEO – increasingly
important?

23. The future…
• Mobile technology
– apps, mobile-friendly websites
• Social media
– conversation rather than broadcasting…
• Reducing resource
– time and money
• Transition from traditional media to new
media
– When will print die?

24. The future
Alongside this…
• Ever more important to:
– engage and win support
– crowded market place
• ‘We are family’
– must speak with one voice across the AONB Family
– desirable to work with other Protected Landscape
categories…

25. Final words
• Communications must:
– reflect our QUALITY
landscapes
– encourage people to
VALUE them
– and INSPIRE everyone
to care about and take
action…
– … to CONSERVE and
ENHANCE them