Kinship appeals and conservation social marketing

Abstract

Increasing environmental problems and the need to obtain public support to help address them make effective appeals in conservation fundraising campaigns indispensable. However, social marketing messages based on data, characteristics of focal species, selfinterest, and moral responsibility tend to work best on targeted, and so limited, audiences. As conservation organizations reach out to broader audiences, they will require strategies that appeal to more potential donors. This paper argues that use of kinship symbolism to describe non-human species should make conservation marketing campaigns more effective. Evolutionary theories of altruism predict the power of kinship-recognition cues in encouraging and reinforcing sacrifice in non-kin, unreciprocated contexts, and these cues can be manipulated in marketing campaigns to protect threatened species and resources. People often behave altruistically toward ''fictive'' kin, and the labeling of non-humans as kin in many traditional, small-scale societies appears to be associated with environmental resource management. Characterizing non-human species, and even non-living resources, as kin to humans in marketing campaigns may promote a willingness to contribute to conservation-related causes.

Basking shark tourism in Donegal, Ireland – a case‐study of public interest and support for shark conservation

“…It is not clear if support for legal protection for basking sharks is related to the ‘charisma’ or ‘likeability’ of the species or a belief that it is economically valuable. Research has found that ‘cute’ and charismatic ‘flagship’ species tend to get more conservation support (Karaffa, Draheim & Parsons, 2012; Qirko, 2017). However, the lack of a significant difference between support for legal protections for ‘basking sharks’ or just ‘sharks’ may imply that survey respondents were overall receptive to conservation, regardless of the charisma of the species.…”

Jumping the Shark: White Shark Representations in Great White Serial Killer Lives—The Fear and the (Pseudo-)Science

“…Social scientists have also observed trends toward greater biophilia that are driving more effective conservation policy (Manfredo et al 2020). Enlarging species coverage and scientific content to address shark roles in marine ecosystem health as well as supplying critical-anthropomorphic portraits that personalize these nonhuman animals (Whitley et al 2021, p. 840;Qirko 2017) can contribute to their conservation by enhancing human empathy. In like manner, reporting on new scientific discoveries, such as white shark preferences, which coincide with associations that suggest the existence of friendships (Schilds et al 2019;Solstice Media 2019), can work to underscore individuality in a positive light and tap biophilic trends.…”

Using Animal Portraiture to Activate Emotional Affect

“…One of the most effective appeals in animal conservation is the use of kinship symbolism because characterizing nonhuman species and nonliving resources as kin to humans promotes a willingness to contribute to conservation (Qirko, 2017). Thus, anthropomorphism, or the attribution of human characteristics to animals and even the natural world, is recognized as a valuable tool for conservation (Root-Bernstein et al, 2013).…”