Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Capital Campaign To Build River Otter Habitat

Posted by jenniferh on 3/3/2014 at 1:34 PM ET 250 Points
We are a wildlife sanctuary on the boundary of Yellowstone National Park. We provide homes for grizzly bears, grey wolves, and birds-of-prey who can no longer live in the wild.
Our next big project is a riparian habitat for trout, otters, water birds, and other indicator species represented in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This exhibit will educate visitors about the critical interrelationships between predators, prey, and native habitat.
The project has 3 phases - the first, blueprints and conceptual work, is complete. Beginning second phase - foundation and concrete structures - now. Third phase will begin 2015-2016 and will complete indoor and outdoor facility, training, educational programming, animal care, etc.
Should we have a tagline for each of the upcoming phases (2 & 3)? Or one over-arching slogan for fundraising over the next several years? Have thought about the following broad themes:
Dig in
Puzzle pieces
Interwoven/intertwined
Just add water
Build it
Come alive
It's time
but nothing is grabbing me. Any ideas? Thank you!!!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 3/3/2014 at 1:49 PM Member
    I would do one slogan/tagline for the entire project. The average donor isn't going to so much care about each stage, but about the end result.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/3/2014 at 1:50 PM Member
    Use one slogan for the whole project and number the phases: Phase I, Phase II, Phase III.

    Avoid using tricksy or catchy elements. All they do is slow down your primary message.

    Just tell people what the project is: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Project. And outline in no more than 15 words what the project will achieve in terms of its goal and what the goal is as a mission.

    Your thoughts along the lines of:

    Just add water
    Build it
    Come alive
    It's time

    and so on don't communicate anything.

    "Build it" Build what?

    "Just add water" to what?

    "It's time" for what?

    Each one of these things is an abstract on which there are no descriptive elements, to which there are no keys. They have to be explained.

    But "The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Project" is self contained. It says what the thing is, where it is, and what it's about. Or, it does if it has a follow on statement along the lines of "Furthering Human Understanding Of The Animals, Plants, and Natural Habitats of Greater Yellowstone"
  • Posted on 3/3/2014 at 3:06 PM Moderator
    One slogan that captures the big idea. Keep it simple and straightforward. Stay away from cute/clever. None of your name candidates make the cut.
  • Posted by jenniferh on 3/3/2014 at 3:25 PM Author
    I know! I know they are vague and generic and not working.
    It's not the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Project. It's a trout and river otter habitat to educate people about these key species and riparian areas WITHIN the GYEcosystem.
    The mission of the Center is to offer visitors an opportunity to observe, understand, and appreciate grizzly bears, grey wolves, and birds-of-prey. So we're expanding our mission to expand understanding of the prey and indicator species that support and are supported by bears and wolves... We are a small organization, currently housing 8 bears, 7 wolves, and 9 raptors. We get just under 150,000 visitors annually. This new project will be a huge expansion for us.
    Could we say something about expanding our vision, expanding the future, expanding the habitat to expand people's understanding??? something along these lines? Or do something with A River Runs Through It (without plagiarizing) because we are adding a river habitat???
    I appreciate everyone's help and creativity. I've been noodling on this for weeks. Thank you!!
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 3/3/2014 at 4:01 PM Member
    Plunge into/Splash out for our new Waterlife Sanctuary

    The Riverlife Extension - on stream in 2015

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/3/2014 at 4:05 PM Member
    Your message shouldn't be about "expanding people's understanding" - it should be directed to why they'd care about "understanding". Why would knowing more matter to them (especially if you're looking for grants/donations)? What do people say about their experience (both long- and short-term) after visiting your Center in general? How do adding more species complement this experience?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/3/2014 at 4:33 PM Member
    What's the name of the area and what single thought do you want people to remember forever as a result of their interaction with your habitat area?
  • Posted by jenniferh on 3/3/2014 at 4:34 PM Author
    Great questions and ideas. Thanks all. One slogan. I hear you.
    Gary, didn't mean to contradict - I definitely get what you're saying and can work with your suggestions. I just don't want to think TOO big.
    Nice off the cuff options Saul! Keep 'em coming!!
    And Jay, I looked at our TripAdvisor reviews after your response (GREAT thinking about WIIFM and complementing what visitors are already getting), and the comments that arise over and over are that the experience is educational, fun, and amazing (to see the animals up close). Knowledgeable and friendly staff, informative exhibits, great photo opps. No one on TripAdvisor is saying a word about saving the planet or learning more about predator-prey interrelationships. So you're right about the message.
    Now what?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/3/2014 at 4:36 PM Member
    Perhaps having spent 11 years working in a natural history museum clouded my judgement. Indeed, why on earth would anyone care about this habitat at this time? And if you're speaking to a general audience, words such as "riparian" will need to be simplified.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/3/2014 at 4:38 PM Member
    If the three points "Knowledgeable and friendly staff, informative exhibits, great photo opportunities" are mentioned again and again, those are the things people care about, so those things need to be some of the things you speak of.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/3/2014 at 4:44 PM Member
    See More Of Nature Up Close!
    Want More Fun Animal Encounters?
    Nature - You Otter' Be There!
  • Posted by jenniferh on 3/3/2014 at 4:48 PM Author
    So, the Madison River is our local blue ribbon trout stream, and our targeted audience for this expansion is made up of many fly-fishermen, so we were going to call the exhibit the Banks of the Madison River Otter and Riparian Habitat. Yawn, right?
    Gary, your questions are spot on. I'm a huge picture person, and MY vision is that when people see river otters and cutthroat trout they will instantly join one conservation group or ten, and save the rivers, trout, wilderness, entire Yellowstone to Yukon wildlife corridor, and all the animals it contains. I want them to visit, fall in love with playful river otters, and commit their time and money to saving wild places and wild grizzlies all the way down to wild cutthroat trout. I don't really care about photo opps, but you have to start somewhere.
    You're probably sorry you asked.
  • Posted on 3/3/2014 at 5:13 PM Moderator
    Banks of the Madison River Otter and Riparian Habitat

    OMG! 9 words and 18 syllables! And a word everyone will have to look up in the dictionary (if they care).

    OK. So you're probably stuck with the name. How about a tagline that is easy, plain English ... like:

    "The Amazing Ecosystem That Is (or Supports) Yellowstone"
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 3/4/2014 at 4:02 AM Member
    Become an otter spotter on the Madison River Conservation Project

    See what you can save down at the River Bank

    Wade in to riverlife conservation

    Explore and discover the Madison River, lifeblood of the valley

    See who's hanging out in our river habitats
  • Posted by jenniferh on 3/4/2014 at 8:27 AM Author
    You guys are awesome. 18 syllables made me laugh. I know.
    Thank you all so much. You are helping me get there. You definitely know what you're doing and what I'm up against. It's a $3.9 million campaign all told, so you can see why I'm searching for just the right words before launching Phases II and III... Phase I was mostly behind the scenes but we're working up print materials, etc. and everything is there but the wham-o, unifying, compelling, endearing, magical phrase....
    Thank you again and again.
  • Posted on 3/4/2014 at 8:57 AM Moderator
    You need to force yourself to focus on a big idea, and not let yourself get bogged down in details or features or technical limitations. Not always easy, but it's the key to coming up with that "magical phrase."
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/4/2014 at 10:07 PM Member
    Something along the alines of Experience The Madison River Valley: Home of Grizzly Bears, Grey Wolves, and Birds-of-Prey
  • Posted by Prue on 3/6/2014 at 10:38 PM Accepted
    Banks of the Madison River Otter and Riparian Habitat
    - Creating awareness, building habitats

    I would have a slightly more serious in nature tagline, something that people would feel proud to support and something that clearly identifies what you are trying to do. Having a tagline that highlights the cause will give people the chance, at a quick glance, to see that what you are working on here is a good thing.
    Creating awareness is something easy and it's something that everyone can do, if you are educating people and wanting community engagement it is very easy for them so tell a friend about what they have learnt, and in doing that, they are contributing directly to your tagline statement. When people feel like they have contributed to something they are more likely to get behind it and back it.

    Your original tagline ideas like 'just add water' are very cute and quirky which I really like, however, I think you could portray this friendly/ cute personable side of the organisation by utilizing visual graphics, these graphics could also represent the 3 stages of your project.
    Example of cute quirky graphic design may be a stylized illustration of a family crouching down to take a picture on an Otter... that type of thing.

    I hope this helps in some small way! I think what you are doing is great and so needed, keep up the great work!!!! :)
  • Posted by jenniferh on 3/11/2014 at 4:03 PM Author
    Thank you EVERYONE for your time and thoughts. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your creativity, energy, support, and ideas. I think we're on our way to a tagline that tells the story of what we're doing, with separate campaign and appeal titles down the road that are quirky and fun. You are all wonderful, and I hope you'll stop by the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center next time you come to Yellowstone National Park! Ask for Jen.
  • Posted by Prue on 3/11/2014 at 9:31 PM Member
    Hi Jen, Glad to help! Please feel free to keep me as a contact if you ever need any free marketing or graphic design advice or even if you just need a sounding board for ideas. Our company has a few organizations that we donate our time and skills to, and your conservation efforts is an endeavour that we would love to contribute to.

    You can find my email address on my profile, just click on my name above in blue.
  • Posted by Prue on 3/11/2014 at 9:41 PM Member
    Actually I don't think you can see my email in my profile, here it is [Email address deleted by staff] would love to hear from you! :)
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