“Engaging readers and online consumers about the benefits of a thriving and healthy woodland eco system only strengthens the movement of like-minded people who are willing and ready to act for the environment. Using Immediate’s flagship brand titles we have seen great results from warm audiences across various titles – always centred on what the reader is engaged with and always putting the audiences first.

The Woodland Trust has been a partner with Immediate for six years and has in that time built upon strong foundations to use print formats to convey a combination of propositions and calls to action. Print is the backbone of our campaigns and with the multi-channel approach as a wrap-around, we are able to continue to strengthen our relationship with the readers and with Immediate to provide creative content that resonates and delivers results for the good of the planet.”

Sofia Nazar Chadwick, Lead Membership Innovation Manager

The Challenge

The Woodland Trust fights for a world in which woods and trees thrive for wildlife and for people. Their aim was to drive engagement, favourability, understanding, and inspire action amongst a target audience of eco-conscious, wildlife and nature enthusiasts.

They planned to achieve this by leaning into the ethos and values of Immediate Media’s editorial brands (primarily BBC Gardeners’ World magazine), communicating their purpose and connecting with readers in a meaningful, contextual way.

The campaign’s objectives were:

• Drive engagement via content that would communicate the benefits of trees and woods.
• Improve favourability of the Woodland Trust vs competitor charities.
• Increase understanding of the Woodland Trust’s purpose and differences through content that would educate through shared knowledge.
• Inspire action, in terms of Memberships, visits to woodlandtrust.org.uk and recommendations.
• Create a body of work that would consistently month after month communicate the value of nature to readers and work across a multi-platform framework.
• Delivering content that would resonate with readers and lead them toward a tipping point of taking action to join the Trust or to engage in other meaningful action to help the nature and climate crisis.

The Big Idea

Immediate’s green audience makes up some 30% of the adult population and is a priority segment for the Trust. Immediate titles were selected where Woodland Trust was confident the readership was warm to their values, including BBC Gardeners’ World, Radio Times and BBC History magazine. Immediate’s audience are 250% more likely than average to be eco-leaders and over twice as likely to donate to a conservation/environmental charity.

The campaign aligned nicely with the editorial sustainability focus across the brands, including the ‘Grow Greener’ campaign in BBC Gardeners’ World. Tapping into the readers’ existing support of causes relating to sustainability and the environment meant that this already warm audience was committed and ready to act for the good of the planet.

The campaign focused on four key themes: trees, woods, wildlife, and people.

Despite numerous brands and different CTAs designed to drive different forms of engagement, it was paramount that The Woodland Trust maintained a laser focus on the needs of each editorial brand’s readership, always putting the audience first and building a relationship via consistent, relevant content. The broad label of “the environment” can encompass everything from climate change to ocean pollution. The Woodland Trust’s focus on the nature crisis and actions that can be taken to achieve real results here in the UK, meant conveying that message to readers in a non-preachy and engaging way.

This is the sixth year that the Trust and Immediate have worked together and the campaign continues to develop and evolve with an 8-page, bound in supplement on high gsm paper and right in the heart of one of the biggest issues of BBC Gardeners’ World. The content feels likes an extension to the magazine showing just how well aligned the Trust and BBC Gardeners’ World messages really are.

The Woodland Trust team collaborated closely with Immediate Media’s Imagine studio to produce content that promotes the work of the Trust and the benefits of becoming a member in a contextual, meaningful way.

A multi-brand, multi-touchpoint approach across Immediate’s print portfolio gave the Trust a consistent presence, which has enabled them to engage deeply with audiences. Display adverts, advertorials and inserts allowed them to focus on various aspects of the Trust’s work, hero their partnership with Nectar, and show other ways in which audiences could engage with them.

For different editorial titles, the Trust leveraged the expertise of different experts, from gardening to history, to nature. A close working relationship with Immediate allowed the client to identify forthcoming magazine themes and understand reader insights, the benefit being that they could effectively communicate the work of the Trust in ways that would complement editorial and reflect readers’ interests via relevant, engaging content.

Print has played a leading role in building relationships with Immediate’s audiences – there’s nothing better than a good cuppa and a magazine! – but this has been complemented by event and digital activation, giving The Woodland Trust a consistent presence across the portfolio of brands. Live shows like Gardeners World Live at the NEC see the Trust regularly exceed membership signup targets, and attendees repeatedly report that they love the magazine content.

Results

The campaign continues to drive impressive results, with conversations underway about a seventh year of partnership with Immediate.

• Huge engagement: 70% of those who recalled the campaign say they read all/most of the 8-page supplement. One third took at least one form of action, with 34% agreeing that they’d support the Trust through volunteering/campaigning to save woodlands.
• High favourability vs competitors: 88% have a favourable view of the Woodland Trust (vs Wildlife Trust 72% and National Trust (77%). 7% say they would recommend the Trust.
• Understanding of purpose and differences: 57% agree “I know more about the Trust and its purpose,” while 51% understand the key difference between the Trust and its competitors.
• Driving action: 36% say they’re likely to donate to the Woodland Trust, while 6% have donated since seeing the campaign. 5% purchased something on woodlandtrust.org.uk

Sources: Immediate Media Brand Uplift Study, presented January 2023 and GB TGI 2022 February (January 2021 – December 2021) – Media Owner Pop

“The Woodland Trust’s ‘Campaign for Good’ ensures that our propositions are relatable and achievable. Ensuring that our content aligns with each and every one of the readers we are talking with. Our strategy focusses on great brand synergy, and we can align our strategy goal to inspire audiences to trusted BBC brands in the Immediate portfolio. We work closely with Immediate to produce engaging content that creates conversations and that educates audiences to the value of protecting nature and to the threats we all face in the nature and climate crises. Informing audiences who are committed and ready to act. Immediate’s numerous on and offline platforms allow different styles and approaches, and we can see that (Call to action, education, awareness) they all work.”

Sofia Nazar Chadwick, Lead Membership Innovation Manager