Put tested messages on the ground to achieve recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) through podcast and streaming audio ADS in 4 pilot states in the southeastern US

This $266,730.20 federal Project Grant, awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (CFDA 15.628), will fund the development and placement of podcast and streaming audio advertisements to support hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts in 4 pilot states in the Southeastern U.S. The National Deer Association (NDA), the awardee, will work with state representatives to create targeted ad creative based on research-developed hunter personas, then measure the effectiveness of the ads at driving license purchases and renewed participation. The project will produce ad scripts, recordings, and a final report with case studies detailing the campaign's outcomes and lessons learned, which will be made available for use by other states.

Working with representatives from each state and the national deer association, we would develop audio ADS for placement in each state. We would use the research funded by the multistate conservation grant F22AP01126, which developed new hunter personas, and develop ad creative around each of the personas and target the messages developed to family firsts, self sufficients, locavores, and recreationalists. Then this project will measure success at increasing participation by using license purchase behavior to determine success using pixel tracking technology. The persona research found in the R3 clearinghouse recommends placing ADS in streaming or podcasts as these targeted groups engage with that medium very often. On top of that research, in 2023 podcast listeners increased to 164 million in the US and listenership has increased 60 percent since 2020. Of all podcast listeners, almost half (47 percent) are aged 12-34 years 33 percent are 35 to 54-year-olds and the remaining 20 percent are aged 55 years. The majority of podcast listeners are male (53 percent). These statistics lend to podcasting and streaming ADS being a good marketing investment to accomplish R3. Our expected outcomes will be that new people are motivated with these ADS to TRY hunting and that people that used to hunt are motivated to pick the hobby back up again. Using the psychographic network, a database of listeners that tracks digital interactions of users and allows you to target personas, we are able to target the personas identified. Then using pixel tracking we can see which people who heard these messages also purchased a license indicating that they are participating in hunting. This will also measure how effective the ADS were and which ad was most effective. The deliverables from this project will be scripts for ADS as well as recordings of ADS that any state or region can use as well as a report with a case study from each state with all the findings from placing these ADS in 4 pilot states, including which ADS recruited or reactivated the most hunters. The beneficiaries of this project will be the people that discover or rediscover hunting. The 4 pilot states will benefit the most, but all states in the southeast (or anywhere) will benefit from this marketing campaign because the ADS created will be available for any state to use at no cost and the lessons learned and campaign engagement and effectiveness will be shared with staff from each state. The pilot states will also benefit from the increased participation. This project will leverage research from multistate grant F22AP01126. The case studies from each state stand to benefit any state that learns from them and then may decide to utilize this R3 tactic. There will be one contractor in this grant that is the marketing firm that will be placing the ADS.