Insights and Analysis

Alaska Native people living in northern coastal regions of the state rely heavily on walrus for food, clothing and cultural traditions. Walrus is an important part of their subsistence lifestyle and has been this way for thousands of years. Unfortunately, their ways of life have been severely impacted – an unintended consequence of walrus harvests being wrongly associated with illegal poaching of elephants for ivory.

 

Planning

Alaska Native people and numerous local, state and national organizations - all with interests in protecting Indigenous cultures and traditions – organized to help legislators and consumers better understand the legal, ethical and responsible use of walrus ivory by Native people. Our team was hired to develop and implement the approach and associated materials to carry forward this joint message.

 

Execution

Our team helped build the collateral and necessary infrastructure that would allow for these materials to be used and further developed over time, as future efforts were identified. Communication materials featured video documentaries on local carvers, answers to frequently asked questions, comparison charts and more, all branded with a distinct campaign identity. Following materials development, a nationwide campaign reached millions of individuals through a variety of creative messaging techniques disseminated through digital and print advertising, social media, broadcast commercials and in-person advocacy.

 

Evaluation

• Stakeholders and the public now have access to free education and advocacy tools to combat overly broad ivory bans that threaten the livelihood of many Alaska Native communities.

• The client received an outpour of gratitude by partners and carvers for telling these important stories, and equipping them with ways to easily share them.

• Materials will be used to create an outreach campaign targeting tourism and legislative audiences in the next phase of work.