About The Project

This project funded by an NPS cooperative agreement developed an initiative based in the social marketing framework to determine whether it could change campers’ compliance with park rules and guidelines for managing their wildlife attractants. It was also slightly modified and tested for a day-use/picnic area using the same principles, except for a feedback mechanism (i.e., report cards).

Social marketing is the application of traditional marketing principles alongside theories and concepts from behavioral economics, behavior change, and communication to create initiatives aimed specifically at shaping and changing people’s behavior in ways that benefits society (Lee & Kotler, 2019).

The slogan, “clean campsite, clear conscience” was designed to align a clear desired behavior with an open-ended motivator to avoid feelings of guilt from not complying (Boudewyns, Turner, & Paquin, 2013). In other words, audiences would theoretically generate their preferred reason(s) from the potential consequences conveyed through the campaign.

Besides preventing harm to wildlife, the messaging aligned compliant behaviors with campers’ desires to “get away” (Kampgrounds of America, 2021). People seek out camping for restoration and stress-reduction (Garst et al., 2009). Getting outdoors and even watching wildlife can be a means to that end, and that end (restoration and stress-reduction) is a more immediately expected and experienced reward for campers.

The slogan and supportive messaging aligned the desired behaviors with having a clear conscience or clear mind and avoiding the stress of having to deal with pests, property damage, and/or social embarrassment. Other message framing and behavior change techniques used shown to be effective in previous research (see Van Leuvan et al., 2022) in the campaign included:

making the desired behaviors easy by providing packing and organization tips to facilitate compliance, and simplifying the desired behaviors to three key behavior-focused messages with a rhyming summary message (“An arm’s reach away? You’re okay! Otherwise, put it away.”),
elevating multiple types risk perceptions, not just those from harming wildlife (disgust from animal feces and pests, cleanup, social embarrassment, losing relaxation time, property loss and damage, fines),
prompts or cues for action by strategically communicating with behavior change or behavior shaping messages and visuals most relevant to each decision-making opportunity (before their arrival, upon arrival, at their campsite, away from their campsite)
dynamic norms messaging to persuade people to comply with the trending norm of better managing wildlife attractants, and
positive and negative feedback provided through campsite report cards.

The positive effects of 10% to 27% increase in compliance with wildlife attractant management were realized due to the execution of all the above techniques. Using only the graphics or the slogan is unlikely to achieve the same effect.

You are welcome to use these materials without credit, but we simply ask you let us know! Knowing they are useful is important to reporting the impact of this work.

Arrive Prepared to Picnic in a Wild Area

Wildlife getting into visitor’s things day and night has been a big problem for people and animals alike. But visitors have been working to help. Whether this is your first visit or your 20th, take these easy actions to ensure a clean site to have a clear conscience and enjoy your stay!

Anything that has a smell or has touched food, even if it’s clean —food, condiments, drinks, trash, recycling, cookware, and plates/utensils— attract wildlife and pests. Prevent wildlife from ruining your park visit and avoid fines and confiscation of your food and belongings by coming prepared.

Pack your picnic to make storing your scents EASY!

Don’t depend on bags and carboard boxes for your food, drinks, and cookware! Wildlife recognize these as easy targets. If you do bring them, be sure to put them away inside your car.

Pack picnics in storage tubs with lids and/or cooler. That way, they’re easy to take in and out of your vehicle and will be protected from wildlife and other pests while you picnic.

Stay within arm’s reach of all food, cookware, and trash. If you’re nearby, the wildlife are less likely to try and sneak a snack.

Store anything scented inside your vehicle to protect your belongings from wildlife or from confiscation by a ranger if you’re not at your picnic site.

Properly storing food and maintaining a clean picnic area will allow you to focus on enjoying your time in the park. So be sure to properly pack up your picnic!

Unintentional Feeding

Human food and other attractants cause many harms to wildlife, ranging from reduced fitness to conflict with people. These harms can result in illness, injury, and sometimes death.