Alliances in action: how stakeholder collaboration enhances public awareness and conservation actions

Purpose Empirical evidence to understand mechanisms and conditions that enable lasting transformation in conservation is lacking. Currently listed as endangered, koalas are culturally, economically and environmentally important in Australia. An unaware and indifferent public can unknowingly contribute to koala deaths through inaction. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of a cross coordinated koala awareness campaign. This paper assesses whether active participation by local governments increases awareness and conservation actions. Design/methodology/approach The field trial provided a quasi-experimental condition enabling an assessment of whether rates of actions taken by members of community members were higher when local government areas were active participants within a stakeholder alliance. Five of the twelve local government areas participated over a 3-year period, in addition to wildlife sanctuaries, community organisations and wide array of NGOs. The outcome evaluation utilised a convenience sample survey of over 2000 Southeast Queensland residents. Findings Respondents from local government areas who actively partnered in the stakeholder alliance were significantly more aware of three koala awareness campaign messages. Respondents who were aware of the koala awareness campaign were significantly more likely to take actions that protect koalas (e.g. slowing down when driving). Social implications The present study demonstrates how efficiencies can be maximised by State and Federal Governments. Implementation of a cross-coordinated communication campaign can increase rates of conservation actions. Furthermore, cross-coordination efforts deliver significant cost savings. Developing new campaigns takes 6–12 months, costing between $US50,000 and $500,000. Implementation of a single campaign across local government areas ensures scarce resources can be allocated to paid media placements which in turn can further increase awareness and rates of conservation action. Originality/value This study contributes novel empirical evidence on the added effect of active local government participation within a stakeholder alliance on public awareness in a large-scale social marketing campaign. This research study focuses on organisational-level engagement, comparing outcomes in regions with and without active alliance involvement. The findings demonstrate that coordinated, cross-sectoral partnerships can enhance campaign reach and effectiveness.