National Trust
Background
Only one in 10 UK children regularly play outdoors. The National Trust wanted to change this by getting kids out of their bedrooms, away from their computers and into the countryside.
To get members involved they needed to capture kids’ and parents’ imaginations, encourage adventure lovers to rekindle their love for nature and the outdoors all while breaking down misconceptions about The National Trust being stuffy and dull.
Solution
The National Trust launched a nationwide campaign "50 Things to do before you’re 11¾", that worked to reintroduce families to mild peril adventures. They knew that that getting the family up and out of the house can be fraught with negotiation; so, the best activity ideas are often the ones kids suggest themselves. Using this insight, they set about bringing one of the "50 Things" activities to life and targeted a very specific group of National Trust members: parents of children between five and 11¾.
It was vital that they chose an activity that kids would find awesome and that parents would be inspired by too. So, they chose a nighttime walk. The walk was dramatized in a lasting way that only mail could deliver: a poster for a child’s bedroom wall. But not just any poster: a magic one that, if the child peaked in the middle of the night, came alive, just as nature does. A daytime scene with a hidden nighttime scene was painstakingly crafted. It contained all the amazing animals (that could only be seen at midnight) printed in phosphorescent ink. To make sure this nighttime image really jumped out and surprised once the lights were off, the team tracked down the very same ink the Highways Agency use to get things noticed at night.
Designed to be a talking point at bedtime, the kids were guaranteed to wake up ready for adventures the next morning.
With their appetites whetted; members and their children were driven to the full digital site to download the app and sign up for other 49 things to do before you are 11¾.
Results
The National Trust’s Night Safari poster sparked imagination - and action.
- App downloads increased 11-fold
- Dwell time on site jumped from 2 minutes to 7 minutes
- Social mentions doubled, with one parent tweeting: “Loving the glow-in-the-dark poster… it’s been quite a talking point at bedtime!”
- 90,000 children signed up to the campaign, spending a combined 23 extra years playing outdoors.
While it was too early to measure long-term retention, the campaign clearly deepened engagement - and delivered a big step forward in helping families get more from their National Trust membership.
Source: National Trust - DMA Award Winner Bronze
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