Ogilvy Change Applies Behavioural Insights to Save Sumatran Orangutans

 

As many of you know, Rory Sutherland is leading the Ogilvy Change team in supporting three of our member causes per year with their behavior change advisory service. The Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) was the second cause to gain support through this partnership. They were selected because they posed an intriguing behavioural challenge, which they referred to as “a cuddle can kill”.

The Problem

Orangutans are adorable creatures, but could this be their downfall? When someone has flown half way around the world to visit them in their natural habitat, they can’t help but feel a desire to get up close and personal. The issue with human-orangutan interactions is that orangutans share 96.4% of our DNA, which is enough to catch a cold from us but not enough to fight it off.

This is a major problem because orangutans are now critically endangered. They are the first great ape to face extinction, with only 6,600 orangutans left in the wild in Sumatra. The mismanaged tourism practices in the Gunung Leuser National Park have led to an infant mortality rate of 55% - more than five times higher than other wild orangutan populations.

The orangutan is one of the biggest drawing points attracting tourists to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. And though it is strictly forbidden to touch, feed, or disturb the orangutans at the Gunung Leuser National Park, such practices still occur, which is why changing tourists’ behaviour is now so vitally important.

The Solution

The #ogilvychange team suggested that in order for tourism to play a role in protecting orangutans and preserving their environment, the first step is to change tourists’ expectations before they reach Sumatra. #ogilvychange developed the concept for a participatory campaign under the banner 'Don’t be an idiot abroad', which offers people advice and guidance so they understand the local customs of Indonesia and the importance of protecting orangutans before they visit.

The campaign concept includes approaching travelers through Twitter, Google and Foursquare, sharing a video presentation on the plane ride to Indonesia and giving them more information once they arrive in Sumatra, as well as reinforcing the same guidelines at their arrival to Gunung Leuser National Park.

The 'Don’t be an idiot abroad' campaign has great potential for celebrity engagement as well and coincidentally Ricky Gervais, co-creator of An Idiot Abroad, is already a fan and active supporter of the Sumatran Orangutan Society.

SOS is currently reworking their orangutan etiquette guide according to the principles of behavioural economics recommended by Ogilvy Change to work with people’s subconscious to help them make better choices when visiting orangutans. And they are also implementing the many other ways to change behaviour suggested by #ogilvychange, including changing the communications that tourists see as they explore the National Park to have the biggest impact on tourist behaviour and ways to work with their tour guides to change the culture around allowing orangutan-human interactions.

Another focus of SOS’s work is a Spotlight on Sumatra exhibition, which will be held in May at London’s South Bank. It is a month-long open air photography exhibition celebrating the biodiversity of this little-known island, the only place in the world where orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos all roam under the same forest canopy. The exhibition will also raise awareness of the threats facing Sumatra's rainforests and wildlife, and draw attention to the conservation projects working on the frontline to protect them.

If you would like to help SOS build on the work started by #ogilvychange or help them prepare for the Spotlight on Sumatra exhibition by donating your marketing or social media marketing expertise, please email anna@pimpmycause.org.

Would you like Ogilvy Change to help your cause?

If you would like your cause to be selected to be supported through our partnership with Ogilvy Change please get in touch with us and let us know what behaviour you seek to change.

#ogilvychange takes a behavioural science approach that combines the gravitas of leading research in cognitive psychology and behavioural economics with the communication expertise of the Ogilvy group.

Many of the factors that affect our decision making are subconscious and hence we are not aware that they are driving our behaviour. Ogilvy Change exists to identify the subconscious triggers and barriers to our behaviour according to the leading academic research.

This is an incredible opportunity to harness world leading expertise to help you achieve more for your beneficiaries.