How audience engagement through attraction management software can drive conservation efforts.
On probably the hottest day on record in Britain, and a not-so-gentle reminder of the fact we are in a climate crisis, we witnessed the reintroduction of wild bison into Britain after an absence of thousands of years. Posing for photographers as they were released, the three gentle giants soon sauntered off into the surrounding woodland, leaving those engaged in the process, quiet with awe and wonder.
The brainchild of The Wilder Blean Project (the Kent Wildlife Trust), the bison are an experiment to see if these ‘ecosystem engineers,’ can help create a natural woodland complete with a diversity of flora and fauna by naturally thinning out a commercial forest in the Kent countryside.
The natural wood management project also aims to redress the fact that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and in the process, assist in sequestering more carbon to offset the climate crisis.
Conservation and rehabilitation are big topics in the wildlife and environmental world, but this vital work performed by teams of dedicated professionals is by necessity, often hidden from the public. That’s not to say that the public doesn't want to know what goes on behind the scenes, in fact, gaining a better understanding of what it takes to rehabilitate an animal or conserve an environment could do a lot to prevent the problems from arising in the first place.
A possible solution to the information gap, is the use of simple to install, smart Software as a Service (SaaS) technologies. One such innovation is the Audience Engagement Platform (AEP) that can at once assist conservation and rehabilitation efforts as well as show and inform the public (the audience) as to processes, outcomes, and the necessity of their efforts, to shift perception and gain public buy-in.
Audience engagement platforms, part of a suite of cloud based attraction management software, create a seamless and ongoing connection between projects/visitor attractions and their audiences and vice versa. These AEPs are the portal to sustainable preservation of the planet and its people.
Whereas websites are the shop window through which visitors gain a view of what’s on offer, the AEP is the engine that drives engagement leading to diversified and increased revenue streams, and a broader and better-informed community.
How could it work in the case of Britain’s Wilder Blean Bison project for instance?
Just as audiences around the world fell in love and have followed similar projects in other parts of the world, so too have the ‘Blean babies,” attracted their own devotees.
Aside from their ecosystem architecture role, they are the perfect ambassadors to drive awareness and keep people engaged in the project, thereby increasing overall conservation efforts. The more we all ‘know’ the easier it becomes to prevent environmental transgressions for example.
As a practical example of how the AEP can be used to inform but also attract additional support and supporters, consider that the corresponding mobile app, freely downloadable, can keep people all over the world in the loop – in real time.
Not only that, the on-the-ground project leaders and volunteers can upload information from the field as it happens, which is then instantly available on the app. The user-friendly app has been designed and built in such a way as to minimise the need to constantly draw on data.
Britain’s bison are collared with tracking devices, which facilitate the gathering of data, that has the future potential to be integrated into the AEP’s dashboard to determine a variety of metrics and outcomes, such as whether the bison develop a particular pattern or prefer a specific route through the woodland etc all of which can be shared with followers.
Reciprocating this sharing, the platform and app collects data from users too, whether they are on site or not. A highly powerful audience segmentation tool helps analyse and segment audiences.
On site, the AEP can trigger interactive content and track dwell time at certain displays or exhibits within the greater Kent Wildlife Trust. These insights can advise curators as to which aspects appeal to visitors and those that are less so.
Off site, the app tracks the content – per user – that is being engaged with. On and offsite, content can be multimedia (text, images, video, and audio), together with interacting facts and info. In terms of the Wilder Blean project, this can also include the drone footage showcasing the biodiversity of the area.
In both instances, the built-in artificial intelligence and machine learning tools interpret the interaction and can, through push notification or email, serve the user similar content which promotes even further engagement. It can also alert us to upcoming events, talks, special offers and the like. Customised achievement-based activities can likewise be loaded for completion in the audience/visitor app at any time.
The Wilder Blean project is especially geared towards educating the public – of all ages - and the n-gage.io AEP attraction management software, for example, comes complete with learning modules as standard. This is an excellent tool for educators who can craft learning materials targeted to different age groups for instance (or training officers and HR departments), on all manner of topics to do with the project, which are loaded via the dashboard and which the school educator and students can access through a unique code.
Also enhancing the learners’ experience is how the platform can be set-up to create a series of quizzes, surveys, polls, and questionnaires. These can be straightforward learning exercises or linked to reward, redemption, and recognition incentives, further augmenting the experience. Best of all, the interaction can continue off site, and as the project grows, the content and engagement can too, creating loyal fans in the process.
Vitally, the audience engagement platform can be an effective tool in understanding wilding.
Audience engagement platforms are also API friendly and can easily be integrated with other digital instruments that can make the audience’s journey easier too. There are many more benefits that the AEP can deliver to all manner of visitor attractions like zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks, even cultural heritage sites and museums.
To discover more benefits and how n-gage can increase and sustain your audience engagement, get in touch or let us show you – book a demo today.