The PR Brief

Today me and Ruth met up to finalise our parts for the pitch and put the finishing touches to the brief that we will be answering.

Sea Shepherd PR brief

Dolphin Awareness

The aim from PR activity:

To increase the education among the youth population in Japan on the value of dolphins as well as the dolphin hunting that happens around Japan. Create an interactive campaign that young people can get involved with and learn from.

About the business:

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

http://www.seashepherd.org/

Japan:

Japans relationship with dolphin hunting is steeped in history, in 1600 Taiji sent the first boats out for whale hunting in Japan. But in recent history there has been marked concern about the health implications of consuming dolphin meat. It has been noted that dolphin meat contains high mercury content and this has caused a 50% rise in the death toll, in areas where the meat is consumed on a regular basis.

The implications of the dolphin hunting on the eco-system are notable; dolphins do not spawn as rapidly as fish thus there population is being depleted. It is estimated that every year 20,000 dolphins are hunted in Japan for blubber, meat and fertilizer, there has been strict regulations enforced to help prevent unnecessary killing of the mammals. However there is a lot of the meat left over and despite cutting prices by up to 50% there is a great deal of waste.

The Cove, a documentary filmed in Taiji has caused outrage amongst westerners, yet there is still very little knowledge of the hunting throughout Japan. A year after the release of the film, it was dubbed in Japanese and sent to every house in Taiji in an attempt to raise awareness. This caused some outrage for those who watched it but it was ignored by a significant number of people.

Marketing Activity:

Currently activity from the Sea Shepherds has been to gather information on the fishermen’s activities and ensuring that no international laws are broken.

Target audience:

The audience is broad looking at 16-26 year olds in Japan.

Timescale:

This is a long-term campaign over two years.

Budget:

The budget is £10,000 for the two years.