Hunters and Anglers for the Brooks Range, backed by Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and various outdoor businesses and brands set out to increase awareness of what hunters and anglers stand to lose if the Ambler Industrial Road project receives its permits. The Brooks Range in Alaska is one of the most untouched wilderness locations left. It’s home to Caribou, Sheefish and other wildlife, and is considered a bucket list destination for many hunters and anglers. The campaign focus is to educate hunt, fish and outdoor audiences about the issues pertaining to wildlife and wild places in the area, with the hope of securing support and signed petitions.
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and partnering businesses/brands needed a campaign to rally around, not only to educate hunters and anglers what is at risk if the Ambler Road project were to be approved, but to also engage with them enough to support opposition and sign the petition. This support needed to be proved out in a short period of time during the open comment period in Q4 2023, which was cut short due to a pending government shutdown.
Gunpowder built the campaign from the ground up, using research to understand perspectives on the Ambler Industrial Road proposal and identify the target audience. Hunters and Anglers for the Brooks Range was created to unite TRCP and coalition brands under one voice, creating a logo and branding that resonated as a badge of honor for supporters. This foundational brand work led to an engaging and informative website, printed collateral, a cohesive and on-brand social style and tone, and more. Gunpowder crafted unique storylines for increased awareness and media engagement, and effectively used Hunters and Anglers for the Brooks Range as well as coalition businesses/brands, key outdoor influencers, and personal social channels to amplify those stories. Our strategic alignment with conservation-focused media, especially in the fly fishing category, broadened our reach. We also partnered with key influencers within the outdoors space to push messaging further along with a TRCP-led email campaign to reach a larger audience.
Ultimately, these efforts resulted in notable PR coverage, with an estimated 4.36 million views and a total audience of over 1.3 billion. The paid digital campaign resulted in more than 1.5 million impressions and directly reached more than 500k people through paid social efforts. Along with key pushes from influencers and email campaigns, combined efforts garnered more than 7,800 signatures. Our positive results came at a challenging time of year. The comment period was open during the busy holiday timeframe, which typically includes an abundance of seasonal content, media stories, attention-grabbing events, and costly ads—all which demand the attention of media and the general public. This politically-charged topic, along with a perceived over-coverage by other organizations like Patagonia, led to some media being reluctant to offer support – further impacting our campaign's reach and effectiveness. Despite these challenges, the goals we set out to reach for this campaign were met, and a brand that gives hunters and anglers a voice for the Brooks Range was created.
