Social Cause Campaign
Project Background:
Overfishing is defined as catching fish faster than the population can replace itself with. It's about more than wiping out entire species of fish. It also means we are depleting our valuable resources- resulting in reduced growth and a drop in the overall biomass. The fate of our fish and the future of our planet is in our hands.
The Ask:
Identify a social issue that requires a campaign to generate awareness, promote education, and inspire activism.
The Problem:
Unlike hunting on land, the fishing industry knows no hunting season.
The Solution:
Show consumers the impact of commercial overfishing by taking over the most talked about week of fishing: Shark Week.
Context:
Overfishing: a social cause close to home.
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More than 55% of the ocean surface is covered by industrial fishing boats.
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80% of the world’s fisheries are either fully exploited or over exploited, depleted or in a state of collapse.
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90% of large fish have been removed from the ocean.
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50% decline in fish populations over the last 40 years.
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Fish reproduce relatively quickly, and marine life could replenish itself if only we gave it time to do so.
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If fishing hours were cut by 20%, the amount of fish we could source sustainably would increase by 70% by 2030.
As I reflect on my upbringing in the Northern Neck Peninsula, my heart aches for the people I grew up around- most were born into a livelihood of fishing. It runs deep in their veins, a generational career that has been passed down for years. The once thriving fishing industry that supported their families is now in decline, and with it, their dreams and aspirations. It's a painful reality to witness the impact by the lack of fishing they were once able to do.
What the experts are saying:
"The crisis of overfishing is a great paradox, unnecessary, avoidable and entirely reversible because fisheries are one of the most productive resources on the planet. With the right strategies, we can reverse overfishing."
- Alasdair Harris, Marine Biologist
Realization:
When given a hunting season, humans have a better understanding of the impact of a species on the global scale-as well as its absence.
The Opportunity:
Establish an organization that is dedicated to creating a fishing season.
The Idea:
An organization with the mission of putting an end to overfishing by establishing a fishing season.
Creating a fishing season means docking industrial fishing boats. This will allow time for fish to reproduce, and marine life to replenish itself. It is also proven that cutting fishing hours by 20%, will increase the amount of fish we could source sustainably by 70% by the year 2030.
Core Values:
EDUCATE
We make the general public aware of how dire overfishing has become.
MAKE WAVES
Disrupt the current accepted norms of the fishing industry.
TURN THE TIDE
Develop new standards for commercial fishing that improve our oceans and the lives of fishermen.
Dock the Boat website:
All activations will lead people to the Dock the Boat website. The site is where people can learn more about the organization and find actions to take globally or locally.
Website walkthrough:
How do we get people's attention?
By taking away something we take all for granted.
Shark Week
Dock the Boat will be taking over Shark Week's 35th anniversary. The partnership is a way to educate millions of viewers on the harmful effects of overfishing. Shark Week became the longest-running cable television programming event in history... 12 years ago. It's a cultural phenomenon- 31.1M people tuned in to the programming in 2022.
Summer 2023 is the 35th anniversay of Discovery Channel's Shark Week. The programming will be hyped up like never before, without viewers knowing it will be a Dock the Boat takeover.
Stargate Atlantis star Jason Momoa will host this edition of Shark Week.
Step #2: Switch up the programming
Regular Shark Week Programs:
2023 Takeover Programs:
Program specifics:
Discovery+ streaming platform
Discovery+ is Discovery’s streaming service, and has become a major priority for the network since the company’s merger with WarnerMedia. Sharkless Week will feature specials like- Sharks Finterrupted, Undercover Fishermen, Impractical Jokers: Overfishing Stinks and Tracy Morgan Yells About Overfishing.
Step #3: Out of home
After the big shock of a Sharkless Shark week, we’ll have people’s attention. To capitalize on all the unpaid media impressions we expect, we’ll debut Dock The Boat as an organization with educational Out of Home with clear calls to action.
Step #4: Measures of Success
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Number of shares, retweets #Sharkweek #SharklessWeek
SITE METRIC
Traffic, time on site, areas of engagement, new visitors & repeat visitors.
BOATS DOCKED
Increase of large fishing corporations docking the boats during “hunting season.”
REVIVED FISH POPULATION
Based off of results from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we will be tracking the fish population, with the goal of a gradual population increase.
