Mississippi River Network 1 Mississippi Campaign

Mississippi River Network: Headwaters to Gulf

• 2005 - McKnight-funded organizations working on Mississippi River protection gathered to share resources and work together.

• 2006 - Outlined goals to protect the Land, Water and People of the Mississippi River

• 2007 - Conducted Public Opinion Research to guide the creation of a strategy to reach these goals.

• 2008/2009 – Designed and launched outreach campaign

Members of the Mississippi River Network as of March 2011

• American Land Conservancy • American Rivers • Blufflands Alliance • Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana• Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque• Ducks Unlimited, Inc. • Environmental Defense Fund• Friends of the Mississippi • Great River Greening • Green Lands, Blue Waters • Gulf Restoration Network • Illinois Stewardship Alliance • Iowa Environmental Council • Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation • Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation• Lower Mississippi River Foundation• Lower Mississippi River Keeper• Mississippi National River Recreation Area• Mississippi River Corridor – Tennessee

• Mississippi River Fund• Mississippi River Trail• National Audubon Society• National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium • National Wildlife Federation• Prairie Rivers Network• Quapaw Canoe Company• River Action • River Life Partnership, Institute on the Environment• Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation • Sierra Club, Piasa Palisades Group• The Conservation Fund • The National Great Rivers Research & Education

Center• The Nature Conservancy • The Wetlands Initiative • Trust for Public Land • Trailnet / Confluence Greenway• West Wisconsin Land Trust

The Campaign to Protect the Land, Water and People

of the Mississippi River

• Campaign addresses two audiences:– Decision makers– Public

• Messages, pathways, materials and messenger for each audience is unique

• All are based on the results of the public opinion research and on the testing results of the message and visual elements.

Decision Makers

GoalEducate decision makers and raise their awareness of the importance of protecting the Mississippi River

StrategyCreate a steady stream of consistent messages to decision makers from the public and the MRN member organizations

Public

GoalReconnect people with the River, raise awareness about threats to the River and motivate people to take action to clean up and protect the River.

Strategy 1 Mississippi Communications campaign

1 Mississippi Public Campaign

MRN Members:

• Host the 1 Mississippi exhibit or sign at local events throughout the ten state River region

• Promote the campaign through newsletters, their own websites and press releases

• Distribute educational materials

• Recruit River Citizens at events

• Drive people to the Website

Who are River Citizens?River Citizens are people who recognize the value of the River

and want to be involved in cleaning and protecting it. River Citizens:

• Sign up at River events or online

• Receive a give-away in the mail within four weeks of signing up as a reminder and to drive them to the website

• Volunteer on the River

• Speak up to protect the River by taking policy actions

• Increase their level of River travel and recreation

Components of the 1 Mississippi Campaign

Campaign Branding

Event Signs (8 ft x 3 ft)

3 Panel Event Display – 7 ½ ft tall

Magnet, T-Shirt & Sticker

Brochure

Print Ad

Website