Still Making Waves —The Everglades Foundation’s Educational Campaign

One Year Later, The Everglades Foundation’s Educational Campaign Is Still Making Waves 

By Begoñe Cazalis, Director of Communications, The Everglades Foundation

The Everglades Foundation, a nonprofit working to restore and protect America’s Everglades through science, advocacy, and education, celebrated the one-year anniversary of a public education campaign this summer, which included out-of-home advertising. “Your Water Comes From The Everglades” spanned three South Florida counties and educated millions of residents about their local source of freshwater – the Everglades.                   

“We all deserve to know what is at stake,” said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foundation, in last year’s press release announcing the campaign. “With this campaign, we hope to remind South Floridians that the Everglades is connected to our everyday lives by supplying our most important resource, freshwater.

“Your Water Comes From The Everglades” started with digital advertisements on Google, YouTube, social media, and in other digital placements, which rendered millions of impressions and tens of thousands of visits to the educational landing page. One attention-grabbing Instagram reel captures the telling results of a 2022 survey that prompted the educational campaign: 95 percent of South Florida residents “Don’t Know Where Their Freshwater Comes From” and that “Miami, Broward, and The Keys Get Their Water From The Everglades.” Each of the multiple posts featured a call to action – “Let’s Change That” – and prompted followers to share.

Enter Out-Of-Home

The Everglades Foundation’s digital advertising was then complemented with outdoor advertising, beginning with educational highway billboards to target commuters in the three counties that generated an estimated total of more than 30 million impressions alone. In an effort to also reach pedestrians, cyclists, and those utilizing public transportation in Miami’s urban core, the Foundation expanded to street-level advertising with bus shelters. “Miami, Your Water Comes From The Everglades” now had an expansive reach over the whole community in both English and Spanish.

The Foundation also took advantage of innovative, out-of-the-box opportunities in out-of-home advertising. Ballyhoo Media, a water-based multimedia company, offered free advertising to the nonprofit organization aboard their boats. With large screens prominent in a comparatively unsaturated area, The Everglades Foundation was able to generate more publicity while partnering with a likeminded company – at no extra cost.Eikenberg underscores the importance of The Everglades Foundation’s “Your Water” initiative, and by extension, the value of having a clear, impactful message. In a recent piece, he reflects, “By gaining a clear understanding of the massive ecosystem that filters, stores, and supplies fresh water from the Everglades, the nine million Floridians and countless new residents moving to South Florida each day are more receptive to the necessary ways by which we can protect this precious resource.”

To learn more about the “Your Water Comes from the Everglades” education campaign, visit evergladesfoundation.org/water and evergladesfoundation.org/agua.

OOH Nonprofit Tips

Are you a nonprofit looking to maximize your out-of-home reach? The Everglades Foundation is here to help with a few tips:

• Refine your message. Start with messaging that’s attention-getting, impactful, and interesting.
• Maximize your spend. Ask media outlets if they are willing to lengthen run times, include additional OOH positioning, or provide a discount on campaign run extensions.
• Make valuable partnerships. By joining forces with influencers, media outlets, or other nonprofits, you can make the most of their following – and sometimes share costs.

Don’t be afraid to ask. It doesn’t hurt to inquire about free placements (such as on transit) to increase visibility.

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