Woodsy Owl National Survey Final Report (remember Woodsy owl?)

[The Straight Story]

Woodsy Owl has been an important symbol for the United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA) Forest Service since 1971. The Forest Service is working with LISBOA, Inc., a
Washington, DC-based firm, to develop Woodsy Owl marketing materials and strategies, with
the end goal of securing licensing agreements with private organizations and corporations.

Such licensing agreements will increase the reach of the Woodsy Owl message, as well as
provide continued funding for the program. LISBOA is contracted by USDA Forest Service
to strengthen the Program, increase the number of partnerships and sponsorships for the
development of associated products, and continue educational programming.

LISBOA is developing and refining a three-year comprehensive marketing and
communication plan that will guide the promotion of Woodsy Owl messages and products. In
order to develop an effective communication plan to meet USDA Forest Service goals,
LISBOA conducted research in order to identify the target audiences’ conservation behaviors,
environmental education activities, purchasing choices, and awareness of Woodsy Owl.

Research helps identify what venues and “windows of opportunity” are best for reaching the
target audiences with information about Woody Owl as well as which Woodsy Owl products
could most effectively be licensed and marketed.

Quantitative research was conducted in conjunction with the National Survey on Recreation
and the Environment. The NSRE 2000 in total reaches approximately 50,000 randomly
chosen households across all ethnic groups throughout the United States. The survey is
composed of different modules. Items in the survey address various topics, including:
participation in outdoor recreation, demographic information, household structure, lifestyle,
and environmental attitudes. Dr. Megan Sheehan and Mr. Max Farrow of LISBOA worked
with Iris Velez of USDA Forest Service, Dr. Barbara McDonald of USDA Forest Service, and
Dr. Gary Green, the NSRE 2000 Project Manager, to develop a survey module focusing on
Woodsy Owl for inclusion in the NSRE.

The project goal was a national random sample of 5,000 households for the Woodsy Owl
module, 6,000 completed surveys were collected. In general, the findings were indicative of a
target population that is engaging in environmentally conscious behaviors, and is interested in
environmental education for children. In addition, Woodsy Owl enjoys substantial
name/slogan recognition with the target audience. The following is a summary of some of the
key findings from the research.

Nearly 84% of respondents who care for young children, identified “Give a hoot, don’t
pollute.” as Woodsy’s slogan.

In addition, nearly 68% of the respondents who care for young children said that they
would be interested in a product, such as a game or book, if environmental
information were included specifically for adults and children.

.....

http://www.symbols.gov/documents/woodsy/WoodsyOwlSurvey-Final-Report-03apr11.pdf



(edited to add pic)

[Wilms]

1. “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute.”

I sure do remember.

A woman active in the PTA at my grammer school came up with Woodsy. So it was a bit of a big deal.

[blindpig]

2. Any bets

that Woodsy is scripted to become a "frontbird" for greenwashing?

We know these asses have no shame. Next we'll have Smokey promoting clearcuts to prevent forest fires!

[XemaSab]

3. No shit

I think you called it there.

As the lead editorial in the new york times put it this morning (to paraphrase): anything this administration touches turns to toxic waste.