Correction: The effectiveness and efficiency of using normative messages to reduce waste: A real world experiment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261734.].

The effectiveness and efficiency of using normative messages to reduce waste: A real world experiment.

Although they are only home to 16% of the global human population, high-income countries produce approximately one third of the world's waste, the majority of which goes to landfills. To reduce pressure on landfills and natural systems, environmental messaging should focus on reducing consumption. Messages that signal social norms have the potential to influence people to reduce their consumption of comfort goods, such as straws, which are not a necessity for most people. We conducted a randomized field-experiment at a marine park in Portugal to test whether different normative messages reduced visitors' paper straw use when compared to non-normative messages. We found that a message framed around a positive injunctive norm significantly reduced straw use compared to a non-normative message. We estimated that using the message at 17 park concession stands could keep over 27500 straws out of landfills annually and save the park money after two years.

Picturing donations: Do images influence conservation fundraising?

Many environmental organizations use photographic images to engage donors and supporters. While images play a role in fundraising, visual framing remains understudied in the environmental field. Few real-world experiments have examined which types of images result in higher donations to biodiversity conservation. We examined the role of images in conservation fundraising through a public experiment at Zoomarine, a marine park located in southern Portugal. Zoomarine runs a program called Dolphin Emotions where visitors pay to learn about dolphin biology and to interact with dolphins. We placed a donation box and a large informational poster about the Marine Megafauna Foundation, a conservation partner, in the lounge of the Dolphin Emotions program, which is open to participants and their families. The text on the poster, which solicited donations for the Marine Megafauna Foundation, was held constant, while four different image conditions were tested: dolphins, ocean wildlife, children, and people staring out from the poster (i.e., "watching eyes"). Each image condition was displayed for three days at a time and was on display for at least seven randomly assigned three-day periods over the course of 91 days. 20,944 visitors passed the donation box and the four poster conditions during this time and a total of € 952.40 was collected. The differences in mean donations in € per visitor per 3-day period were not statistically significant, F(3, 25) = 0.745, p = 0.54. Thus, we did not find that different images had a significant influence on donations to conservation. This may be due to our choice of visual frames or to the use of a donation box, which is a passive fundraising channel. Future research should examine how visual framing influences donations in other public settings and should test the influence of other visual frames on philanthropic behavior.

Qualitative impact evaluation of a social marketing campaign for conservation.

Social marketing campaigns use marketing techniques to influence human behavior for the greater social good. In the conservation sector, social marketing campaigns have been used to influence behavior for the benefit of biodiversity as well as society. However, there are few evaluations of their effectiveness. We devised an approach for evaluating the influences of social marketing campaigns on human behavior and conservation outcomes. We used general elimination methodology, a theory-driven qualitative evaluation method, to assess the long-term impacts of a 1998 Rare Pride campaign on the island of Bonaire that was designed to increase the population of the Lora (Amazona barbadensis), a threatened parrot. We interviewed stakeholder groups to determine their perceptions of the drivers of the changes in the Lora population over time. We used these data to develop an overall theory of change to explain changes in the Lora population by looking at the overlap in hypotheses within and between stakeholder groups. We then triangulated that theory of change with evidence from government reports, peer-reviewed literature, and newspapers. The increase in the Lora population was largely attributed to a decrease in illegal poaching of Loras and an associated decrease in local demand for pet Loras. Decreases in poaching and demand were likely driven by a combination of law enforcement, social marketing (including the Rare campaign), and environmental education in schools. General elimination methodology helped show how multiple interventions influenced a conservation outcome over time. There is a need for evidence-based evaluations of social marketing interventions to ensure that limited resources are spent wisely.

Evaluación del Impacto Cualitativo de una Campaña de Mercadotecnia Social para la Conservación Resumen Las campañas de mercadotecnia social usan técnicas de mercadotecnia para influenciar al comportamiento humano para el mayor beneficio social. En el sector de conservación, las campañas sociales se han usado para influenciar al comportamiento para el beneficio de la biodiversidad y de la sociedad. Sin embargo, existen pocas evaluaciones sobre su efectividad. Diseñamos una estrategia para evaluar la influencia de las campañas de mercadotecnia social sobre el comportamiento humano y los resultados de conservación. Usamos la metodología de eliminación general, un método de evaluación cualitativa llevada por la teoría, para evaluar los impactos a largo plazo de una campaña de Rare Pride de 1998 en la isla de Bonaire, la cual fue diseñada para incrementar la población de la lora (Amazona barbadensis), un psitácido amenazado. Entrevistamos a grupos de accionistas para determinar sus percepciones de los causantes del cambio en la población de loras con el tiempo. Usamos estos datos para desarrollar una teoría general de cambio para explicar los cambios en la población de loras al observar el traslape en las hipótesis dentro y entre los grupos de accionistas. Después triangulamos esa teoría de cambio con evidencia tomada de los reportes gubernamentales, la literatura revisada por pares, y los periódicos. El incremento poblacional de loras se atribuyó en su mayoría a una disminución en la demanda local de las loras como mascota. La disminución de la caza furtiva y de la demanda estuvo probablemente causada por una combinación de la aplicación de la ley, la mercadotecnia social (incluyendo a la campaña de Rare), y la educación ambiental en las escuelas. La metodología de eliminación general ayudó a mostrar cómo las múltiples intervenciones influyeron sobre un resultado de conservación con el tiempo. Existe una necesidad por tener evaluaciones basadas en evidencias de las intervenciones de mercadotecnia social para asegurar que los recursos limitados se usen racionalmente.