In 2021, WildAid, an international non-profit catalysing change in wildlife conservation through behavioural change campaigns, launched a baseline survey in Nigeria that set the stage for one of the country’s largest mass media campaigns.
Commissioned by WildAid, the survey was conducted by Globescan, an insights firm adept at crafting evidence-based strategies that reduce risk and guarantee clarity.
The survey results established baseline data on the motivations, attitudes and behaviours of urban buyers of bushmeat, trade hotspots, and what interventions would inspire policy change and long-term behaviour change.
With 2000 people sampled across four major cities, the results were dire:
- Over 70% urban Nigerians have consumed bushmeat at some point in their lives
- 45% ate it within the last year.
- Cited by 51% of the respondents, taste and flavour (the smoky-gamey feel of bushmeat) were the significant factors influencing consumption.
- More than half of the respondents believe there is less bushmeat available than five years ago, signalling the reality of extinction.
I was part of the pioneering team at WildAid Nigeria at the time, and when the survey results emerged, we deployed them as our core communications and stakeholder engagement strategy. We sought to change consumers’ behaviours by educating them on the importance of the wild animals consumed as bushmeat, the risk of losing them if consumption remained unabated, and the public health implications of continued bushmeat consumption (Ebola was linked to the consumption of bats).
We recruited national TV, radio, newspapers, digital media outlets, and influencers to tell relatable stories about these issues and increase awareness. We sought visibility to catalyse impact and influence permanent behavioural change.
Five years later, we have recorded a behavioural shift, including policy change (which I will address later in this newsletter).
What I learnt from the Campaign
- Proven data beats assumptions: In my experience, most media campaigns (digital, social, and mass media) fail when built on assumptions. Success becomes far more likely when your strategy is built on empirical data. That was what sealed the deal for us.
- Insight is wasted if distributed through the wrong channel. Platform choice is not a tactical afterthought; it is strategic architecture.
- The medium is the message: It’s not enough to mine data. Its insights must be amplified to the right audience, and most importantly, through the best platforms. Insight is wasted if distributed through the wrong platforms. For instance, it’s necessary to consider audience-platform fit: baby boomers congregate on traditional media (Radio, TV, Newspapers) more than on TikTok (the best place for Gen Z). We deployed the best channels that suit our strategy to reach Nigerians.
- Education is paramount: The media is the last stop for public education, and changing attitudes requires investment in edu-tainment or general content. We partnered with radio, TV, and newspaper platforms, including producing films and documentaries to educate our target audience about the environment.
Why Data Matters for Behavioural Campaigns
Behavioural change is not accidental. It is engineered. And engineering requires measurement.
Too often, campaigns are built on passion, intuition, or moral conviction. While those are important, they are insufficient. Behaviour is complex. It is shaped by culture, economics, emotion, habit, and social norms. If you do not understand what truly drives behaviour, you are likely to design a campaign that speaks loudly but changes nothing.
Data matters because it answers five critical questions:
1. Who exactly are you trying to influence?
Without data, “the public” becomes a vague audience. With data, you see segmentation. In WildAid’s case, adults with disposable funds who live in urban centres were targeted. They drive demand for bushmeat. Our survey showed that urban bushmeat consumers were not a homogeneous group. There were habitual consumers, prestige buyers, and those driven primarily by taste. Each required a different message frame.
A one-size-fits-all message rarely works in behavioural campaigns. Data allows you to tailor messaging for specific motivations.
2. Why are they behaving that way?
This is where assumptions are most dangerous.
Many conservation advocates assume bushmeat consumption is purely cultural or poverty-driven. Our data showed that taste and flavour (51%) was the leading driver among urban buyers, not necessity.
That insight shifted our strategy.
Instead of framing the campaign around poverty or tradition, we focused on:
- Emotional attachment to wildlife
- Scarcity (extinction risk)
- Health consequences (Ebola and zoonotic spillover)
- Social perception and future loss
3. What belief barriers must be dismantled?
Behaviour is sustained by belief systems.
More than half of the respondents already believed that bushmeat was less available than it was five years ago. That insight signalled something powerful: people were aware of scarcity.
This meant we didn’t need to create awareness of decline from scratch — we needed to amplify urgency.
Data helps you identify:
- Existing awareness
- Denial gaps
- Risk perception levels
- Cognitive dissonance points
You cannot dismantle a barrier you cannot see.
4. What makes the audience emotional?
People rarely change because of facts, according to Behavioural science. They are emotional beings, and they change because of that. So it’s important to see data as an entrypoint to test emotional triggers:
- Fear (public health risks)
- Pride (protecting Nigeria’s wildlife heritage)
- Shame (social responsibility)
- Loss aversion (future generations losing iconic species)
In our case, linking bushmeat consumption to public health risks and potential extinction created a stronger behavioural nudge than simply saying “Don’t eat bushmeat.”
Conclusion
WildAid’s bushmeat campaign succeeded not because of visibility or endorsements, but because data gave us clarity about our audience, their motivations and beliefs, the right channels to reach them, and the emotional triggers needed to drive real behavioural change, proving that in behavioural campaigns, evidence is the foundation, not an option
