​Inside the infamous and unhinged RSPB ‘Bird of the Week’

Previous brand insight showed that the RSPB was either not known to younger audiences or seen as old-fashioned and a stuffy organization. So as part of our new marketing strategy, we were seeking to specifically grow our audience engagement with a younger demographic. A variety of initiatives were developed, one being free access to our 200 plus nature reserves for those aged 24 years and under, but we always knew that digital social marketing would play a role and that we needed to invest in TikTok. We had originally launched an official TikTok channel in 2021 which made use of new trends with some success, but it didn’t stand out or have its own character. People would watch and scroll on, and most would have no idea they just saw something made by the RSPB.

Reflecting on publicly availably insight from TikTok themselves, we knew with a reset that there was an opportunity to deliver against the following strategic objectives:

• Raise awareness of the RSPB among younger people, who are less likely to have an existing relationship with or knowledge of the brand.
• Increase understanding through education and enthuse younger people about birds and nature.
• Build an engaged younger audience who are excited to see what we post and return week in, week out.
• Grow loyal younger audience with the potential to mobilise for the right campaigns.

Finding the right talent to lead the channel was our starting point. Crucially we looked for someone with practical experience with the platform, either in a professional or personal capacity. We wanted energy that was creative, bold, and an individual who knew the platform inside and out. Someone we could trust to do what they felt was right creatively, even if not traditionally ‘on brand’. After a high volume of responses, we hired the brilliant TikTok Social Executive, Yas Devi working under the leadership of Social Media Manager Joshua Boyd.

We knew that regular formats were popular on TikTok and perfect for building engagement and so this was our north star to help reach our objectives. We also knew we wanted to lean into the trend of ‘unhinged’ content as well as mix of Gen Z cultural references which would grab the attention of our target demographic. The ‘X of the week/month’ format is nothing new. If you look back to pre-internet magazine culture it’s long been a reader favourite, and since been popular on social channels. This format is great for building an audience over time, we just needed to also make something right for TikTok which would feel unique to us and stand out. ‘Bird of the Week’ was the obvious choice for us, since we are known as ‘the bird charity’ already and wanted to lean into this stereotype whilst having some fun. Our approach has remained playful with consistent amusement.

TikTok is more chaotic than other channels and has its own cultural touchpoints and references too. Every popular TikTok account was an ‘inspiration’ for us on how to capture the zeitgeist and trailblaze, but Duolingo, Teletubbies, Empire State Building and Bratz were a few channels that we learned from in terms of pace, tone and culture mash-up. The style and zeitgeist of TikTok is constantly evolving and so we knew we needed something that could adapt over time but also remain consistent.

Creative social delivery

The opening title sequence had to be fearless and challenge all previous preconceptions of the RSPB and the dual use of the eagle bird and the bold brick font was selected for this purpose. The comedic theme tune is reminiscent of a TV game show and immediately told viewers that they are in for some fun. By dropping a new ‘episode’ on the same day each week we were able to build a growing sense of excitement and anticipation We decided to feature regular elements, such as the spinning wheel and in-jokes around certain species to maintain consistency. Getting the cultural references right has been crucial, with younger audiences, when you miss the mark, it just fails and so we’ve been very particular about this! As well as jumping on the right memes and trends to support (rather than replace the format). To deliver educational information in an engaging way we always balance a mix of fact with jokes (relevant to the audience).

A key engagement tool we implemented was asking audiences to name which birds they would like us to feature and then using their replies to start new videos. This commentary has gifted us the opportunity to directly interact with audiences and has been instrumental in creating a sense of community. It’s our equivalent of an audience at a gig or in a live TV studio and the audio effects of cheering crowds and visuals of clapping spectators’ aids this feeling. By the end of each episode, you feel like you’ve been to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in fast-forward. The pace and timing of the content has been a consistent element, which again, if not on the mark feels inauthentic. It’s about the play-back and we purposefully edit the content so that audiences are required to ‘watch again’ to understand the detail of in-jokes and facts. Finally, the audio is carefully selected to bring together a credible cultural experience for our Gen Z target audience, referencing trending music artists where appropriate.

Impactful results

We cannot overestimate the positive impact that Bird of the Week has influenced, delivering above and beyond our original strategic objectives. It’s also inspired a (soon to launch) line of official merchandise which we will sell through TikTok shop, opening much needed revenue opportunities to support our mission. We’ve attracted partnership opportunities, with brands pitching ideas for how we could creatively collaborate (The Royal Albert Hall and Swan Lake being a particular fave) and there’s been a ‘real world’ impact with people attending events and talking to our face-to-face fundraising teams about how much they love our TikTok content. At Glastonbury festival this year in particular saw a high recognition in footfall and most crucially we’ve seen an uplift in membership sign-up in younger audiences, choosing to join us simply because of the channel alone. Our TikTok followers have increased by over 190% since we first launched the series in January, positively impacting all other content on the channel and in particular our campaign to mobilise young people to vote in the 2024 UK general election with collective views of 292K.

RSPB/TikTok metrics showing impact of ‘Bird of the Week’ series since Jan 2024.

• Followers = 175k (+115k since Jan)
• Views: 37M (+23m since Jan)
• Likes: 4.9M (+2.9m since Jan)
• Shares: 1M (+655k since Jan)
• Comments: 155k (+123k since Jan)

The fact that we have curated 155K community comments on our channel talking about birds and the RSPB speaks to the heart of our mission, bringing people together to create change. What started as a fun idea to engage younger audiences with our brand, has become a cultural phenomenon of its own and quite frankly, unlocking this love of nature gives us huge optimism in what we can achieve in future.