Audience

The majority of Brooke’s audiences are supporters and donors. We conducted research in 2022 to learn more about them, and you can read about them in depth here.

At a glance, these are the things our five key audiences have in common:

Characteristic	How to use the information
They are animal lovers first and foremost. Almost all of them own pets, but only some own horses. Some of them used to ride horses too, so they miss that connection with horses and donkeys.	If possible, lead with the animal related aspects in all stories you share – when stories have details on animal personalities, whether written or visual, lead with them. When talking about the impact of Brooke’s work, always lead with how the animals benefit – the fact that our work benefits people too is secondary for our main audiences.
They value the bond they have with their animals – they are part of the family. They hate to see animals suffering and their motivation to prevent it is almost reflex-like.	Think about how to make stories, pictures and videos relatable. Encourage audiences to imagine how they would feel if their own animals lived in the tough working conditions that horses, donkeys and mules work in.
They are learners that crave information – they need to feel informed, and will actively seek out more information if they feel sceptical.	Give audiences opportunities to discover more details related to the content you create. The level of detail should vary based on where they are on their journey engaging with Brooke.
They see Brooke as slightly different to competitors due to our ‘smart narrative’ – focus on pragmatic, sustainable long term solutions and working with the community to really change things long term. Themes that resonate: · Education · Training · Unique working environments such as brick kilns and coal mines.	Try not to imply that Brooke’s solutions are ‘quick fix’. Our audiences will be quick to notice if the work appears to be unsustainable. The exception for this is with direct response content that is very short. This content should still aim to take the user on a journey to learn more about our work. Focus on balancing an authentic representation of Brooke’s work with the needs of the platform the content is on.
Common interests include gardening, bird watching and walking. As well as charity memberships, they commonly hold memberships to other organisations.	When encouraging audiences to interact with us, play to the themes these interests capture – discovery, nature, and the organic outdoors.

Professional audiences

Brooke also communicates externally in more professional settings. These audiences include Animal welfare and health organisations, civil society organisations, institutions, governments, research institutes, foundations. These audiences are mapped according to the strategic communications agenda. The communications we produce are not entirely disconnected from our more general audience work, because they provide further credibility to supporter mobilisation and building a movement for change.

How does communicating with professional audiences support Brooke’s programme and advocacy objectives?

It supports Brooke’s influence in lobbying institutional and national policy and programmes
It builds Brooke’s credibility and profile as an expert organisation in animal welfare and health.
It supports partnership and collaboration opportunities for policy, programmes and research, as well as potential institutional funding.

How does our communication change for professional audiences?

We can and do use more technical language or terms when communicating with these audiences, as it’s the kind of language they expect. For example, we often use the term ‘working livestock’ in advocacy work targeted at the United Nations and similar policy makers.

Despite this, it’s important to remember that even professional audiences who understand more technical language are still likely to be consuming content quickly within digital platforms, so plain and simple language is still the priority.