Environmental charity Greenpeace has been experimenting with the use of virtual reality (VR) in order to help the organisation engage with people and encourage more people to sign up.
At events such as the Glastonbury music festival, Greenpeace have been letting festival attendees try on a VR headset as part of a drive to improve engagement and increase sign-up rates.
Signs are that this approach is working, as Greenpeace has seen sign-up rates double as a result. Paula Radley, the Face-to-Face Operations Manager at Greenpeace told Civil Society Media that the success is a combination of VR video, the decoration of the exhibition area and the opportunity for a potential donor to sit down with a fundraiser.
The charity found that the VR primarily attracted people in the 16-18 age range, when the target was people ages 30 plus. This was tackled by offering a separate line for those who were under 21, or already supporters of the charity. The other line was for older people who were not already supporters, who could not only try out VR, but also have a chat with a professional fundraiser.
This is not the only place where Greenpeace has been trialling VR, however. Greenpeace has already begun offering 360-degree video through its VR mobile app. The app shows people images of what life is like in the Amazon rainforest, or when working on one of the charity’s ships. The app has been downloaded by over 12,000 people so far.
For Christmas 2017, the charity created a pack that included a VR headset along with a map and stickers. Greenpeace sold 1,750 kits. The minimum donation of £10 (GB) was set, with the average donation working out at £13.
Kasia Nieduzak, lead generation, acquisition executive at Greenpeace said that the idea of the app and the pack was to make supporters feel excited so Greenpeace will not be forgotten. In practice, Nieduzak said that the approach worked well for existing supporters, but that converting new people into regular donors was still a barrier to overcome.
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