TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014 7
TRUSTEES' REPORT
What is our goal?
To enhance the recognition of our key
messages for animal welfare across a variety
of audiences and to prevent cruelty and
suffering through public education and
campaigning. We aim to maximise our positive
coverage and strengthen communications
both internally and externally across social
media, press, television and print.
We aim to work with legislators in Europe,
Westminster, Cardiff and local authorities to
enable us to encourage legislative change to
address the welfare problems we encounter.
We aim to strengthen further our reputation
and influence amongst key decision-makers
in industries that use animals and have the
potential to have a huge positive influence
on their lives. In 2014 we spent £6 million
on our prevention, science, education and
communication work (page 17).
How will we achieve our goal?
We will strengthen our message on the
core RSPCA preventive work of rescue,
rehabilitation and rehoming of animals
in most desperate need and the unique
role of our inspectorate. We will have an
integrated Society approach on marketing and
communications across the two main annual
campaigns run by the RSPCA. We will use our
strong brand to improve our reputation.
How far have we got and
what will happen in 2015?
Around 97 percent of press coverage in 2014
was positive or neutral. We continued to be the
top animal charity every month.
In 2014 the television series Dog Rescuers
averaged nearly 1.5 million viewers per episode,
making it one of Channel 5's most popular
shows of the year. This ensured our messages
of rescue and rehabilitation reached around
seven percent of the television-watching
population each week.
2014 also saw a 25 percent increase in our
reach on Twitter and a five percent increase
on Facebook. Visits to the RSPCA website
increased by eight percent and we also
Joe Murphy x2/RSPCA Photolibrary
COMMUNICATIONS: PREVENTION,
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CAMPAIGNING
increased our Pinterest and YouTube channel
views. The website was made fully mobile
compliant and in 2014, for the first time, half of
all traffic originated from mobile devices.
In 2015 we will continue to set quantitative
and qualitative targets to increase our
audience reach and delivery of our message.
Two new television series have been
commissioned, focusing on our rescue
and rehabilitation work.
The reputation and brand recognition
of the RSPCA overseas has allowed our
international team to provide guidance on
animal welfare issues to organisations and
governments that benefits many millions of
animals. In 2014 the RSPCA agreed to advise
the Chinese government on updating their
Wildlife Protection Law and ensured our own
pig welfare standards were used to write
China's first welfare standards for pigs. In 2015
our international work will continue with
an increasingly broad range of government
and commercial partners, attracting outside
funding to deliver further expertise,
education and training in the world arena.