4 The Delaware

Standing Up for Clean Water

Award Winner

Overview

More than 15 million people in four states — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware — depend on the Delaware River for clean drinking water. As the longest “undammed” river east of the Mississippi, the Delaware River is the backbone of a strong recreation and tourism economy that provides jobs and support to the communities around it. Despite improvements over the last few decades, the river’s health is in jeopardy as federal environmental regulations are threatened.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) asked The Hatcher Group to create a strategic communications campaign to increase public awareness about the health and importance of the Delaware River and to persuade the four states that share the river to protect this vital natural resource. 

Capabilities

Earned Media

Public Affairs

Strategic Communications

Strategic Events

Branding

Digital Engagement

Creative

Logo

We brought the campaign to life by designing a unique logo unifying the four states and applying the logo to new campaign collateral, including infographics, posters, banners, and fact sheets.

Strategy

Hatcher developed and implemented a communications strategy to help NWF and its partners increase public awareness about the health of the Delaware River, while persuading four governors, whose constituents depend upon the Delaware River, to work together to protect it. Collaborating with coalition partners and government officials from each state, Hatcher created messaging, branding, and a tagline for the campaign, “4 The Delaware: 15 million reasons to stand up for the Delaware River.”

Strategic Communications

Hatcher created a communications strategy to launch a public awareness campaign focused on the importance of the Delaware River and to persuade the local governors, who constituents depend upon the river for economy and tourism, to commit to work together to protect it. We collaborated with coalition partners and government officials from each state; conducted focus groups; developed branding, messaging, and graphic designs; planned and executed all digital marketing, media outreach, event planning; and circulated grassroots petitions. Target audiences and messengers for the campaign included recreational boaters and anglers in all four states.

Events and Earned Media

The campaign culminated in an event at Philadelphia’s Seaport Museum in May 2019, during which three of the four governors signed a public proclamation to restore the Delaware River. The governors also participated in a moderated forum that garnered highly positive media coverage. Hatcher supported the governors’ staffs and NWF in planning the event and handled all logistics, design, digital, and media outreach.

Our Impact

  • Brought the “4 The Delaware: 15 million reasons to stand up for the Delaware River,” campaign to life with a unique logo design that unified the four states. 
  • Created campaign collateral, including infographics, posters, banners, and fact sheets. 
  • Designed and implemented a social media campaign. 
  • Developed and circulated grassroots petitions. 
  • Garnered positive media coverage in the Bucks Count Courier Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Insider NJ, The Intelligencer, and KYW-AM and WSKG-FM. 
  • Organized and managed all event planning and outreach for the Delaware River Governor’s Leadership Summit at Philadelphia’s Seaport Museum May 2019, during which three of the four governors signed a public proclamation to restore the Delaware River. 

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