Exploring the Effective Use of Celebrities in Wildlife Demand Reduction: Changing Perceptions of Pangolins in Vietnam
Celebrities are often used to increase awareness, and change attitudes and/or behaviour towards illegal wildlife product consumption. However, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. This project seeks to test celebrity effectiveness in influencing consumption of pangolin meat in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
As part of the project we have collected prevalence data on the consumption of pangolin products in Ho Chi Minh City, we conducted in-depth research on consumption of wild meat generally and carried out audience segmentation. At the end of 2020 we conducted qualitative research with one of the identified priority wild meat consumer groups to determine potential alternatives to wild meat and/or wild meat restaurants that could be promoted through celebrity endorsement.
This project is being led by one of our Co-Directors, Alegria Olmedo, who is based at the University of Oxford in the Zoology Department and is part of the Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade. She is working closely with local partner, Save Vietnam's Wildlife for data collection and project implementation. The project is being funded by the National Geographic Society and the Oxford Martin School.
Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade
Interdisciplinary Center for Conservation Science
In the Media
TRT WORLD Roundtable Debate