Conservation NGO African Parks has appointed VML South Africa as its digital agency partner, giving the organisation a full-funnel team to grow global engagement.
The remit is broad: B2B and B2C digital marketing strategy and communications, website and mobile design and development, social media and CRM. Advertising will be supported by WPP Media, VML’s sister agency.
From protected areas to digital journeys
African Parks manages 24 protected areas across 13 countries, covering more than 20-million hectares of terrestrial and marine landscapes. Africa itself is home to a quarter of the world’s biodiversity. That gives the organisation a powerful narrative asset, but also a complex brief: turning long-term conservation work into clear journeys for donors, partners, governments and local communities.
For marketers, this is not a simple awareness campaign. The agency remit runs from strategy through to CRM and paid media, which means African Parks can connect storytelling to measurable supporter actions rather than stopping at reach.
Proof points that earn attention
The work comes with hard numbers. Across the protected areas where African Parks operates:
- 83% of key species have increased or stabilised populations.
- 69% was achieved in the Constituency for Conservation Index, which reports people’s perceptions and attitudes towards a protected area.
- Almost 200 000 paying visitors have come to the parks, 59% of them local.
- 97% of employees are nationals of the countries in which they work.
These figures are not just impact metrics. They are ready-made proof for social content, landing pages, email journeys and partner presentations. VML’s challenge will be to package them without losing the human and ecological story behind the data.
A playbook for purpose-led growth
“We chose to partner with VML because they combine deep African insight with strong digital expertise and the reach of a global network.”
Simon Camerer, Director of Marketing at African Parks, pointed to VML’s combination of deep African insight, digital expertise and global network reach as the reason for the appointment.
“This is work that marketers embrace — a combination of craft and creativity that can truly make a difference for generations to come.”
Astrid Ascar, New Business Director at VML South Africa, called the brief a natural fit between rich storytelling and digital craft.
The underlying lesson is simple: purpose-led organisations are adopting the same full-funnel structure as commercial brands. Clear positioning, strong proof points, CRM to retain and convert, and paid media to scale. For D2C founders and growth teams, that means brand storytelling is not soft; it becomes measurable when it is wired to the right systems.
African Parks says digital channels are central to communicating its purpose and the work of its partners and teams. The aim is clearer storytelling, new and younger audiences, and deeper long-term support for conservation across Africa.
Source: Media Update
