Why polar bears need business analytics

The WWF is looking at expanding its use of business analytics to polar bears.

According to the charity's chief marketing officer, Terry Macko, the charity has typically used analytics from SAS to determine when best to send out marketing appeals to its donors. Now, it's considering taking those tools to its staff in the field to help out with conservation work too.

Speaking at a SAS event in Cary, North Carolina, US, Macko said: "At this point what we're looking at across the organisation is what applications there are beyond direct marketing."

One such application being considered is using analytics around data collected by staff - scientists who track a number of species in their habitats using GPS-embedded collars.

Macko told silicon.com the data collected from the collars gives the organisation a host of information about the species being tracked. Throw some analytics tools into the mix and that data could become useful in new ways.

"[The data] can help us understand migration patterns. We could crunch that data and get the range of an animal," he said.

The GPS collars are already being used on species including jaguars and polar bears.

"With polar bears we can find where their havens are and where they den for population purposes," Macko said.

Analysing such data and similar information on where polar bears go to eat could help the WWF to influence public policy, for example, when oil and gas companies are applying for leases in areas where polar bears are active.

Polar bears and business analytics have already been united at the WWF through direct marketing, allowing the conservation charity to work out which of its "spokesspecies" should make appearances on it direct marketing in order to convince donors to part with their money.

"It's important for us to find out which image appeals to a specific individual," Macko said.

"There are those individuals that are passionate about tigers… and so it's important to really hone in our marketing efforts against those specific patterns," he added.

The organisation is also considering using analytics further to help with new customer acquisition.

"People think that not-for-profits are not using the same technology as the for-profits. That's not the case. We need the same sophisticated techniques," he said.