Ducks Unlimited

1084 Words3 Pages

Ducks Unlimited is a North American non-profit organization that conserves wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife and people. Ducks Unlimited was formed during the Great Depression when a group of conservation-minded waterfowlers saw a decrease in waterfowl populations. As an employee of Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), I have a strong understanding of the company, and I will be analyzing the site of DUC’s sister organization – Ducks Unlimited Inc. (DUI).

Rhetorical Design

DUI’s primary audience is its supporters, which includes members and volunteers who already donate. In the U.S., these supporters are mainly waterfowl hunters and people who have an invested interest in wetlands, waterfowl and other wildlife. DUI’s secondary audience is future supporters and those who may wish to donate to the cause.

There are multiple purposes of this site, but the main purpose is to directly educate or influence the two main audiences. The main visual focus on the home page is a flash image, which changes when the site is refreshed. The first image says, “Duck Fever: Raise money for the ducks and your local chapter.” Duck Fever is DUI’s main marketing campaign to garner financial support. Throughout the home page there is a strong donation-driven focus that encourages current and future supporters to help DUI with monetary contributions. When it comes to educating its users, the site offers a variety of hunting tips and resources including: videos, information about DUI’s conservation work, waterfowl 101, and current news items.

DUI’s vision is, “…wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.” The site’s main focus stays true to DUI’s vision; protecting important waterfow...

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Overall Impressions

The DUI site is for a specific audience. DUI’s site, when compared to the DUC site, is more hunting oriented and has a very specific cause and focus.

Even though the site has a wealth of information that is easy to understand by a general audience, some people may be turned off by the strong hunting theme.

The site is very professional looking and gives a great deal of credibility to the organization. The site is easy to navigate through and the interactive options such as the video library and quizzes are interesting features.

Being so familiar with the organization, the site is lacking in a youth education focus. The Greenwing program is the youth membership option for DUI. There is a page on the program, but it is limited in what it offers in information as it could be more fun, light, and friendly for a younger audience.

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