How Audience Surveys Make Us Stronger Vegan Advocates

Do you ever wonder, “Am I really making a difference?”

Or wish you had data to track the effectiveness of your efforts?

That’s what it’s all about, right? We’re activists because we want to make an impact for animals, the planet, and human health. Evaluation helps us measure our impact.

At VegFund, we’re delighted that our grantees consistently express an interest in learning how to better evaluate the outcome of their events. Evaluation data is also critically important to VegFund as the basis for enhancing our grant programs and better supporting our vegan activist community. That’s why we’re in the process of developing tools in the form of audience surveys to help us better understand the effectiveness of different types of outreach. Our grantees have begun using one such tool, a film-screening survey, to gather feedback from their audience. As we learn from this survey, we plan to develop additional evaluation tools specific to our other grant programs.

VegFund Executive Director Leslie Barcus and Programs Manager Leah Gage introduced our film-screening survey during a live-streamed presentation last November (2021). The video provides an overview of the film-screening survey that we developed, as well as our guide to using the survey.

As grantees administer this survey to their film-screening audiences, VegFund aggregates the responses into a growing body of data. Although the sample size of responses is still somewhat small, we’d like to share with you in this post the insights you can gain about improving the effectiveness of your outreach with data as your guide.

What we’ve learned so far

As of March 31, 2002, we received survey responses from 134 viewers in 11 different countries, viewing 16 different films. With a small sample size, we can’t yet generalize our findings; however, even this preliminary data is instructive in raising the questions we need to be asking ourselves about how to diversify our outreach and deepen viewers’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes about vegan living.

How can a film choice help me achieve my event goals?

If, for example, the goal of your event is to teach people about animal cruelty, give close thought to your film choice. Which films deliver information about animal cruelty most clearly and with the most impact? The survey results to date suggest, for example, that viewers of films such as A Prayer for Compassion and The End of Meat felt they learned more about the topic compared to films having a strong emphasis on themes such as human health or the environment. This piece of data, then, can enlighten us about the importance of film selection relative to your goals and may, for example, prompt you to offer additional resources, such as literature or a guest speaker on the topic of animal cruelty to supplement the film’s messaging to meet your goal.

If your event goal relates to raising awareness about the health benefits of vegan living, then films such as The Game Changers, What the Health, or The Invisible Vegan are most relevant. A community that is primarily concerned about their personal or family’s health may not prioritize animal welfare – therefore, film choices should be determined based on their ability to resonate with your chosen audience and fulfill your goals.

What can we do to diversify audience demographics?

Responses to VegFund’s film-screening survey indicate that, so far, we’re reaching predominantly vegan, white, and female viewers. This should raise a red flag – if we’re preaching to the choir, we’re not meeting our goals as activists. How can we diversify our audience?

• How can we conduct outreach and better listen to the concerns of people outside of our immediate social circles?
• Subsequently, how can we incorporate the topics, speakers, and food samples that resonate with them?
• Can we adjust our marketing strategies so that we attract non-vegans?
• Should we market our event through channels we haven’t yet explored — for example, what online or in-person communities have distinct but aligned goals, such as environmentalist and health groups?
• Can we engage our current audience to help us expand our networks — for example, asking them to spread the word about an upcoming event to non-vegan friends in their social network?

How can we gather more survey responses?

Getting people to complete a survey is never easy. Surveys are often best completed post-event, when folks may be focused on getting home. One data point from our film-screening survey reveals, for instance, that virtual events have had a higher percentage of respondents (20.2%) than in-person events (7.2%). What questions does this raise?

How can we increase our response rate at both virtual and in-person surveys? Here are a few factors to consider:

• Accessibility — For in-person events, would a paper-based survey be more effective than using a QR code? Do audience members need an area to comfortably fill them out, such as table space? What about having a clearly marked box or volunteers at the venue exit locations ready to receive responses? If your in-person audience values tech and/or paper-free options, a QR code at a table or projected on a screen may be preferable. Perhaps having a tablet or tablets available for filling out surveys will enhance response.
• Brevity — People often hesitate to take or complete a survey if it’s time-consuming or requires effort they weren’t prepared for. Narrow down to the most relevant questions. Opt for multiple choice answers to make the audience experience as streamlined as possible.
• Messaging — Display your survey or link prominently and announce it, along with a compelling reason to fill it out. Share why their feedback is valuable.
• Incentive — A simple incentive for completing surveys, such as a vegan cookie, a coupon, or an entry for a drawing, can give a big boost to response rates.

How can we make vegan diets more appealing to the public?

The films in this survey have inspired many viewers to consider reducing their consumption of animal foods, but fewer express an interest in adopting a vegan diet. What can we learn from viewers about what they need to take the next step? Here are some ideas for fostering more interest in vegan diets at your film screenings.

• A stronger “why” — Why are they not considering transitioning to a vegan diet? Are they disconnected from the realities of farm animals? Would facilitating a strong connection with an animal (such as sharing one animal’s story) motivate them? Do they have concerns about their health or that of their loved ones? Is the critical state of our environment important to them? People need a strong reason to change. As advocates, we must understand that another person’s “why” may not be the same as ours.
• Practical guidance — Do they need recipes and meal planning support?
• Social support — Are they experiencing social pressures from friends and family? Would they consider trying out a 30-day vegan challenge with a mentor or built-in community for support?

How can we boost information sharing?

Although 85% of film viewers said they would share information from the films with family and friends, fewer than 50% of viewers “strongly agree” to share this information. What can we do to increase the likelihood that viewers’ will share their new knowledge among their networks? Can we ask viewers during a screening how they feel about sharing the information? What makes them reluctant to share, and is there additional information that we can provide that may be more meaningful to friends and family?

How can we keep the momentum going?

The film-screening survey responses to date suggest that audience members do want to learn more about animal protection, plant-based health, and the environment after watching the films being screened. How can we build on viewers’ interest in these topics to take them to their next level of learning? Perhaps we can offer a list of other films and resources that audience members can turn to next. A film series or film festival on topics of interest to your audience might be in order. Organizing a series of events in advance means being able to invite audiences to take their next step in deepening their knowledge about the benefits of vegan living.

Using VegFund’s survey tools

If you organize film screenings, we recommend that you apply for a VegFund grant and use the survey we provide to streamline your evaluation process. The Guide to VegFund’s Film Screening Survey provides a list of steps for accessing and administering the survey. You’ll gain valuable insight into your own efforts and contribute to a growing collection of data that serves our vegan advocate community!

This guide is also useful for learning more about why and how to carry out audience surveys for your film screenings, as well as any other vegan outreach.