WiseOceans is on a mission to inspire ocean conservation through education, community engagement, and hands-on science. What started as a simple idea – helping people find careers in marine conservation – has grown into a global organisation running education programmes, conservation projects, and more.
We spoke with Toni from WiseOceans to learn how they bring their mission to life, the impact of their work, and how they use email marketing with EmailOctopus to connect with their community and drive engagement.
About WiseOceans
Tell us about WiseOceans – how did it start, and what inspired the creation of the organisation?
WiseOceans’ founder, Abbie, grew up by the sea and always knew her career would be in conservation. Being more practical than academic, she sought out numerous opportunities to gain hands-on experience, including taking a gap year in Australia, where she learned to dive. She then conducted research projects in Fiji and Seychelles before obtaining her master’s degree in Tropical Coastal Management.
While job searching, she realised that a website dedicated to promoting jobs specifically in marine conservation simply did not exist. This led to the idea of WiseOceans Careers.
As Abbie researched educating divers in Fiji for her thesis and took on roles as Marine Biologist and Educator in Maldives and back in Seychelles, she quickly recognised and became passionate about the importance of education in conservation. During her time back in Seychelles, Abbie brainstormed ideas for creating a company that could address them. These initiatives later became WiseOceans Careers (as mentioned) and WiseOceans Academy.
During this time in Seychelles, Abbie was asked to provide on-site marine biology at a luxury resort. Realising that she could not only do this herself but also hire others for the role, she founded WiseOceans Discovery. And so, the full suite of WiseOceans’ services came together.
What are WiseOceans’ core missions, and how have they evolved over time?
Our core mission is ‘to engage, educate and inspire people everywhere to love the oceans and the life within them, connecting communities to our marine life and empowering them to make small changes in their lives so that together we make a big difference’. We have maintained this mission over the last 13 years.
You operate across multiple locations and programmes. What are some of the key initiatives you’re working on right now?
As a company with varying services offered through sub-brands, we have numerous key initiatives! However, a theme running throughout them all is to ensure that the ocean remains for everyone – it belongs to us all, and we all deserve the opportunity to experience it – now and in the future! As such, we deliver inclusive education programmes, accessible to global audiences, we offer complimentary and community sessions at partnered resorts, and we are operating key science and conservation projects, namely coral reef restoration projects in several countries.
in the Marine Discovery Centre at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles Desroches Island
What about you and your team? Who is who at WiseOceans, and how do you collaborate to achieve your goals?
WiseOceans is a small but mighty team! We are led by our founder and CEO Abbie and then our Senior Management team includes Emily (Head of Discovery), Georgina (Science and Conservation Advisor), Toni (Marketing and Communications Manager), Hannah (Careers and Academy Manager).
Our core team also includes Martha (Academy Coordinator) and Louise (Discovery Coordinator). This team are based across the UK, France, and Maldives. In addition, we have our Marine Biologists and Educators, who are currently based in Seychelles, Bora Bora, Vietnam and the UK. Collaborating across different time zones can prove problematic; however, we prioritise regular communication through platforms such as Teams and WhatsApp and ensure critical information and training are known and reiterated. We have strong company values which are embraced and shared amongst the team.
Engaging with the audience & community
How do you balance education, conservation, and community involvement in your work?
This balance is exactly why WiseOceans was incorporated. We believe that we are stronger together, so we constantly develop and review our programmes to ensure that they meet multiple needs and that we stay true to our core values and mission.
Can you share a particularly memorable success story from someone who has engaged with WiseOceans – perhaps a student, volunteer, or resort guest?
We are proud to constantly receive amazing testimonials. Here’s a particularly special one recently shared: “Hey best buddy! How is our favorite marine biologist? Two things: You deserve a second “THANK YOU” Ambre! I have told so many people about the work you are doing with the coral and the amazing job you did educating and guiding our family, especially the kids. (Valentina has a new idol). I’ve dreamt of the day I could introduce them to the ocean I know, and you helped them see it the way I do. You didn’t have to be so great, but you were. Keep up the great work with the ocean and the people who visit it. See you next year. We are coming back in September. We hope you are still there”
in the Marine Discovery Fare at Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora during a recent Site Management Visit
Email marketing
What role does email play in your wider communication strategy? How does it complement other channels like social media?
Email marketing is key for WiseOceans Careers as it is our primary service offering – our free weekly job alert newsletter! It provides our audience of nearly 10,000 subscribers with an exciting and visually appealing email each week that contains the latest opportunities in the sector.
What types of emails do you send, and what’s your main goal with them?
Currently, we send several different emails. Through WiseOceans Careers we send our weekly job alert, but we also send a monthly update to our clients. Through WiseOceans Academy, we send a fun monthly newsletter to followers containing news, incredible facts, a quiz, crafts and other fantastic resources, all aimed at younger budding marine biologists. Through WiseOceans Discovery, 2025 will see the launch of a new quarterly Science and Conservation newsletter, which is very exciting!
Exciting indeed! Are there specific email strategies or formats that have worked especially well for engaging your audience?
We find the ability to create visually appealing emails essential in ensuring our audiences remain engaged in our email content.
What challenges have you faced in email marketing, and how have you overcome them?
Growing our email list audience has proved tricky! We ensure we regularly ‘clean’ our database to make sure that only active and engaged subscribers remain. This, combined with the fact that people want to receive less unnecessary content, means that our growth is slow, however we still see growth each year, and we have excellent open and click rates!
Working with EmailOctopus
Why did you choose EmailOctopus for your email marketing? Were there particular features or qualities that stood out?
We chose EmailOctopus for two reasons – firstly, the platform looked and felt user-friendly, but also because they donate a % of profits to conservation charities, which obviously was in line with our values as a business.
guided snorkel, Petite Anse (Four Seasons Resort Seychelles)
How do you use EmailOctopus in your campaigns?
We use EmailOctopus to deliver our WiseOceans Careers’ weekly job alert, filling our subscribers’ inboxes with exciting work opportunities to expand and further their careers in marine conservation. We also primarily use Email Octopus to enthral our younger audience with our Wise Kids newsletter packed full of marine facts, crafts and stories.
Are there any features or integrations within EmailOctopus that have been especially useful?
Recently, it has been great to see previously uploaded images stored to the database.
What difference has using EmailOctopus made for WiseOceans? Do you have any measurable improvements or cost savings you can share?
By offering charity organisations a slight discount on platform fees, we have saved around 5-10% on our email provider costs when comparing it to our previous provider.
All registered nonprofits using EmailOctopus get a 20% discount on their Pro plan
The past and the future
What’s next for WiseOceans? Are there any upcoming projects, events, or partnerships you’re particularly excited about?
Our biggest upcoming projects include new partnerships! In late 2024, we launched new Marine Discovery Programmes in Seychelles and Vietnam (which is our first in Asia), and this year, we launch a programme in Anguilla. In addition, we are looking to the release of our new Science and Conservation Newsletter and a new Academy virtual education programme called ‘Dive Deeper’.
Do you have plans to evolve your email marketing strategy in the future? Are there any new tactics or tools you’re keen to explore?
We want to utilize email marketing further e.g., through the release of this new Science and Conservation Newsletter in 2025.
If you could give one piece of advice to other non-profits or conservation organisations about email marketing, what would it be?
It would be that starting small is fine! Building something worthwhile often takes time, but do not be put off!
If you’d like to learn more about WiseOceans and their current projects, check out their website.
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