Join the Adventure
Scout Ecology
This project launched us into wild Australian landscapes to create a brand for crew of ecologists who are not afraid to camp, hike, and extract the occasional leech. When Scout asked Guts to help them stand out in the cluttered environmental sector to attract quality talent, we were ready to engage research mode and develop a unique new brand.
Key Insight
Most ecology firms blend in a sea of green - same language and promises. Scout is different so their brand needed to be too. To help grow the team, we took the time to understand and articulate their vision, purpose and DNA.
Strategy
Our research insights formed the strategy and Scout’s purpose to change the way the world values biodiversity. This is their mission and they live it every day. We honed in on Scout’s point of difference – working on big strategic landscape projects, and travelling to every rugged corner of NSW. We defined their brand positioning in one word: adventure.
Their Employer Value Proposition (EVP), Join the Adventure, made Scout instantly stand out amongst the large corporate firms.
Defining ‘what’ Scout does was also important – ‘measuring biodiversity’ was a jargon free way to cut through the technical speak.
Creative Idea
The new brand communicates adventure in every touch point.
We deliberately avoided the predictable greens of the category, instead building a visual identity inspired by vast, rugged landscapes - the scale at which Scout works.
Merch was also key to reward the team and dial up the brand in the field and at conferences to attract new recruits. Custom Scout badges for living the values were a big hit.
We also had a fun idea to help Scout stand out to the right recruits by showing the adventure. The Scout ‘day in the life’ social media comp enlisted the team to show the adventure of a typical day at Scout.
Scout goes where others don’t—across coastal wetlands, mountain ridges, remote deserts, and deep rainforests in every corner of New South Wales — wherever biodiversity calls.
The result
Our recruitment campaign was so successful it crashed Scout’s website with record job application numbers.
The rebrand project resulted in a doubling of revenue YOY and expansion of the team from one to seven members in three years.
Our social media recruitment campaign went off. In 8 months, Scout was the leader in follower growth on LinkedIn and Instagram across the environmental sector. Instagram followers increased +170% and LinkedIn followers increased +74%.
Website performance followed the craze surpassing all 2026 targets in only three months, including a 50% increase in active users and a 93% increase in on‑site event actions.
And most importantly Scout is living its purpose every day, changing the way the world values biodiversity.
Credits:
Research, brand strategy & recruitment campaign: Guts Creative
Photography: Lee Illfield
Art Director: David McKenzie
Brand Designer: Gabrielle Wood
Scout Ecology website: https://www.scoutecology.com.au/
Scout Ecology Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scout_ecology/
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