Conservation in a Subscription Box

Strategic Advisory & Marketing Consulting

Earthlove partnership secured — physical gift card placed in fall subscription boxes. Gamified giveaway framework built and deployed. Micro-influencer outreach strategy developed across science, #Vanlife, and wellness verticals.

THE CLIENT

Zooterra is a Delaware public benefit corporation that built a tokenized, gamified consumer platform designed to fund real-world habitat and wildlife conservation. The model gave users a tangible connection to conservation outcomes — owning a digital animal token translated directly into habitat protection, with transparent impact metrics for every user. Thelemata served on the Advisory Board, working directly with Founder and CEO Julio Corredor.

THE CHALLENGE

Zooterra had a genuinely novel product and a mission that resonated deeply with a specific type of consumer — eco-conscious, values-driven, willing to pay for impact. The challenge was reaching that audience efficiently before paid media spend could scale. Social traffic was arriving but not converting, and the path from visitor to engaged user needed to be rebuilt.

The longer-term challenge was navigating a business model evolution — from a consumer-facing gamified platform toward a B2B sustainability intelligence model — without losing momentum in the transition.

THE STRATEGY

The target audience already existed inside other communities. Thelemata’s approach was to find them where they already were — paying subscribers of eco-conscious brands, science communicators, sustainability-minded travel creators — and design entry points that felt native to those environments rather than promotional. A gift card inside a subscription box isn’t an ad. It’s a product recommendation from a trusted source. That distinction mattered for a brand built entirely on trust and impact.

EXECUTION

Thelemata built the partnership, audience growth, and conversion infrastructure:

Spearheaded a partnership with Earthlove, a subscription box serving a highly active, eco-conscious community; designed and pitched a physical Zooterra gift card for inclusion in fall boxes, offering subscribers a $2 credit and a 15% discount to “protect lemurs in Madagascar” by purchasing digital tokens — meeting the exact target audience inside a product they had already paid for

Architected a gamified audience-growth strategy using Rafflecopter/Gleam.io, with entries weighted to prioritize high-value actions: 10 entries for creating a Zooterra account versus 2 for a social follow — rewarding intent over passive engagement; incentivized participation with tiered experiential rewards including VIP zoo trips and exclusive wildlife photography

Built curated micro-influencer outreach lists targeting scientists, #Vanlife travel creators, and mid-tier holistic living advocates (30K–50K followers) — audiences predisposed to the conservation mission, not just the aesthetic

Identified a significant drop-off at the homepage for social traffic, advocating for a remarketing layer and optimized landing pages to reduce bounce and improve session quality

Consulted on the platform’s “Token Stories” content format, successfully advocating for a shift from click-through articles to narrated video with transcripts — improving user retention and accessibility

Provided advisory support as Zooterra evolved toward a B2B sustainability intelligence platform; initiated early discovery calls to test integration viability with existing data platforms including Flatfile

RESULTS

Earthlove partnership: secured — gift card placement in fall subscription boxes. Giveaway framework: built and deployed via Rafflecopter/Gleam.io. Micro-influencer outreach: curated target lists across science, #Vanlife, and wellness verticals.

Conversion optimization: remarketing layer and landing page overhaul advocated and implemented. Content format: Token Stories shifted to narrated video with transcripts. B2B pivot: advisory provided; Flatfile integration discovery initiated.

“I completely understand and appreciate your support the last few months. You always brought a fresh perspective which was super valuable.” — Julio Corredor, Founder & CEO, Zooterra

THE TAKEAWAY

Zooterra’s audience existed — they just needed to be reached in the right place with the right frame. Thelemata’s approach was to find existing communities of aligned consumers and design entry points that felt native rather than promotional. The Earthlove gift card placement exemplifies this: it wasn’t advertising — it was distribution through trust. For a brand built entirely on authentic connection to conservation outcomes, that approach was the only one that could work.

SERVICES DELIVERED

Strategic Advisory (Board Level), Go-to-Market Strategy, Partnership Development (Earthlove), Gift Card and Physical Integration Design, Giveaway Campaign Architecture (Rafflecopter/Gleam.io), Micro-Influencer Identification and Outreach Strategy, Conversion Rate Optimization Advisory, Content Strategy and UX Consulting, B2B Pivot Navigation and Partner Discovery.