Format: Integrated Campaign

Campaign: Conservation Canines, African Wildlife Foundation

One of the most innovative anti-poaching strategies deployed by African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is its use of trained sniffer dogs to track down illegal wildlife contraband. Because AWF’s donor base is committed to protecting threatened species, we knew they’d love the concept of animals helping animals – so we created an integrated digital and direct mail campaign to engage with supporters and fundraise for the program.

Through a combination of cultivation and fundraising emails and social media, we drove audiences across channels to a responsive “yearbook” landing page that introduces AWF’s first graduating class of sniffer dogs and educates the user about what they do in the field. After clicking through some adorable dog imagery and brief information, users can leave their message of support for the canines on the page. A complementary direct mail letter invited supporters to take action by writing their message on a double reply slip and sending it back, along with a donation.

This campaign resulted in thousands of positive messages on both the landing page and through social media, and brought on new donors who were just learning about the effectiveness of anti-poaching canines. The messages were delivered to AWF Canine Conservation Director Will Powell, who trains dogs and handlers in Africa.