Table of Contents
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The Team Executive Summary Competitive Analysis Brand Identity Target Market Insights Creative Brief Final Concept Phases Results
04 12 14 18 22 28 36 38 40 74
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Professional Pack: Meet the Team We are a unique set of creators, innovators, and brand architects. Our team is comprised of talented, thoughtful leaders who strive to bring change into the advertising industry. We worked in collaboration with Nebo for their Rescue Pledge’s #RescueFam campaign. We were given the opportunity to curate a positive narrative for shelter animals by bringing fresh ideas to the digital world; through our efforts we were able to increase engagement for the brand. We are excited to share our journey with Nebo’s Rescue Pledge and allow our work to illustrate the change we want to see in the lives of animals around the world.
4 The Team
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Our Client Rescue Pledge is a nonprofit that was started in 2012 by Nebo Agency in partnership with P.L.A.Y. and Petfinder. Rescue Pledge is a targeted effort with the goal of educating and bringing pet lovers together. This nonprofit has created a community for pet lovers to share their unique rescue stories and inspire others to help aid our furry friends in need. Rescue Pledge asks that people take the pledge on their website to rescue or adopt animals instead of purchasing through outlets such as puppy mills, to become educated on harmful pet distribution practices, and assist in spreading the inspiring message of the campaign whether it be through advocacy, donating, or volunteering. Rescue Pledge hopes to change the negative stigma surrounding rescues—one story and one pledge at a time. 6
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To Bark: Challenge Rescue Pledge was founded to make the world a better place for our four-legged friends. #RescueFam is an online campaign as well as a pledge; therefore the goal and message of Rescue Pledge remained unclear. In order to overcome this challenge, our branding needed to reflect the authentic human experience of an animal lover community that supports all members. The goal is to inform the public of services the organization offers and put an end to negative stigmas surrounding rescue animals.
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Or not to Bark: Solution Our team decided that The Rescue Pledge’s social media channels, with an emphasis on Instagram and Facebook, needed to undergo a total rebranding. The creative effort would establish cohesion between the social platforms and their updated website, as well as usher a tone that encouraged authentic experiences to be shared across all media.
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Executive Summary
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#RescueFam is an inspiring campaign that fosters positive change regarding the treatment of rescue animals. Rescue Pledge’s mission was lost amongst unoriginal content, ambiguous messages, and little to no post personalization. Our team had to overcome the negative stigmas surrounding shelter animals while simultaneously clarifying what our campaign really was: #RescueFam is a collection of individuals who are devoted to aiding animals in need.
We wanted to emphasize the creation of original and engaging social media content. Specifically, we utilized our social media channels to educate users on Rescue Pledge by showcasing the unique, loving personalities of rescue animals and focused on building digital connections between diverse rescue families.
To do this, we added engaging graphics and animations to stagnant photos that not only create brand cohesivity between platforms, but also allows our feed to stand out and become more memorable. We also prioritized building relationships with shelters and other rescue owners, so that we could create mutually beneficial partnerships. Each method we employed throughout our campaign was centered around being humanistic, creatively authentic, and educational.
A Dog Eat Dog World
SWOT Analysis
14 Competitive Analysis
Strengths Sizable Facebook fanbase Aesthetic and easy-to-navigate website design Fights for a humanistic cause that goes hand-in-hand with Nebo’s mission of being human and real Over 100k pledges already Previous partnerships with rescue and pet-related communities
Opportunities Seeking partnerships with rescue adoption agencies (e.g. Athens Humane Society) Reaching out to animal advocacy groups to create awareness of the pledge Holding on-campus activities to attract college students Utilizing Instagram stories and posting regularly Encouraging pet owners to share their rescue stories
Weaknesses Low Instagram presence (only 34 followers) Social media accounts are not updated on a regular basis No interaction with audiences on Instagram and other social platforms Instagram lacks original photos Social media is not consistent and lacks brand voice The concept of Rescue Pledge is unclear
Threats Pet shops that do not encourage adopting rescues and are supplied by unethical breeders “Designer dog” shops that are supplied by puppy mills Lack of public education/awareness about puppy mills and harmful pet distribution practices
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A Dog Eat Dog World
Competitors
The goal is to change the negative stigmas attached to shelter animals and to empower animal lovers everywhere to fight against harmful pet distribution practices. Pet stores, unlicensed breeders, and puppy mill operators are the biggest threats to Rescue Pledge.
16 Competitive Analysis
Famous Shelters and Rescue Accounts
These might directly prevent audiences from following our account because of similar services offered: @The Best Friends Animal Society, @Family Dog Rescue, @Second Chance Rescue, @Hope For Paws Rescue
Local Pet Shelters
(e.g. Athens Humane Society, Atlanta Humane Society) emphasize personal connections and volunteer experiences.
Other indirect competitors:
Public attention towards Rescue Pledge could be impacted by other animal content social medias. Pet sharing social media accounts such as: @CatsOfInstagram, @TheDodo, @DoggyEveryday, @TheDailyKitten, @Weratedogs
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Bark or Bite
Brand Identity Our goal was to hone in on a specific brand identity, focusing on a positive, uplifting voice to unite animal lovers and encourage them to share their unique rescue stories. The #RescueFam campaign is bright and inviting; detailed by heavily saturated colors and a positive outlook on the lives of shelter animals instead of the often sad, dismal outlook. #RescueFam is a digitally lead campaign meant to spread awareness and inspire action.
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Main Logo
Secondary Logo
RP Mark
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Laurel #6AB748
Primary Colors
Coral #F94E67
Aqua #7AE4EB
Daisy #F9D22D
Tangerine #F9904A
Cloud #2CFD2D7
Midnight #2E374A
Neutral Colors
Charcoal #545B6B
Ash #7E838F
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Marble #EDEEF0
Pearl #FAFAFA
Typography Primary Font
Serenity Bold
used for headlines
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890@$%?!“”
Body Font
Serenity Medium
used for body copy
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890@$%?!“”
Secondary Font
Tzimmes
form imput
Alternate Font when other fonts are not available.
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890@$%?!“”
Ubuntu
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890@$%?!“”
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Target Audience Our main target audience can be divided into 4 groups: people who have used breeders/puppy mill suppliers in the past, people who have adopted in the past, animal lovers, and animal welfare enthusiasts.
22 Target Market
Demographics Primary Market: Millennials and Gen Z Occupation: College students and family-oriented people.
Behavior People who have adopted/ bought a pet before People who wish to have their own pets People who have no idea of pet adoption
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Target Paw-files
22 Target Market
Dog-stan Stacy Stacy is a 21-year-old junior from the University of Georgia. She loves everything that has to do with dogs. Stacy volunteers for the Guide Dog Foundation, as well as the Athens Humane Society where she met her dog, Wanda. She fell in love with Wanda’s sassy personality after hearing about her rescue story and knew that she needed to adopt Wanda. Stacy follows dog-related Instagram accounts such as @DoggyEveryday and @JiffPom, and loves to share dog adoption information on her social media. She even has a car bumper sticker that says “Adopt Don’t Shop”, and she encourages everyone she knows to volunteer at shelters.
#KittenSurpriseKaitlyn Kaitlyn is a 28-year-old marketing manager in the metro Atlanta area. She is originally from Los Angeles and is maintaining a long-distance relationship with her significant other, Lauren. Because of Lauren’s recent move, Kaitlyn is thinking of surprising her by adopting a cat on her behalf the next time she visits. However, Kaitlyn isn’t familiar with animal adoption practices, and she isn’t exactly sure where to start. She would prefer using an online service that features easy and clear adoption steps to speed up the process from the comfort of her home.
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#DogDadDanny Danny is a young dad who has a 3-year-old daughter named Kira. He currently resides in Knoxville, TN. Danny isn’t aware of the key differences between puppy mills and adoption. He wants to surprise Kira for her birthday with a puppy that she’s become obsessed with after watching a wholesome TikTok video. Danny is trying to figure out the intricacies of TikTok, but he’s not necessarily interested in pets and therefore doesn’t follow any pet-related accounts. He never makes impulsive purchase decisions because he likes to know about all of his options. Danny is seeking information about the pet market and wants a trusted, educational source on pet adoption practices. He learns more by reading up on social media posts or searching the internet.
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Survey Insights We designed a survey to get a better understanding of our target audience’s attitudes towards pet adoption and ways to improve pet-related social media engagement. The survey consisted of 78 participants with 90% of them being college students.
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80% are unfamiliar with Rescue Pledge, while those who mentioned pet accounts were only aware of the following: Cats of Heart, The Dodo, Athens Humane Society.
Insights 29
All Dawg Data is Good Dawg Data
89%
8%
of respondents had a pet.
of pets have owners utilize puppy mills.
42%
of pets have been adopted from shelters.
Pet Adoption Attitudes The overall feelings behind puppy mill adoption was neutral; survey respondents were unaware of the conditions animals faced in these mills. There was a similar number of respondents that were neutral regarding the idea of buying an animal from a pet store. Given these survey results, we determined that we needed to educate our audience about the different ways to adopt and the benefits of adopting pets from standard shelters. We wanted to visualize this effort through Instagram stories, while utilizing shareable infographics in order to generate awareness of these practices. Buying a dog from a pet store Buying a dog from a puppy mill
Neutral
Neutral
Adopting a dog from a dog shelter
Very positive
Insights 31
The respondents desired tone of social media posts was...
50% 24% 26%
voted for cute voted for funny preferred socially responsible and educational.
Factors that are considered when following social accounts Important:
high update frequency, rich information and credibility
Unimportant:
partnerships with influencers and on-site activities
With these findings, we decided to use a mix of comedic and cute social posts. Our audience responds well to a balance between educational and funny content. 32 Insights
Desired Posting Frequency
1 post per day/ 2-3 posts per week
By exploring their favorite content on pet-related social media accounts, we discovered...
30% preferred pet pictures/gifs
Desired Posting Time
9PM-12AM
20% enjoyed short videos.
Therefore, our strategy should utilize pet images, gifs, and short videos as content to engage our target audience. 33
Who let the Dogs Audit?
Social Media Audit Rescue Pledge had a very low Instagram following and overall social media recognition. The Instagram posts were generic, with the use of stock photos and distracting copy. This conflicting strategy hindered awareness and engagement. Their Facebook, however, had a substantial following; primarily due to the popularity of Facebook groups. The posts have become less frequent and engagement became stagnant. These channels had plenty of potential to grow and spread the amazing message of Rescue Pledge to larger audiences. Our team decided to rebrand these platforms and use them to advertise Rescue Pledge, while launching the refined social media initiative: #RescueFam.
34 Insights
Instagram Followers: 34 Avg Likes: 5.61 Avg Comments: 0.056
Facebook Page Likes: 43,024 Page Followers: 42,371 Avg Likes: 33.18 Avg Comments: 1.61 Avg Shares: 9.82
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Creative Brief
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Key Fact
Target
Support
Rescue Pledge strives to offer an authentic human experience comprised of an animal lover community that supports one another and inspires others.
Millennials and animal lovers.
#RescueFam has the potential to go viral with the right messaging and graphic use. Given the mobilization against animal cruelty, this hashtag campaign has its cause in the right place; but there needs to be all paws on deck to shape up their social media, brand tone and voice in order to execute the mission.
Promise
Low website traffic, low brand awareness, and negative stigma surrounding rescues.
To increase traffic across all platforms including social media and the Rescue Pledge website. Align the brand tone and mission across platforms in creative ways while educating the public.
Objectives
Tone
Create a community centered around rescued animals, educate the public on harmful pet distribution practices, and increase brand awareness of #RescueFam and Rescue Pledge.
Positive, uplifting, informative, inspiring, and unifying.
Problem
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The Gang’s all here!
The Final Concept
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Timeline November Phase 1 - Research
September Creative Brief
January Video/Photoshoot
Early January Phase 2 - #RescueFam
April Final Results
February Moving Forward
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Phase 1
Rescue Research We made sure to focus on conducting research, assessing the SWOT analysis, competitors, pitching the alternative feed, and emphasizing the specific usage of different social media platforms. We also began curating mock posts, creating unique hashtags, and starting outreach efforts to adjust brand messaging according to recommended practices derived from research results.
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The Puppy Priority Connection. Community. Compassion. Our goal is to shine a positive light on shelter adoption through building a connection between animal lovers and furry friends, to create a community devoted to the pledge, and foster feelings of compassion for animals affected by unethical pet distributors as we fight to put an end to puppy mill cruelty.
Social Media Strategy
Educating We want to build awareness and knowledge by showing infographics, highlighting key statistics, and encouraging others to share our pledge.
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Showcasing Personality
Building Connections
We want to build empathy around these rescues by showcasing their personalities through fun graphics.
We want to build connections by spotlighting specific dogs that are on the website and giving more information about them.
Instagram Tone Be Human and Authentic Tell personal narratives of adoption Use “real” photos, that are easier to connect with Directly relate to the audience through trustworthy experiences Ask questions, prompt comments, build engagement
Beat Negative Stigma Uplifting graphics with fun doodles around dogs Showcase fun-loving personalities “Glow-pup Challenge”
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Mock Posts
Showcasing Personality
44 Phase One
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Mock Posts
Building Connections
46 Phase One
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Mock Posts
Glow-Pup Challenge
48 Phase One
Swipe!
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Mock Posts Educating
50 Phase One
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Public Relations
Release the Hounds Outreach
52 Phase One
Look At All Those… Puppies! In November, we categorized partnerships beginning with organizations on the University of Georgia’s campus and local shelters in Athens, GA. This led to the development of a PR activation plan that outlines the benefits of partnering with Rescue Pledge. We then created a media kit that prefaced Rescue Pledge’s services, provided contact and background information, and statistics. We also drafted “purrfect partnership” emails for the respective shelters and groups.
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Phase 2
#RescueFam The campaign shifted to prioritize a digital campaign called #RescueFam. With this new campaign, our priority was to maintain a friendly but informative tone with a modern, well aligned feed. We prioritized creating Instagram highlights to save special moments that we would document such as ‘Rescue Stories’, ‘Why We Pledge’, etc. We finalized the graphics and coupled it with original photo content for the alternative mock feed, and focused the creative concept around “creating a community.” 54
My #RescueFam Creating Community and Inspiring Change When you rescue an animal, you are not only saving a life, but also joining an ever-growing family of people and pets. By sharing your rescue story, you are fostering change, overcoming stigmas, and creating a community unlike any other. #RescueFam showcases your unique family and helps build support for other rescue families all around the world. 55
Instagram Highlights
Rescue Stories
Shelter Life 56 Phase Two
#RescueFam
Rescue Me!
Why we Pledge
Learn More
Rescue Stories
#RescueFam
Rescue Me
A highlight that will spotlight rescue families’ stories and their journeys into becoming a family.
A highlight that promotes the #RescueFam. We will celebrate rescue families by building a community around them.
A highlight that will showcase the many animals that are up for adoption to help match them with their family.
Shelter Life
Why We Pledge
Learn More
A highlight that destigmatizes shelter animals by showing them in a positive light to encourage others to adopt from or volunteer at local shelters.
A highlight that illustrates the everyday joys of having a rescue animal. This highlight will be a way to engage our #RescueFam community by having them share why they love their rescues.
A highlight that will focus on educating people on the advantages of adopting by providing key statistics.
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Why We Pledge
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Learn More
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Alternating Feed
Negative Space
Photos
Shapes
Keeps the feed clean and gives it a modern look.
Breaks up the feed and makes the content more relatable and authentic.
Creates cohesiveness with the website and a feed that stands out.
60 Phase Two
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Instagram Graphics
62 Phase Two
Holiday Posts
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Moving Forward Ready, Set, Fetch!
With the details of the creative concept fleshed out, it was time to bring our work to life! Our mock posts were implemented into Rescue Pledge’s social calendars, we formulated strategic partnerships with shelters, and crafted a future plan that consists of best practices for Rescue Pledge moving forward. We encouraged them to continue our social strategy as well as implement paid promotion, and integrate highlight stories on Instagram to further clarify Rescue Pledge’s mission and the overall goal.
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Puppy Portraits The goals of the ‘Puppy Portraits’ event are to... Unify the Athens rescue community Increase overall awareness of #RescueFam Increase positive puppy content by hosting a professional photoshoot for rescue animals and their owners. Raise money for local shelters and advertise animals that are up for adoption by featuring a space for donations. 65
Letters from Puppers ‘Letters From Puppers’ is an initiative to give rescue animals a ‘voice’ to bark about their individual rescue stories and share their appreciation for their owner. It is a strategy to encourage engagement that is different from a standard graphic or a statistic.
66 Moving Forward
It illustrates the stories of rescue families from the point of view of the animal that was rescued; effectively personifying the animal and adding emotional depth to having a pet.
Instagram Story
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Photoshoot
at Athens Humane Society Our team scheduled a photoshoot with the Talking Dog Videography Team to capture the cute and lively personalities of the Athens Humane Society shelter animals. The primary goal of this photoshoot was to collect content to shine a positive light on shelter dogs and cats.
68 Moving Forward
Instagram Graphics St. Patty’s Day
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Bringing lesser known holidays to life!
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Infographics
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Promoting the #RescueFam
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Final Results
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Instagram Net followers increased by 10% with no loss of original followers. Post comments increased by 50%. Total Instagram impressions increased by 37,006%.
Facebook Total impressions: 102.5k Total engagements: 963
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Website Statistics Rescuepledge.org is our hub for pet adopters and animal lovers. Since we started implementing our plan for the #RescueFam campaign in January we saw an...
11% increase in website users
76 Results
90% 14% of those users are new
increase in page views compared to last year.
More users returned to the site in February after our original content published on Instagram. This includes the “Rescue Mantra”, “National Love Your Pet Day”, and “Reasons To Rescue an Animal”. Organic search is still the primary channel when it comes to traffic There is more engagement due to frequent and consistent posting on both Facebook and Instagram.
We had 3 goals for website use in total...
Pledge Submission
Contact Us
Share Your Story Submission
The total goal completions have been increased by 9% compared to the previous year. 77
Website Metrics
78 Results
On Feb. 13, the post “Happy National Love Your Pet Day” led to a surge of 230 pageviews, which reached a peak during Q1.
On Feb. 22, the “Reasons To Rescue an Animal” post reached another peak in pageviews (192) during Q1.
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Dawgs Know Best:
Future Recommendations We prioritized creating original and engaging social media content that served to recognize diverse #RescueFam families and inform them about harmful pet distribution practices. Rescue Pledge’s mission was once lost amongst the flurry of unoriginal content, ambiguous messaging, and little to no post personalization. Our team transformed their mission with unique graphics, playful storytelling, and engaging content. These initiatives ushered in an increase of Instagram impressions by 37,006%, an increase of Facebook impressions to 102.5K, and a 14% in website pageviews. #RescueFam was an inspiring campaign that we loved working on. We’re proud to have left our signature pawprint on such an impactful mission through hard work, distinctive designs, and sophisticated strategy.
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Contact the Team Soha Imam Account Executive
Ke Wang Fetch Strategist
soha9909si@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/sohaimam sohaimam.wixsite.com/website
kewang1009@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/kwcoco96 kewang1009.wixsite.com/portfolio
Shana Hall Art Director
Megan Barrickman Digital Specialist
lakshanahall@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/lakshana-hall/ lakshanahall.wixsite.com/myportfolio
meganbarrickman@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/megan-barrickman meganbarrickman.wixsite.com/mysite
Chas Monroe Copywriter
Kate Lee Project Manager
chasmonroe11@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/chasmonroe www.chasmonroe.com
kate.lee.subin@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/kate-s-lee
Allie Wagner Public Relations Specialist allie.wagner04@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/alexandra-allie-wagner
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