| Title | JOIN THE HERD |
| Brand | WILDAID |
| Product/Service | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION |
| Category |
A07. Charities, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages |
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Entrant
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GREY LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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Idea Creation
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GREY LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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PR
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GREY LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production
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GREY LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 2
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GREYWORKS London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 3
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MPC CCREATIVE London, UNITED KINGDOM
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Production 4
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QUITE BRIGHT FILMS Nairobi, KENYA
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Additional Company
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GREY GROUP Shanghai, CHINA
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Additional Company 2
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TEEIN CHINA Shanghai, CHINA
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Additional Company 3
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OGILVY PUBLIC RELATIONS Beijing, CHINA
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Additional Company 4
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LOVESOCIAL New York, USA
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Additional Company 5
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EDELMAN New York, USA
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Credits
| Nils Leonard |
Grey London |
Chairman and Chief Creative Officer |
| Natalie Graeme |
Grey London |
Managing Director |
| Aisling Ryan |
Grey London |
Global Planning Partner |
| Ben Clapp |
Grey London |
Executive Creative Director |
| Veronique Rhys Evans |
Grey London |
Head of PR |
| Dominic Butler |
Grey London |
Creative |
| Liam Riddler |
Grey London |
Creative |
| Andy Lockley |
Grey London |
Senior Art Director |
| Beatriz Coias |
Grey London |
Designer |
| Steve Davies |
Grey London |
Design Director |
| Alex Wrigley |
Grey London |
Head of Content Strategy |
| Jessica Ringshall |
Grey London |
Head of Content Production |
| Talia Shear |
Grey London |
Production Assistant |
| Andrew Bell |
Grey London |
Integrated Production Director |
| Gaby Cooper |
Grey London |
Managing Partner |
| Nick Dutton |
Grey London |
Managing Partner |
| Sarah Quinn |
Grey London |
Business Director |
| Richard Bloom |
Grey London |
Account Director |
| Lucy Kozak |
Grey London |
Account Director |
| Flo Mackenzie |
Grey London |
Account Manager |
| Sam Gibbs |
Grey Possible |
Solutions Principal |
| Martin McGinn |
Grey London |
Senior Creative Producer |
| Simon Wye |
Grey London |
Editor |
| Anita Atwal |
Grey London |
Producer |
| Angela Glover |
Grey London |
Producer |
| Dee Butler |
Grey London |
Head of Grey Works |
| Ollie Dearn |
Grey London |
Senior PR Manager |
| Erin Bamber |
Grey Possible |
Digital Analyst |
The Campaign
The idea was to create a human herd with one purpose: to end the ivory trade and save the elephant from extinction. A herd so vast it would have the power to challenge regimes, mobilise leaders, change consumer behaviour and legislation. #JoinTheHerd would be a rallying cry around which millions could gather, transcending politics and nationality, to save a species. A global social platform of people, groups and organisations,empowered to enact real change wherever they live. The potential would be endless. We would launch around Chinese New Year, hijacking the Year of the Monkey to declare it the Year of the Elephant. We would make #JoinTheHerd a social badge of honour – a statement and show of support worn across all social platforms by celebrities and influencers, inspiring millions to follow them and #JoinTheHerd. Once grown, the herd would be mobilised at key moments, campaigning for a total ban.
Execution
"NB: No paid for media/seeding/celebrity endorsement Launch
2/12/16: We hijacked social conversation around Chinese New Year – asking the world to #JoinTheHerd and save the elephant from extinction in 2016, empowering people with a elephant/human meme tool, taking over social feeds globally. Influencers tweeted, Chinese celebrities lead Weibo chat, African hip-hop star Alikiba released a music video watched by millions.
3/3/16: On World Book/Wildlife Day, we launched a children’s eBook/animation retelling the Chinese zodiac story including Elephant
Mobilisation
We built momentum through celebrity/influencer outreach, encouraging NGOs to #JoinTheHerd, snowballing the campaign.
w/c 4/25/16: as virtual hosts of the inaugural Giants Club Summit and the Ivory Burn, we invited the world to witness the death of ivory trade live streaming, running a social engagement newsroom, broadcasting into China on NetEase, promoted on the biggest billboard in the world.
Throughout, we engaged global media, constantly building our audience and so the Herd.
We achieved phenomenal results with NO PAID MEDIA. Generating 1.9 billion total impressions, we assembled a herd endorsed by NGOs across the globe and mobilise legislative change:
- 9/2/16 - Andrew Cuomo signed a new law to combat the illegal ivory trade
- 30/4/16 - Ségolène Royal announced a decision to ban ivory sales in France
- 4/5/16 - Hawaii legislature passed a bill to ban sales of ivory
- WildAid’s message featured on news channels globally, especially broadcast: inc. CCTV, CNN, Sky, Aljazeera
- Mentions in 160 countries (China and US top)
-37.5 million Weibo views in China
-3m Global retweets and shares
-2x Silver PR Cannes Lions
The Situation
JoinTheHerd is a PR idea powerful enough to stop the ivory trade in 2016. The fastest growing movement on the planet, we united a global herd of millions - conservationists, celebrities, politicians, public -around a single cause to save elephants from extinction.
Despite no paid media or paid celebrity endorsements, we freshened up the conversation and infiltrated culture.
#JoinTheHerd hijacked 2000 years of Chinese tradition, became conservationist vernacular, a global meme, a hip hop anthem, and an appointment-to-view global event – The Ivory Burn; streamed live to mark the death of the ivory trade, forcing legislative change in three countries.
The Strategy
The only way to save the elephant is to stop the trade. Armed with this insight, our strategy was: - Create global pressure group uniting stakeholders and audiences behind one social platform.- Recruit cross-cultural influencers to enable leap from social media to social activism making people believe that enough of us come together, we can stop the trade in 2016- Communicate positive message: especially to the Chinese, who need to feel part of the solution not vilified to engage- Powerfully activate tentpole moments on the right social channels with highly shareable content crafted to stand out and encourage celebrity/political support- Engage key stakeholders including Kenyan Wildlife Service/government, Stop Ivory/EIA,Evening Standard & Independent to welcome the campaign, grant access and ultimately#jointheherd themselves. Target audiences: engaged and general public, Chinese progressives, conservationists, Kenyan government and people. Target media: international news outlets; environmental; African and Chinese media.