1ST GRRRADE

Title1ST GRRRADE
BrandMARS
Product/ServicePEDIGREE® PET FOOD
Category E01. Acquisitions
Entrant BBDO RUSSIA GROUP Moscow, RUSSIA
Idea Creation BBDO RUSSIA GROUP Moscow, RUSSIA
Media Placement BBDO RUSSIA GROUP Moscow, RUSSIA
PR BBDO RUSSIA GROUP Moscow, RUSSIA
Production BBDO RUSSIA GROUP Moscow, RUSSIA
Credits
Name Company Position
ALEXEY FEDOROV BBDO Russia group ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
NATALIA TEDDY BBDO Russia group Creative Group Head
Natalia Pavlova BBDO Russia group Senior Art Director
ALYONA IVANOVA BBDO Russia group ART-DIRECTOR
Anna Kuzicheva BBDO Russia group Digital Art-Director
Polina Pukhlikova BBDO Russia group Junior Copywriter

The Campaign

All children want to have a dog. Whereas all parents are usually against it. “You won’t take care of it”, - they say. And to be frank, they are often right. PEDIGREE® presents a project “1st Grrrade” and becomes a medium between children and their parents by creating a program, which helps children prove the seriousness of their intentions, and parents — to realize: is it a silly fantasy or a real dream of their child. The project reminds parents: before getting a dog for your child, make sure that it’s not just a whim, but a serious intention. And explains to children: a dog is not only a joy and fun; dog’s ownership means a daily responsibility and hard work.

Creative Execution

To kick off the Program, PEDIGREE® conducted a real course in a Moscow school. Offering 1st-3rd grade pupils who were dreaming about getting a dog the chance to take a special program and prove their parents that they can be responsible dog owners. Psychologists and professional pet trainers worked with children to prepare them for the realities of dog ownership. A joyful documentary film was developed capturing the emotional ups and downs of the program. The film launched September 1st on YouTube and was promoted on social networks with the 30” trailer. To drive scale of the program, PEDIGREE® simultaneously launched an online course, so that ALL kids in Russia have the opportunity to prove that they can be a responsible pet parent and get their diploma. The course consisting of 10 interactive lessons is hosted on the largest educational website in Russia, Dnevnik.ru.

Results

The film reached more than 12 million views on YouTube so far becoming #1 among YouTube Ad content in Russia in September 2017. During the first 1,5 months, more than 230K unique visitors joined the online course. 35K tasks were completed successfully by kids to prove they’re ready for the dog. Campaign reached 100 839 447 impressions so far and hit the headlines in traditional media: 140+ print and online titles published about “1st Grrrade”. Together with support of celebrities and bloggers in social media, all the feedback provided 44 mln RUR PR value. The program drew positive public response and will keep rolling in Russia raising a generation of responsible dog owners.

To engage the children, 1st-3rd grade pupils, who dreams of a dog, small-scale activation in a real school was conducted. A documentary film capturing the emotional ups and downs of the school program showed larger audience of dog lovers how kids proved their parents that the dog is their real dream. The offline program led to a large scale online course on a major educational portal reaching children all over Russia. It contains 10 interactive lessons and a final exam to get diploma that could help kids convince their parents (and hopefully get a dog!).

September 1st is a start of a new school year in Russia, highly anticipated among kids and their parents. September and October are the most active months for educational communication in digital media. The goal was to provide a useful tool for kids, 1st-3rd grade pupils, and their parents. Therefore, the online course was hosted on Dnevnik.ru, the largest educational online portal in Russia, reaching over 7 000 000 school children and precisely targeting of pupils 7-12 y.o. Outside the portal, “1st Grrrade” campaign was supported in social networks, traditional and social media with mix of educational and fun materials with targeting on parents. The documentary film about the offline program was promoted on broader audience, reaching dog lovers in social networks and on YouTube.