Title	THESE PAWS NEED A HELPING HAND!
Brand	JÓFOGÁS
Product/Service	JÓFOGÁS
Category	G07. Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
Entrant	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY
Idea Creation	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY
Media Placement	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY
PR	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY
Production	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY
Post Production	LOUNGE COMMUNICATION Budapest, HUNGARY

Name	Company	Position
Dániel Megyeri	Lounge Communication	Senior PR Advisor
Fanni Sallai	Lounge Communication	Account Manager
Lilla Varju	Adevinta Classified Media Hungary	Marketing Director
Tünde Kelemen-Csiki	Adevinta Classified Media Hungary	PR Manager

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Digital marketplaces are the primary fields for illegal puppy mills to conduct their businesses. Jófogás, the largest digital marketplace in Hungary took a stand and banned them from its page, launching a large-scale awareness CSR campaign to educate Hungarian people about puppy mills and responsible dog adoption. With its top-of-mind awareness, more than 1.5 million UV a month and 400.000+ followers in social media, Jófogás has a reach and engagement that is significantly larger than all the online pages of Hungarian dog shelters combined. Thus, it can provide new and promising possibilities for dogs searching for loving homes.

Background

It is estimated that 9 out of 10 dogs in Hungary are born illegally. This means that the vast majority of puppies mostly advertised on digital marketplaces, come from so-called puppy mills. Then every second dog is sheltered from breeders, roughly straining shelter resources since they are in poor health. For Jófogás, a dog friendly workplace, animal protection is a key PR area. By taking a drastic step and banning puppy mills, Jófogás was getting ready to provide dog shelters free-of-charge business pages to help them reach more people giving dogs a greater chance for life. Our pro bono PR campaign had dual purpose: to give a chance for adoptable shelter dogs since Jófogás has a reach and engagement that is significantly larger than all the online pages of Hungarian dog shelters combined; and to raise awareness about puppy mills, while educating a wide audience about responsible dog adoption.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Our primary goal was to plan an integrated CSR campaign, positioning Jófogás as a responsible brand, and engage dog shelters to join its marketplace. For this purpose, we came up with several creative ideas and PR tools to reach as many people as we can with our responsible messages. And don’t forget: each person we could reach with our campaign could possibly recognize the appalling operation of an illegal puppy mill easier, and putting a stop to it as well. We needed something that works both on rational and emotional levels, gathering hard data while highlighting the state of dog shelters and the furballs in the cages. Our starting point was a comprehensive survey among shelters: we found out that a dog can spend up to 5 years waiting for adoption. In short, these animals are in a dire need of greater public exposure in the digital realm.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Based on our survey’s insights, we knew what the dogs at shelters needed and that we must educate the public about the main differences between certified and illegal breeders. Our goal was to rase awareness about the problem of puppy mills and at the same time address dog shelters, encouraging them to join Jófogás in order for them to get to as many people as possible. Our job was also to engage the Hungarian society with our topic so during the campaign we used touching and heartwarming messages and pictures with sheltered dogs who are looking for a loving home. When we prepared the strategy, we also kept in mind the importance of being cost-cautious. We wanted to use the power of the press and social media to spread our message about the importance of this topic.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

After the ban in April our next phase started on the International Homeless Animals Day when we compiled the National Map of Dog Shelters and organized a special photoshoot for a highlighted dog shelter with a professional production team and dog beauticians to create a special digital and print booklet. With the publication we wanted to educate people about responsible dog adoption in order for them to recognize the appalling operation of puppy mills. We also included 11 adoptable dogs with unique profiles. We planned an integrated PR campaign with various tools and solutions organizing TV show and radio interviews for our highlighted shelter, making a dog beauty contest in social media and conducting an online survey with a media partner about the public knowledge about puppy mills. Furthermore, we involved a self-identical animal protection activist influencer, who has several ties to animal welfare with 2 adopted dogs.

List the results (30% of vote)

One of the main reasons dog shelters stayed away from Jófogás’ digital marketplace, was the troublesome presence of puppy mills. Thus, the most important result of our integrated awareness PR campaign is that Jófogás is now already helping more than 600 dogs (and counting) to reach a national audience and more dog friendly homes than ever before. Between August and October (the active phase of our campaign), the traffic of the “Dog” category at Jófogás showed a 250% increase, providing greater engagement and more possibilities for shelter dogs than ever. More than 20 dog shelters joined Jófogás, more than twice of our KPI. Moreover, on a more personal and emotional level since we had the chance to pet them, 3 out of 11 dogs presented in our special publication (Tinky, Winky and Manna) are already accepting warm hugs and tasty treats from their new families. Our systematic PR and educational efforts resulted in 7.4 million OTS (out of 10 million total OTS in Hungary) with an overall AVE value of $650.000 and a 1.5+ million reach in social media. Thanks to our PR campaign’s large reach and engagement, the news about Jófogás’ noble activities has even reached a governmental level. After establishing direct contact with the corporation, Jófogás could provide useful data about the locations of puppy mills in Hungary for a key animal and environmental policy maker of the Hungarian parliament.

Please tell us how the brand purpose inspired the work

Jófogás, as part of the global Adevinta family, is a responsible e-commerce operator. Besides animal protection, with its annual Second-Hand Effect research, it draws attention to the role of second-hand products in reducing over-consumption and preserving the planet. As a brand, it is always looking for a way to make an impact with its digital solutions, lending its online pages with great reach to noble causes. The banishment of puppy mills was a decision that goes beyond business goals and annual turnovers. It was the first step that made possible to invite dog shelters to join Jófogás, since the only reason they stayed away was the troublesome presence of puppy mills. As a creative PR agency, it was an honor for us to come up with ideas for enhancing the exposure of Hungarian dog shelters and potentially, to shorten the time that a dog spends behind bars.