Expat Pet Program
BETA (Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
Issue 34 | March 2015
Agency
JWT Beirut
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Nicolas Geahchan Associate Creative Director: Paola Mounla Head of Art: Layan Aziz Digital Art Director & Developer: Layal Khatib English Copywriter: Maya Khourchid Arabic Copywriter: Ali Faraj Art Director: Firas Safa
Other Credits
Managing Director: Omar Sadek Account Director: Celine Noujeim Account Manager: Maya Abou Jamous Account Executive: Lana Khayat PR Director: Suzanne Talhouk Media Relations Officer: Lamis Kontar Media Agency: Mindshare Beirut
Date
December 2014
Background
The brief was to help BETA increase its adoption rate because its shelter was full and the adoption level was rather low. Very enthusiastic about the cause, they wanted to meet the client immediately. However, they couldn't meet them for two weeks, as they were going to Montreal to drop off a few dogs. This is how they came to know that the client, as a force majeure, took a few dogs every six months to more developed countries to relieve its shelter of the overload. They also explained that people in these countries were more willing to take in sick old injured dogs than the Lebanese, who, as a majority, were after only pure breed puppies.
Idea
This discovery made the task look harder at first and the very exciting brief started to look like an almost impossible brief. How to get these pure breed puppy lovers to adopt the shelter dogs? Adding to this obstacle, with the constant turmoil in the region, people had other things on their mind - economic and political uncertainty to name just a few.
But then realization came that it's not about getting the Lebanese to adopt the shelter dogs. It's about finding a home for these dogs, even if it is outside Lebanon.
So the solution was, the Lebanese Expat Pet Program.
A simple website xpatpets.com was created, where users from around the world can log in and view the profile of the shelter dogs. Users can then choose to keep each dog in Lebanon by adopting locally, or, giving it an opportunity abroad by adopting internationally. News of the program and the dogs leaving was then pushed through PR.
Results
Local and international media picked up the campaign quickly, spreading it on social media, blogs and talk shows. International coverage has spread across five continents. A piece from Bosnia's Media Marketing even suggested that this program could be a great fixer for Bosnia's problem with stray dogs. Less than a month into the campaign, there was an increase of 400% in the number of Lebanese people visiting the BETA website and an increase of almost 1000% in the number of foreign people visiting the BETA website. Requests for adoption are also pouring in on www.xpatpets.com with an increase of almost 200%. But most importantly they have seen hope for the BETA Shelter – it can start breathing again and taking in more stray pets. There even was a rumor that some Lebanese housedogs were leaving their homes and hitting the streets for a chance to emigrate.