Animals Australia is an A-list campaigner. How often does an NFP halt trade worth millions, in this case live animal export overnight? Consistently, Animals Australia has used means both devious and conventional to hold industries and their watchdogs to account. Hootville is a big fan.
Animals Australia’s latest focus is on factory farming, which simply put is the greatest single source of animal cruelty on earth. Think battery farms, pig stalls, feed lots… cruelty on an industrial scale.
Fly little pig fly.
Animals Australia is tough, direct, political so it was a surprise to see the multiple coats of gloss applied to its latest venture: Make It Possible. This is a celebrity-driven, high-production value, high-concept piece of work. The aesthetic surprisingly wavers between Pixar and guerilla video.
What we like: the campaign specific website, pledge counter, quality animation, creation of a cute, if tad familiar central porcine character, use of real footage and the clear overall proposition that an end to factory farming is possible. It’s also puts the phrase “factory farming” well and truly into the lexicon and associates it with cruelty. Excellent work.
Also notable is the full frontal asault on the unhelpful and negative audience perception that could be summarised as: “Factory farming is here to stay. Change it? Pigs might fly.” Well yes – they might as the animation shows.
Animals Australia teased and previewed the campaign via email to its database, sent excellent automated thankyou emails to those who took action and has no doubt swollen its database no end. All donors of $35 or more also received free annual Animals Australia membership. Smart move. They should start planning their renewal strategy now.
54,000 plus have taken a pledge so far. A rather bloody good result. You should put down that pork belly sandwhich and join them BTW.
This is a well-executed campaign but of course it ain’t perfect.
The negatives: the video needs a strong edit. Kony 2012 may have gotten away with overly long videos but I think few people have patience for 11 minutes. This is a beginner’s mistake by one of Australia’s most accomplished campaigners. A re-edit and upload is required and will undoubtedly lead to higher conversions from viewer to pledge-maker.
Also: Do we need the celebrities? These ones? So many of them? Probably not. Still; if they effectively use social media to promote the campaign it may be worth it. And if you want to mainstream an issue you better use mainstream spokespeople.
Finally: one nonprofit marketer expressed disapointment – she felt that the new vibe was too different to the gritty material she was used to from Animals Australia. Does this matter? Is this too bloated a campaign? Your thoughts please.
Marketers critiquing the campaign need to get over themselves. Make It Possible speaks not only to the voting adult public but to the kids who will be voters and consumers tomorrow. They care what Hugh Sheridan thinks, they are moved by the positive piggie and they probably don’t yet need to witness the “gritty material” for which, I agree, Animals Australia is proudly and appropriately reknowned. This is a smart and emotive campaign that we should all support.
We don’t think anyone needs to “get over themselves” Lesley. The feedback is entirely fair and balanced.
It’s a smart campaign that strikes an emotional chord with the viewer – but the best thing about it is that the message is a positive call to action. Some of Animals Australia’s best work has been “gritty”, yes, but people get overwhelmed and fatigued by those sorts of messages from so many organisations. This strategy helps Animals Australia access a whole new audience – fabulous work.