Pedigree: Dog-a-Like
Pedigree and PetRescue Australia faced the challenge of over 100,000 healthy, adoptable shelter dogs being euthanized annually. They needed to increase dog adoptions by making shelter dogs more appealing and accessible to a broad audience, transforming the adoption experience into something positive and memorable.
Creative Idea
Matched people to shelter dogs using facial recognition technology.
Pedigree's 'Dog-a-Like' campaign leveraged the playful insight that 'dogs look like their owners' by creating a cutting-edge facial recognition app, allowing people to find and adopt their perfect shelter dog match, thereby increasing adoptions and donations without media spend.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Pedigree, with PetRescue, credibly delivered a solution to dog euthanasia through its commitment to re-homing shelter animals.
Category
The pet adoption category typically relied on physical visits or static online listings, lacking personalized, engaging experiences.
Customer
People wanted a fun, easy, and personalized way to find a pet, tapping into the popular 'dogs look like owners' idea.
Culture
The widespread adoption of smartphones, selfie culture, and growing interest in facial recognition technology made this app resonate.
Company
Pedigree, with PetRescue, credibly delivered a solution to dog euthanasia through its commitment to re-homing shelter animals.
Category
The pet adoption category typically relied on physical visits or static online listings, lacking personalized, engaging experiences.
Strategy:
Leverage personal connection through technology to facilitate social good.
Customer
People wanted a fun, easy, and personalized way to find a pet, tapping into the popular 'dogs look like owners' idea.
Culture
The widespread adoption of smartphones, selfie culture, and growing interest in facial recognition technology made this app resonate.
Strategy:
Leverage personal connection through technology to facilitate social good.
Results
The app was the No. 1 App in the Australian iTunes store for two weeks. It was downloaded over 600 times a day, every day since launch. There was a 13% increase in dogs re-homed since the app went live, compared to monthly averages prior to launch. This equates to 212 dogs every month re-homed. All these results were achieved without spending a single cent in media or advertising.
No 1
App in Australian iTunes store
+13%
increase in dogs re-homed
93%
match rate
Strategy Technique
Build an Utility, Not an Ad
Instead of traditional advertising, Pedigree created a functional app that directly solved the problem of connecting people with shelter dogs. The app itself became the primary communication and adoption tool, providing genuine value.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Cutting-edge Tech
The campaign centered on a unique K9 facial analysis engine, a significant technical innovation for matching human and dog features. This technology achieved an impressive 93% match rate, making the app highly effective and engaging.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional due to its innovative use of facial recognition technology to solve a real-world problem, seamlessly integrating digital craft with a compelling social mission.
The development of a custom K9 facial analysis engine that achieves a 93% match rate between humans and dogs, integrating it into both mobile and Facebook platforms, is a groundbreaking technological achievement for an adoption campaign.
The consistent use of a bright, hopeful color palette and clear, intuitive iconography throughout the app and explanatory graphics effectively communicates the campaign's positive message and functionality.
The clear and concise explanation of a complex technological process, combined with emotional appeals and compelling statistics, effectively educates and persuades the audience, simplifying the 'dogs look like their owners' insight.
The thoughtful design of the app's interface, with its clean layout, prominent call-to-action buttons (whistle to adopt, shake to donate), and intuitive user flow, makes the digital interaction seamless and engaging for users.
The campaign's strength lies in the synergy between its innovative digital craft in facial recognition technology and the clear, compassionate communication of its social mission, making the adoption process accessible and engaging.
