Social Media Spotlight: The Last 55 - WWF’s Maui’s Dolphin Campaign
There are as many Maui’s dolphins as there are letters in this sente…There’s only 55 Maui’s dolphins left in the world. It’s a disturbingly small number when you start to think about it. Despite our clean, green reputation in New Zealand, we are on the verge of losing a national treasure. WWF has been campaigning for better protection of Maui’s dolphins since 1990, before they were even recognised as a distinct subspecies of Hector’s dolphins.
WWF recently harnessed social media to gain support for a petition to New Zealand political leaders to protect the world’s smallest and rarest dolphin. The campaign "Last 55" was a pro bono partnership with Oglivy & Mather in the lead up to the 2014 election. Ogilvy & Mather created striking visuals to help communicate how small a number 55 really is.In mainstream media this included print ads with 55 letters and radio ads that interrupted songs after 55 seconds. In social media WWF looked to affect what we hold dearest - our friends. Oglivy & Mather created a Facebook app that culled people’s Facebook friends list down to just 55 people. Illustrating exactly what it feels like to be part of a rapidly dwindling community. People were also encouraged to support the campaign through Instagram and Twitter.With no funds for advertising, and a limited budget for media spending, WWF and Oglivy & Mather focused on creating shareable and engaging content that would be naturally shared and discussed. With support from WWF International the campaign was also shared around the world on social media driving over 100,000 people to sign The Last 55 petition.Mike O’Connor, Supporter Communications, WWF explained that social media has changed WWF’s approach to campaigning by seeking direct feedback from the community, the ideal environment to start conversations around their causes. He also warned that non-profits shouldn’t “be afraid to ditch what doesn’t work”as with limited resources it’s critical to only spend time on activities that create results.WWF’s Last 55 campaign showed how a consistent, single minded campaign can work seamlessly across traditional and social media. With limited resources and the help of Oglivy & Mather, WWF achieved extraordinary results. Now let’s hope this translates into better protection for Maui’s dolphins. If you'd like to support WWF’s efforts to protect Maui’s Dolphins visit www.wwf.org.nz/donate.
Results
- Facebook likes grew from 6,500 to over 17,000 in 8 weeks
- By July 30th, the #thelast55 hashtag had been used over 13,800 times by more than 11,200 people with a combined audience on Twitter alone of over 44 million.
- The news articles posted on Reddit.com became the 5th most popular story on the site’s front page. This alone generated 140,000 click-throughs to www.wwf.org.nz
- Worldwide total Google searches for “Maui’s dolphins”increased 885% from an average of 2,410 to 23,760 during the campaign.
- The Last 55 petition was signed by over 100,000 people from around the world. It was presented to parliament on the final day before the election campaign break. There’s an uncomfortable irony that we have twice as many politicians as Maui’s dolphins!
If you'd like to support WWF, visit wwf.org.nz/donate.