SUB CATEGORY :

BEST USE OF GAMES

COMPANY ENTERING :

COLENSO BBDO, AUCKLAND

ENTRY TITLE :

A DOG'S STORY

BRAND :

PEDIGREE

ADVERTISER :

MARS

AGENCY :

COLENSO BBDO, AUCKLAND

CREATIVE CHAIRMAN :

NICK WORTHINGTON

DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

AARON TURK

COPYWRITER :

HENRY WALL

ART DIRECTOR :

EMILY OSBORNE

HEAD OF ART (TYPOGRAPHER) :

MIKE DAVISON

DESIGNER (OUTDOOR) :

BRENT COURTNEY

GROUP BUSINESS DIRECTOR :

AHMAD SALIM

BUSINESS DIRECTOR :

ABBI BARKER

ACCOUNT MANAGER :

ALICE SOPWITH

HEAD OF PR & ACTIVATION :

PAUL GUNN

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

NEVILLE DOYLE

DIGITAL DEVELOPER :

ROAM LTD

JUNIOR PLANNER :

AMY POLLOK

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR :

TIM FREEMAN

AGENCY PRODUCER :

NATASHA GILL/WILL THORRAT

DIGITAL PRODUCER :

DAVID WAY

PROJECT DIRECTOR :

MARIA BJORKMAN

DIRECTOR :

FERNANDO HART

D.O.P/CINEMATOGRAPHER :

AMBER JONES

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY :

WATERMARK LTD, AUCKLAND

DIGITAL ILLUSTRATOR :

ANTON PETROV

SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY :

WATERMARK LTD, AUCKLAND

ANIMATOR :

DAVE WAY

ILLUSTRATOR :

ANTON PETROV

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

FRANKLIN RD., AUCKLAND

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

AT THE HEART OF THE PEDIGREE BRAND IS THE DESIRE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR DOGS. THE EDUCATION GAP THAT EXISTS FOR MOST CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD IN HOW TO BE SAFE AND HAPPY AROUND DOGS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST BARRIERS GLOBALLY TO THIS VISION. A LACK OF EDUCATION LEADS TO MILLIONS OF AVOIDABLE DOG BITE INCIDENTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD EVERY YEAR. THIS PROJECT HAS SET OUT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, TACKLES THAT ISSUE IN A WAY THAT IS GLOBALLY SCALABLE. THROUGH BASIC EDUCATION, A DOG’S STORY CAN CREATE POTENTIALLY LIFE SAVING RESULTS FOR BOTH HUMANS AND DOGS. ‘A DOG’S STORY’ IS AN EDUCATIONAL APPLICATION (FOR SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS) THAT TEACHES CHILDREN ON DOG SAFETY. ON AN ADVENTURE THROUGH A MAGICAL WORLD, CHILDREN WILL MEET DIFFERENT DOGS AND THEIR OWNERS - EACH OF WHOM TEACHES IMPORTANT REAL WORLD LESSONS ABOUT HOW TO INTERACT WITH DOGS. THE LESSONS WERE CREATED FROM EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH INTO THE MOMENTS WHEN INCIDENTS BETWEEN DOGS AND CHILDREN ARE MOST LIKELY TO HAPPEN. WE IDENTIFIED THEM AFTER WORKING WITH DOG BEHAVIOURAL EXPERTS, VETS, NURSES, PARENTS AND THE AUCKLAND ANIMAL MANAGEMENT TEAM (THE LARGEST ANIMAL MANAGEMENT TEAM IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE). TO BRING THESE LESSONS TO LIFE IN A WAY THAT CHILDREN WOULD ACTIVELY WANT TO ENGAGE WITH, THE CREATION, CRAFT AND STORYTELLING APPROACH WAS ROOTED IN FURTHER RESEARCH WE UNDERTOOK WITH TEACHERS, CHILDREN’S AUTHORS, PARENTS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, CHILDREN THEMSELVES.

THE BRIEF :

GLOBALLY THERE IS A GROWING TREND IN GROWTH IN DOG BITES, AND IT’S REFLECTED STRONGLY IN NEW ZEALAND; THEY’VE BEEN GROWING BY OVER 10% YEAR ON YEAR. IN THE LAST DECADE, THAT EQUATES TO 100,000 INCIDENTS, MORE THAN 27 EVERY DAY. THE MOST LIKELY VICTIM OF THESE BITES ARE CHIDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 9 AND WHAT’S MORE, 75% OF THESE INCIDENTS INVOLVE A DOG THAT THEY KNOW. OFTEN THE CHILD IS LEFT SCARRED AND THE DOG PUT DOWN. THAT THE MAJORITY OF INCIDENTS INVOLVED DOGS THAT THE CHILD KNEW SUGGESTS THIS IS MORE THAN JUST BADLY TRAINED DOGS– IT’S A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM IN THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND HOW TO BEHAVE AROUND DOGS. HOWEVER, RESEARCH REVEALED THERE’S NO CONSOLIDATED, ENGAGING, SCALABLE EDUCATION PIECE FOR CHILDREN. NO ONE ANYWHERE IS STEPPING UP TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF EDUCATION IS SIMPLY NOT BEING ADDRESSED AND THEREFORE THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE.

THE STRATEGY :

IT IS THE MISSION OF PEDIGREE’S TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR DOGS. WE WANTED TO ADDRESS THE HUGE ISSUE OF THIS EDUCATION GAP AND IN DOING SO, NOT ONLY HELP DEAL WITH A GROWING SOCIETAL PROBLEM BUT ALSO HELP TO BUILD AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BRAND AND NEW ZEALANDERS. IDENTIDYING THERE’S VIRTUALLY NO PROGRAMMES TO TEACH CHILDREN DOG SAFETY, AND THOSE THAT DID WEREN’T MANY CHILDREN, WE SET OUT TO CREATE SOMETHING IMPACTFUL AND SCALABLE. 5-9 Y/O’S ARE OUR CORE TARGET MARKET. AS THEIR GENERATION ARE GROWING UP DIGITAL NATIVES, AND THAT 85% OF HOUSE HOLDS HAVE ACCESS TO 1+ SMART DEVICES, WE FELT THAT AN APP WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO GIVE OUR EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM THE REACH IT NEEDED TO MAKE A REAL IMPACT. WE NEEDED TO CREATE AN APP BASED EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD DIRECTLY HELP CHANGE THE WAY CHILDREN WERE INTERACTING WITH DOGS.

THE EXECUTION :

OUR EDUCATIONAL MESSAGE HAD THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE LIVES. HOWEVER, IT NEEDED TO BE AN ENTERTAINING EXPERIENCE THAT CHILDREN WOULD NATURALLY GRAVITATE TO. ‘A DOG’S STORY’ IS AN EDUCATIONAL AND ADVENTUROUS APPLICATION (FOR SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS) THAT TEACHES CHILDREN ON DOG SAFETY. A CLASSIC STORY BOOK PLOT WAS WOVEN INTO AN INTERACTIVE GAME, ENABLING CHILDREN TO LEARN CORRECT DOG BEHAVIOUR BEFORE ENCOUNTERING THEM IN THE REAL WORLD. WE SHOWED HOW DOGS SHOULD BE APPROACHED, WHAT TO DO WHEN A DOG RUNS TOWARD YOU, WHEN THEY SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE, AND HOW TO READ A DOG’S BODY LANGUAGE, AMOUNTING TO SAFER RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHILDREN AND DOGS. ALTHOUGH THE APP WAS DESIGNED TO EDUCATE CHILDREN, MANY ADULTS DON’T UNDERSTAND CORRECT DOG BEHAVIOUR EITHER. SO WE CREATED A SECTION FOR PARENTS THAT TAUGHT THEM THE IMPORTANT RULES AND HOW THEY COULD FURTHER EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN BEYOND THE APP. BY PARTNERING WITH NUMEROUS CITY COUNCILS, STARTING WITH AUCKLAND, A DOG’S STORY BECAME PART OF SCHOOL CIRRICULUM IN CLASSROOMS AND COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE.

THE RESULT :

LAUNCHING IN APRIL 2016, ‘A DOG’S STORY’ IS STILL IN ITS INFANCY. HOWEVER, WE KNEW THAT GETTING IT TO 5-9 Y/O CHILDREN & HAVING THEM ACTIVELY USE IT WAS CRUCIAL. IN TERMS OF USAGE, IN THE FIRST MONTH USERS HAVE ALREADY SPENT A TOTAL OF 2,503 HOURS ON THE APP LEARNING ABOUT DOG SAFETY. THE AVERAGE SESSION LENGTH IS 7 MINS 6 SECONDS; USERS ARE SPENDING 30% LONGER PLAYING A DOG’S STORY THAN THE AVERAGE TIME SPENT WITH EDUCATIONAL APPS, 89% LONGER THAN MOBILE APPS IN GENERAL. THE MOST IMPORTANT RESULT HOWEVER IS THAT COUNCILS AND EDUCATIONAL BOARDS THAT ARE ADOPTING ‘A DOG’S STORY’ AS THEIR OFFICIAL CURRICULUM FOR DOG EDUCATION, GIVING US ACCESS TO ALL OF NZ’S 400,000 5-9 Y/O’S. WHILST A NZ INITIATIVE, IT’S FAR FROM BEING A NZ ONLY PROGRAM. MARS ARE TRANSLATING AND ROLLING IT OUT GLOBALLY, STARTING WITH US, FRANCE AND GERMANY.

URL :

http://www.ourshowroom.co.nz/adogsstory/