The Paws Squad Project Case Study
Target: Pet Owners
Chicago dog and cat owners as well as the business community and elected officials.
Our Objective: Raise Awareness and Funds
GoldStar Communications, (GSC) saw a critical need to raise awareness and funds for two worthwhile organizations serving pets and humans in the Chicagoland area – the Anti-Cruelty Society and Canine Therapy Corps. The Anti-Cruelty Society serves more than 40,000 pets and their humans each year through sheltering, spay/neuter services, training, behavior hotline, classes, and other programs. The Canine Therapy Corps provides over 1,400 hours of therapy to more than 5,000 individuals, hospitals, senior citizen homes, physical therapy centers and more, all at no charge to any client or facility every year. Our goal was to raise a minimum of $4000.00 for our charities.
Our Strategy: Bring Together Residents, Elected Officials and the Business Community
GSC created the Paws Squad Project to bring together residents, elected officials, and the business community to creatively achieve our goals. Since all pet moms and dads have great photos of their fur babies, we decided to create a calendar of Chicago pets, an adorable photo collage set in the midst of Chicago’s most iconic landmarks and architecture. We created the Pets of River North Calendar and developed a grassroots integrated marketing campaign that included brand development, website design and e-commerce, media relations, social media marketing, email marketing and event partnerships with area businesses. GSC solicited pet models through casting calls and conducted photoshoots at area dog parks. In addition, with the help of the city of Chicago, we engaged the Chicago Fire department in their first ever canine photoshoot to be the centerpiece for the month of October, Fire Prevention Month.
Results
Provided immense exposure for the two charities and drove sales after every segment.
Connecting brands with consumers to make a difference