UK Pedigree Adoption Drive kicks off with the World’s first virtual dog walk via hypernaked
This month, The UK Pedigree Adoption Drive will kick off its biggest ever digital engagement programme to date, with the launch of the world’s first ever virtual dog walk, via digital agency Hypernaked, London, part of Australia’s publicly listed Photon Group.
Says Aussie expat Oli Green (below), creative director at hypernaked: “It’s a sad truth that so many dogs are put down each day. We hope the campaign will drive awareness of this serious issue and help raise donations for a great cause in a fresh and engaging way, so please take Ripley for a walk around the web!”
This year’s campaign focuses on saving abandoned dogs from their “Last Walk”, following recent statistics issued by Dogs Trust which reveal that as many as 20 stray or abandoned dogs are put down every day in Britain. To highlight this shocking statistic, dog lovers everywhere are being called upon to get involved in this unique one week digital campaign by taking a dog on a walk around the web from today – 17th October.
Users will be able to pick up the dog, Ripley, from pedigreeadoptiondrive.com, Facebook (http://facebook.com/wearefordogs), and a virtual MPU kennel embedded around the web. With each walk users can interact and play with Ripley walking across the web, unlocking donations at every stage of the journey and with every completed walk, a £1 donation from Pedigree will be unlocked until the £100,000 target is reached.
Pedigree, in partnership with The Petplan Charitable Trust, is hoping to engage with an even wider audience than in previous years. By partnering with carefully selected websites such as National Parks and Bournemouth Beach to bring to life the dog walk concept, as well as some of Pedigree’s most active online supporters, it is hoped that this year’s campaign will be the most successful yet.
Katie Wragg, Pedigree Adoption Drive Brand Manager said: “This unique and exciting virtual dog walk is a great new way to raise awareness of the dog abandonment issue in this country and all the money raised will go towards supporting the amazing people who work tirelessly to find abandoned dogs across the country, new and loving homes.”
Since its launch, The Pedigree Adoption Drive has raised over £1million. Last year alone, grants of almost a quarter of a million pounds were distributed to 34 rescue homes and went towards funding the vital refurbishment of dilapidated kennel blocks, desperately needed veterinary facilities and the supply of essential surgical equipment.