Creative strategic Solution:Instead of conventional awareness generating advertising we created a business model.

Kalandars who gave up their bears were taught a new skill. Making stuffed bear toys. To popularise the toy amongst urban affluent - we created an event in an upmarket mall. Each bear toy had a chain around its muzzle and a card with the plea to SET ME FREE. Buyers symbolically removed the chain from the toy before taking it home.Different Channels were:We drove traffic to the mall by creating events on orkut, facebook and twitter.Visitors at the mall received bluetooth messages urging them to visit the stall.Viral e-mailers spoofing chain mails asked readers to click and break the chain. Sponsors paid Rs 1 for every click.

•117 Kalandar families are being rehabilitated with this project.•Each bear was priced at Rs. 400 and, on the first day itself we sold 216 bears. Sale of the bears is funding the livelihood of the Kalandars•Wildlife SOS now has a permanent space at the mall to sell products made by the Kalandars.

•The e-mailers have received 25,000 clicks so far.

•In three months, the activity has paid for itself and started generating funds.•Consumers are now aware of the cruelty towards dancing bears and this spread as word of mouth and the Wildlife SOS stall is witnessing high traffic.