#EndangeredEmoji is the world’s first emoji-based fundraising campaign. It was sparked by the idea that 17 emoji animals represented endangered species. It lives entirely within Twitter, where over 1 billion emoji have been used since they were integrated.

This is how it worked:

1. WWF tweeted an image showing all 17 #EndangeredEmoji. People had to retweet the image to sign up, ensuring that it would be shared.

2. WWF then tracked the Endangered Emoji they use in their tweets and added 0.10p to an optional donation for every emoji the person used.

3. At the end of every month, WWF tweeted people a link to their optional donation. The amount they paid is up to them.

The clever thing about #EndangeredEmoji is that we used existing emoji and imbued them with meaning. They were no longer just symbols to illustrate tweets. They were real tigers, elephants and pandas.

In the days before launch, WWF tweeted emoji stories that showed what was endangering certain species. As well as setting up a new digital TOV for the brand, these wordless messages peaked interest and anticipation and received far more engagement than a standard WWF post.

On launch day we changed WWF’s famous panda logo into a Panda emoji, which sent the typically engaged WWF followers into a frenzy.

During the first month of launch we wrote hundreds of tactical emoji story tweets to correspond with news stories and other WWF initiatives, reaching an unprecedented number of Twitter users.

We created enough content to keep WWF’s Twitter followers actively engaged for a year, although the campaign will run indefinitely.

The campaign was run from WWF’s global Twitter account but was soon picked up by several other markets including France, Thailand, America, China and Poland.

In the first month:

- Over 50,000 people signed up.

- WWF gained 200,000 followers (10% increase).

- #EndangeredEmoji tweeted nearly 600,000 times.

- Trended in Canada, France, Britain and Poland.

- It was organically shared by Jared Leto, Russell Crowe, Jenson Button, Richard Branson and several other A-listers.

- Received coverage from The Guardian, Wired, Vice, Mashable, Buzzfeed, New York Times, Huffington Post and many more.

- WWF’s biggest ever digital campaign, even surpassing Earth Hour.

- €8 average donation.

- As a legacy piece and after the success of #EndangeredEmoji, Unicode approved two new endangered animals to become official emoji next year. This proves we didn’t just mimic a social trend, but used Twitter to redefine charitable giving based on real platform behaviours and audience insight. This isn’t just a campaign; it’s an ongoing mechanic that will provide much needed support from a new younger audience.