Cats adore fish. But today fish are under threat and the coral reefs, that over 25% of all marine life rely on, are becoming extinct faster than rainforests.

As a brand that promises to deliver ‘What Cats Want’, Sheba took action to ensure a future with fish, not just for cats but for the millions who rely on them.

We committed to sourcing 100% sustainable fish in all our products, but with the climate in crisis, is it really enough to only change a supply chain?

A future with fish relies on healthy coral reefs, so, over 13 years, Sheba developed a reef restoration technique called the “Reef Star” system, and created the world’s largest restoration project.

Our role was to make Sheba’s commitment to sustainable fish unmissable, to show the world there are man-made solutions to man-made problems, and inspire more governments to adopt the Sheba Reef Star System.

Our answer was a new reef, grown on a field of rubble destroyed by coral bombing. Using our Reef Star technology each one an individual pixel, we wrote large across the ocean floor the word HOPE in giant, living coral letters.

Large enough to be picked up by Google Maps satellite, to appear as a word written across the ocean. This was the centrepiece of the campaign an image to garner global PR and discoverable and even explorable underwater through Google Streetview. Living, thriving proof that there can be man-made solutions to man-made problems.

We developed a growing coral font, we open-sourced the reef star technology and ensured anyone, anywhere could help with the YouTube “Channel that Grows Coral” which raised enough funds through ad revenue to fund an additional reef.

And as of today, Reef Stars are being deployed in The Maldives, Seychelles, Mexico, Australia & US Virgin Islands.

Whilst Sheba had made a long-term commitment, we couldn’t save the reefs alone, so we set out to raise the profile of the issue and leveraged positive news to cut through.

With images of destruction and despair dominating global news rainforests on fire and flash floods wiping away communities, it was clear why pessimism was rife. 89% of people said the world is getting worse and the crisis we face was feeling insurmountable. (TGI 2020)

But, unlike most climate stories, we were armed with real proof that there could be man-made solutions to man-made problems. Good news was our gift.

Sheba’s strategy was to use progress as a powerful weapon against apathy. We used a positive story of progress as a call to arms, taking advantage of the power of momentum to not only raise the profile of reef restoration but to inspire and enable the world to take part

Hope Reef was constructed in August 2019 on a remote atoll previously destroyed by coral bombing. The months prior were spent working with the island community and world-leading coral and marine biologists to ensure the site was long-term viable and naturally protected from coral bleaching.

Timeline

Aug 2019 – Hope Reef is built. The 4 giant letters - HOPE are the size of 2 Olympic Swimming Pools.

Nov 2019 – Hope is picked up by the Google Maps satellite

Feb 2020 – Fish return to the reef in numbers.

May 2021 – Hope Reef campaign went live and made global headlines. With endorsement from the UN, Sheba launches the world’s largest coral reef restoration programme and commits to restore >185,000 square meters of reef by 2029.

January 2022 - 5 new countries have adopted and are already deploying the Reef Star system

Sheba set out to have a positive impact on the future of fish, to increase brand salience, and grow sales.

The reef is thriving, with 70% coral coverage, +300% fish abundance, +175% average fish size and +10% more species. Over 1 million people have explored Hope Reef on Google Maps and Sheba’s “Reef Star” System has been adopted by 5 more countries, with 40,000 sqm of reef regrown so far. With 20 million views, our YouTube ‘Channel That Grows Coral’ has raised enough funds for a new crowdfunded reef.

Global PR coverage resulted in 2.5billion earned impressions across major titles including BBC, Forbes and National Geographic and drove a 276% increase in positive social conversations about reef restoration. With this, brand awareness grew +17% and purchase intent by +14%.

Finally, with a campaign ROI of 308%, it’s proof you can build business value while making a meaningful difference.