Thankvertising took place in the insectarium in the Cologne zoo. To promote the WWF rainforest project, a colony of 500.000 leaf-cutter ants personally wrote individual “Thank you” messages for their donors, live in front of thousands of zoo visitors. 500 of those messages were then sent out as personal E-cards to donors.

After weeks of trial and error, Thankvertising ran for 5 days in the Cologne zoo in front of thousands of zoo visitors. This turned the production of our direct E-mailing material into an amazing live stunt.

By working with a natural attractant, Thankvertising utilized a given behaviour, turning it into something unseen and unique – and being 100% relevant at the same time: the leaf-cutter ants derive from the highly endangered Amazonas region and are therefore the perfect organ to speak its behalf. By not only putting the animal in the centre of the attention but also getting them to articulate the message, Thankvertising was a most appropriate action to the brand WWF.

Thankvertising was an immediate response to the WWF’s record year of donations. For the first time in history the donor received a personal “Thank you” from rainforest inhabitants – a small gesture with a huge impact:

Aside from the 500 addressees and thousands of zoo visitors, media coverage generated millions of contacts in print (circulations of more than 500.000 copies), online magazines and blogs (2.8 million visits) and local TV stations (2.1 million viewers), social media (360.000 contacts) and reports of local radio stations.

Thankvertising successfully seized the momentum of willingness to help. A big step that raises high hopes for an even better year 2015.