In New Zealand, shelter dogs are seen as second rate. Most traditional adoption campaigns reinforce this perception by painting the dogs as victims. This makes the SPCA’s job of finding homes for these animals a real challenge.

SPCA needed to change this perception. MINI, as a long standing, but little known, sponsor wanted to help.

Our strategy was to prove how smart shelter dogs really are. By teaching three SPCA dogs to do something a dog had never done before.

Drive a MINI.

No tricks, no special effects. Just a dog driving a MINI.

We leveraged news and social media influencers, not ads, to engage people with the dogs’ incredible journey and convince them it was real. From selecting the dogs, to training them, to showing them pass the ultimate test – driving a car live on NZ’s most popular news & current affairs TV show – PR made the project credible, believable and famous.

The story captured the nation’s – and the world’s – consciousness.

Hundreds of millions were exposed through broadcast news media, turning a potential hoax into credible news on every local and global news network.

This credibility worked: our incredible driving dogs changed perceptions of shelter dogs in New Zealand, leading to a 590% increase in adoption interest and every SPCA dog being adopted. It also changed the lives of countless shelter dogs worldwide, with adoption interest increasing from as far away as the US and UK.

Primary goal: increase interest in SPCA dog adoption

Secondary goal: increase awareness of MINI’s association with SPCA (by 10%)

Audience:

All potential dog adoptees across New Zealand – a broad group

Research:

Published research showed the biggest barrier to dog adoptions was the perception that SPCA dogs were inferior to “store bought” dogs.

Agency focus groups also identified that people don’t see dogs as just pets, they’re family members. So we would need to convince people beyond all shadow of a doubt that shelter dogs are just as smart and trainable as “store bought” dogs.

We didn’t just engage the nation…we engaged the world.

In just seven days …

• 200M+ people saw the dogs driving

• News coverage in 41 countries (& lots more not officially monitored)

• 100M+ reached on Twitter alone, trending globally

• 10M+ YouTube views

• In total, $15M in Earned exposure (spent $30,000)

Meaning the live drive TV event was must-see TV: audiences lifted a massive 49%.

Using influencers not ads made people believe the unbelievable and change their perceptions as a result: in fact they were twice as likely to change perceptions once they’d seen the dogs driving.

Interest in adoptions hit record levels: 590% increase in NZ, and increases recorded across the world, including the US and UK.

Every dog at the SPCA was adopted, including our three driving dogs.

To boot, awareness of MINI’s association with SPCA more than doubled, exceeding target by 133%.

We selected three SPCA dogs to undergo a world-first eight week training course using a specially-modified MINI.

Then we convinced NZ’s most credible news TV show, Campbell Live, to reveal the training. They asked, “can you teach a dog to drive? -Tune-in one week later to find out.”

Post-broadcast, we made the project credible headline news: local 'super influencers' were targeted plus 400+ news media outlets; making global news would create more news locally.

800+ pieces of content across co-branded Facebook, Youtube and Twitter platforms fueled engagement and anticipation.

Finally, we broadcast a world-first demonstration of dogs driving LIVE on Campbell Live.

Before the live drive, paid Radio, TV, Press and Digital advertising reminded people to tune-in. After the show, we used PR, video seeding and Twitter outreach to ensure as many people as possible saw the event, and urged people to adopt a smart dog of their own.

The SPCA NZ is a not for profit animal rescue shelter. Their biggest challenge is finding homes for the many dogs they rescue.

MINI is a long standing, but little know, sponsor of the SPCA in New Zealand. Despite supporting the SPCA since 2010, awareness of MINI’s association was poor.

As MINI’s agency, they approached us to help the SPCA increase interest in dog adoptions and by doing so, increase awareness of their association.

Our strategy: deliver an extreme display of SPCA’s dogs’ intelligence and trainability to prove they’re just as smart as 'store bought' dogs. A display so incredible, but delivered so credibly, that people would have to reassess their beliefs.

How? By teaching them to drive a MINI.

For real.

Sound unbelievable? That’s why we’d use trusted news and social influencers, not ads, to convince people that this unbelievable idea was actually possible.

First by teasing the idea of dogs driving through credible news.

Then by further engaging the nation with the idea and the cause, leveraging training footage across PR and social media to keep people intrigued and invested emotionally.

Finally, by proving that the idea is actually possible in one incredible, undeniable dog driving display – LIVE on national TV.

We’d then use paid advertising to capitalize on this perception-changing event to urge more people to adopt a dog.