The Umbrella Species campaign is relevant to the Design category because design, creation and illustrations are at the heart of the campaign's idea and concept.

The challenge was to find a visual concept that would popularize the notion of umbrella species, so that it would be easily understood by families with children. The perfect embodiment of this notion seemed obvious to us: nesting dolls.

We therefore chose to design 4 families of nesting dolls, representing 4 umbrella species and the species they protect, created by 4 renowned illustrators with very different graphic styles.

The 4 nesting doll families have been up for sale since December 6th 2023 on the WWF France online store (https://boutique.wwf.fr/).

Specific visuals of the nesting doll families have been created to invite the general public to buy them. They were displayed on our virtual gallery, on the WWF France e-shop and on social networks.

WWF France is the first association mentioned when people talk about protecting nature and animals. However, almost 1 in 2 French people do not know exactly what WWF's scope of action is, or even its real impact on biodiversity and the protection of species and spaces.

With this in mind, and on the occasion of the association's 50th anniversary, WWF France decided to speak out by launching an institutional campaign focusing on the mission with which it is most identified: the protection of endangered species and areas, and more specifically the protection of umbrella species.

In December 2023, WWF France & the agency popularized the concept of umbrella species: a chain of protection that preserves species and spaces.

An umbrella species is one whose home range is large enough for its protection to ensure the protection of other species belonging to the same community. Preserving an umbrella species such as the dugong or the tiger means preserving not just one animal, but an entire environment, fostering a biodiversity that is fundamental to ecological resilience.

Although still little-known by the general public, this notion embodies a solution that is easy to grasp: by protecting one species, we can protect thousands.

To popularize this concept, we've used the principle of nesting dolls, and created 4 families of dolls, illustrated by 4 renowned artists. The largest doll represents the umbrella species and the other dolls are the species it protects.

At a time when it's hard to know where to start when faced with such a vast range of environmental actions, WWF France's challenge was to make its actions to preserve endangered species and spaces more tangible, and to explain the concept of umbrella species in order to raise funds to protect them.

WWF France also wanted to use this opportunity to broaden its database

by recruiting new supporters.

The target audience for this corporate campaign, to mark the association's 50th anniversary, was families with children aged 6 to 15.

To popularize the concept and make it understandable to adults and children alike, we used the principle of nesting dolls.

A powerful image that enabled us to embody the concept in an educational way and raise funds.

When we took the brief and started talking about umbrella species, we were all a bit confused. We were all wondering: "What the hell is an umbrella species?

Once we had understood the concept, we decided that there was no better embodiment than nesting dolls to represent chain protection. You'd never know how much an umbrella species can protect, just as you'd never know how much a nesting doll can shelter. A powerful, cross-generational image that quickly became an integral part of our creative thinking.

The 4 families of umbrella dolls were created by 4 illustrators with very different graphic styles and were featured in the virtual gallery of umbrella species specially created for the occasion, as well as in Social Media with CGI and Influence, on billboards all over France and as real dolls which are now on the market.

The 4 families of dolls representing umbrella species were created virtually and in real life.

The starting point for the execution was the illustrations.

We worked hand-in-hand with the illustrators to guide them in their creative thinking, while asking them to keep their uniqueness.

We sent them a flat nesting doll template that they used to create their designs.

Once we received the illustrations, we mapped them onto a 3D doll model.

We then produced 3D renderings of the dolls for all touchpoints (experiential virtual gallery, Social Media, CGI, Influence, Outdoor) and also produced the dolls in real life to bring these designs to life.

Our challenge was to respect the Russian doll universe by creating colorful designs that respected the realistic appearance of the species and spaces in an original, graphic and artistic way.

From December 6 to December 31

• Impressions

Social Media Owned & Earned Media – 67,5M impressions.

• Reach/cultural impact

Social Media – 1,3 million reach.

• Engagement

+ 240% commitment.

• Response rate

Social Media Owned & Earned Media Interactions – 300K.

• Business impact – donations, site traffic

Donations – 1 119 118€ - +10% versus the same period in 2022.

Site Traffic – 76K visits from December 6 to December 31. Bounce rate of less than 25%. Average time spent on website – 2 minutes 30

Website Downloads – 15K.