Creating advertising campaigns is quite an art, one that takes time to master. Today, we want to share with you the story of our very first project, which has turned out to be one of our favourites.
A long time ago, the Bern Convention approached us to create a campaign on invasive alien species. The request itself wasn’t unusual, as we have worked extensively with them. However, what stood out was the approach: creating public awareness of the issue with a positive call to action.
Species can become invasive when removed from their natural environment and introduced to a new habitat. Traditionally, campaigns focus on reasons why people shouldn’t keep these species as pets, no matter how appealing they look on Instagram. But this time, we needed to think outside the box. We recognized that ecological campaigns typically target captive audiences—those already informed and engaged with the issue through various channels. Nevertheless, we aimed to reach beyond this group.
So, we brainstormed for a while and started considering something that was very popular at the time: DIY (Do it Yourself) videos on YouTube. We knew these videos attracted a wide range of viewers and could offer a cool and fun way to address any problem. That’s when we had our eureka moment and the idea struck us: If you like it, craft it!
We decided to contact four European YouTubers to collaborate with us, choosing the four main languages of the European Union, so our message could reach every corner. And so, the research began. We had to identify the species causing the most significant damage in Europe, and the winners were: the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), the Siberian chipmunk (Eutamias sibiricus), the ice plant (Aizoaceae), and the common slider (Trachemys scripta).
Each one of these alien species would be crafted in its own way, watercolours, crochet, polymer clay, and polystyrene, depending on the style of the chosen Youtuber, and a huge social media campaign would accompany these videos to reach a wider audience. The message was equally important, as our artists not only showcased the crafting process for these animals but also provided a lesson on invasive species and why they should not be kept.
And, as people say, the rest is history! The tutorials were a real success, with hundreds of thousands of views, and visits to the website, and there’s more—we also launched a campaign featuring additional species, encouraging people to send us their crafted versions of invasive species from home. If you’re curious, check out the results and you know, if you like any of them… craft them!
