WORK
ANIMAL PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION (APA) OF MISSOURI
WE'RE ALL ADULTS HERE
SOCIAL
POSTERS
The board of the Animal Protective Association of Missouri pinpointed a problem with senior dogs. Namely, they were not being adopted at nearly the rate of their younger counterparts. So one of the board members, Annie Castellano, asked the question, “Why are we calling them ‘senior dogs’? Why don’t we just call them what they really are—grown-ass adults?”
Under her direction, we turned that insight into a campaign that set out to turn the experience of an older dog into a selling point, rather than a liability.
Grown-Ass Adults repositioned these viable companions as likeminded (and like-mannered) potential roommates for young professionals by encouraging them to “get a dog who gets you.”
SOCIAL MEDIA LOVES DOGS
More than pictures, though, we wanted to showcase a variety of dogs and connect their life stage with that of their future BFFs.
From there, the psychological connection began to take hold.
THE CATS GOT INVOLVED
In typical fashion, they subverted the efforts of their counterparts to their advantage.
AWARENESS BECAME FUNDRAISING
Our original goal was to encourage adoption. We’re pleased to say we accomplished that. We’re also proud that we attracted new to the APA, including one commenter who gave us the idea to sell prints as posters to raise additional money for the organization.
SENIOR DOGS FOUND HOMES FASTER
50,000
ORGANIC SOCIAL SHARES
​
3 DAY
REDUCTION IN THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY
50,000 organic shares later, the local news picked it up the grown-ass dogs campaign. National outlets asked for quotes. The British and Chilean news did stories. The APA of Missouri received a Bright Ideas Innovation Award at the Great Lakes Animal Welfare Conference.
But most importantly, the average length of stay for a grown-ass adult dropped from 8.5 days to 5.5 days.
