An old-fashioned guerilla marketing style has come full circle, taking cell phones by storm – and helping animals at the same time.
In true grassroots fashion, volunteers for Best Friends’ Los Angeles programs hit the satellite airwaves, encouraging people to send text messages to help homeless pets. The effort is being called “social petworking.”
 |
Charlie |
And it’s paying off. The first rescue dog to find a forever home as a result of the marketing strategy is Charlie, an American Staffordshire terrier mix pulled from an animal shelter.
Just one text message can help homeless pets, according to Claudia Perrone, the manager who is heading the campaign, by reaching out to current and future pet people about the vast number of animals needing homes.
Volunteers also hit beaches, parks, canyons and the streets of Los Angeles in an effort to raise awareness about shelter animals and to recruit new Best Friends Network members. They’ve been blanketing the area, posting signs and handing out brochures.
To learn more, go to the No More Homeless Pets / Los Angeles Community on the Best Friends Network.
And Los Angeles is just the beginning, says Perrone. The goal of the grassroots marketing blitz is to bring awareness across the nation to the plight of homeless animals and improve their lives at the same time.
 |
Charlie and a volunteer |
Since the campaign kicked off in mid-November, nearly 700 people have texted “LAPets” to the short code 42107. In return, they become members of the Best Friends Network, where they can learn more about how to help homeless animals. (The mobile site is m.bestfriends.org.)
To reach even more people, a No More Homeless Pets blog recently went live on Facebook, a social media website. Become a fan of the Best Friends Network on Facebook.
The biggest advantage to a presence on social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and the Best Friends Network, are the personal relationships they help create, says Jon Dunn, social marketing specialist for Best Friends. It puts a face on the organization and the animals.
For example, Dunn explains, “When Paul Berry [Best Friends chief executive officer] comes out of an amazing meeting, he posts what happened.” The result is that people become intimate with the work Best Friends does on a daily basis through live reports. It’s important, Dunn says, because “we are nothing without our members.”
Written by Cathy Scott
Photo of Charlie and a volunteer by Roni Raczkowski
As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.
