The Campaign

The aim of the campaign was to positively engage and galvanise both local and international communities, without vilifying the poachers or the government. The campaign was named Voices for Momos, after Yangon Zoo’s famous elephant, Momo. The people of Myanmar had grown to know and love Momo over generations, the name consequently becoming synonymous with elephants. To launch the campaign, we needed a way to capture the attention of the public. We engaged a local artist passionate about animal conservation to create seven supersized paper mache elephants, setting them up before sunrise in Yangon's city hall. Miniatures were also created to ensure these iconic figures were ubiquitous, portable and personal. People could have their own ‘elephant in the room’ as a constant reminder to help save Momos. A hard-hitting video highlighting the plight of wild elephants in Myanmar was also created to spread the word on social media.

Execution

The campaign launched with a video developed for social media, alongside a media conference attended by over 50 national and international media titles. Subsequent briefings continued to be well-attended and covered. We targeted and collaborated with visual artists, musicians, film directors, bloggers, business leaders, and other like-minded groups and individuals passionate about environmental issues. All voluntarily leveraged their influence to heighten awareness. Partnerships were formed with local conglomerates who provided access to public spaces and media assets. For these organisations, the campaign was a low-cost, high-impact opportunity to rally employees behind a sustainability cause while getting profiled. Through these partnerships, our visuals appeared on billboards, cable cars and ATM machines; videos screened in malls and cinemas nationwide. Tactics including the paper mache elephants, a petition and a free concert were employed as engagement platforms. Social media content and blog posts were continuously developed throughout the campaign, sharing news and progress.

The campaign resulted in a concrete outcome and delivered the advocacy mission: awareness to action within six months. Hard news, investigative features and in-depth commentaries were generated. By the third month, stories on illegal wildlife trading and related issues were published almost daily, totalling 550 pieces of coverage from local and international media, across print, online, broadcast and social. The launch video received 3.6k organic Facebook views in under 24 hours. To date, it has received 183k views, and 2.8k shares. From a zero base, the campaign reaped over 14k followers on Facebook and 147k on messaging app, Viber. KOL engagement on social media reached 4,780,071 people on 18 mentions alone. 192 mentions of #formomos reached 1,005,266 people, within the first week of launch. Through partnerships with three of Myanmar’s largest conglomerates, the campaign was shared on radio, TV, online, billboards, LED screens and cable cars. One partner screened campaign videos four times daily for a month at 19 cinemas in seven cities and displayed paper mache elephants at two of their malls. Myanmar’s primary airport operator launched illegal wildlife product identification training for staff at Yangon International and displayed the paper mache elephants and information on wildlife trading at two airports and a port terminal. Consequently, two key markets in Myanmar have ended the sale of illegal wildlife products. European Union heads in Myanmar issued a statement addressing the issue, offering support through stronger legislation and research. Myanmar’s government committed to increase enforcement and become wildlife trade-free in 2018.

The Situation

This multi-dimensional, integrated communications campaign lies at the heart of what PR stands for – creating awareness around an issue that needs to be brought to attention, and critically, inciting change as a result. PR can be employed to challenge convention, and educate individuals and corporations alike. Through a simple narrative, galvanising approach and inclusive attitude, we created engaging content and creative news angles for media, opinion leaders, and external corporations to champion our cause. The collective rallying call resulted in a concrete outcome in just six months: the end of illegal wildlife trading in two high-profile Myanmar markets.

The Strategy

Myanmar is losing one wild elephant a week to poaching, and will lose them all by 2030, should this practice continue. As the first-ever national advocacy campaign in Myanmar to spotlight a critical environmental conservation issue, the strategy was to generate maximum engagement through thought-provoking content and compelling media stories. A campaign blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels were set up, anchored by the hashtag #formomos. The call to action was simple: To influencers and media: “Use your voice (it is powerful) and speak up for these silenced giants.” To consumers and traders: “Do not buy, use or sell elephant products.” To the authorities: End poaching, end trading and close the markets.” As awareness of the campaign grew, external support came flooding in. The Voices for Momos campaign evolved to become a wide-reaching, omnichannel campaign, capturing the attention and passion of both local and international communities.