BE THEIR BODHISATTVA

TitleBE THEIR BODHISATTVA
BrandCHANGE / WILDAID
Product / ServiceWILDLIFE CONSERVATION
CategoryG05. Breakthrough on a Budget
EntrantDINOSAUR VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Idea Creation DINOSAUR VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Media Placement CHANGE VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
PR DINOSAUR VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
PR 2 CHANGE VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Production DINOSAUR VIETNAM Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

Credits

Name Company Position
Sumesh Peringeth Dinosaur Vietnam Founder
Trong Nguyen Dinosaur Vietnam Creative Director
Ly Le Dinosaur Vietnam Art Director
Trang Ha Dinosaur Vietnam Copywriter
Thanh Ngo Dinosaur Vietnam Copywriter
Adrian Nguyen Dinosaur Vietnam Agency Producer
Brandy Vu Dinosaur Vietnam Founder
Lam Nguyen Dinosaur Vietnam Account Manager
Tri Tran Dinosaur Vietnam Account Executive
Chi Vo Dinosaur Vietnam Designer
Quyen Tu Dinosaur Vietnam Designer
Quoc Le Dinosaur Vietnam 3D animator
Nguyen Tran Dinosaur Vietnam 3D animator
Linh Vu CineMagic Studio Statues artist & producer

Why is this work relevant for Media?

This campaign was a real breakthrough in terms of media, considering the conservative and limited media landscape in Vietnam. It's unprecedented for pagodas, or Buddhism in a broader sense, to be considered as a touchpoint although this religion is accounting for over 85% of Vietnam's population. With a simple installation tapping into this "channel", we were able to create a buzz and leverage it into a national sensation which not only spread across social media, but also picked up by almost every local media channel, ranging from traditional to digital.

Background

Situation: Unfounded rumors and misguided beliefs, including baseless medical treatments and superstitions, have driven elephants, rhinos and pangolins to the brink of extinction, especially in Vietnam. While wildlife preservation is not a new topic, demands for wildlife products such as horns, ivories and scales have never been higher. Still, this on-going urgent problem was not receiving enough attention whether it is media coverage or just personal awareness. Brief: With the on-going mission of protecting these iconic wildlife animals, WildAid and Change Vietnam wanted to urge Vietnamese people to stop buying wildlife products especially those from rhinos, elephants and pangolins. Objectives: To trigger a mass conversation across Vietnam about the plights of elephants, rhinos and pangolins due to illegal trade and poaching and urge them to take action against this matter.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

During Lunar New Year, when many Vietnamese people were visiting pagodas to pray in front of Buddha gods for a peaceful and healthy year ahead, we gave these suffering animals a chance to do the same. In the pose of kneeling, we created statues of these heavily wounded animals and let them pray among pagoda visitors across the country during the Lunar New Year. The installation immediately shocked the entire nation into a mass conversation that urges everyone to answer these animals’ prayers, by rethinking all the unfounded rumors that have been endangering them.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Target Audience: Vietnamese people who believe that wildlife products possess miracle cures and uses or people who have their relatives sharing the same misguided beliefs. Media Planning: During Lunar New Year, our target audiences are expected to visit pagodas to pray in front of their Buddha gods for a healthy and peaceful year ahead. So we planned to hijack this untouched moment and place to deliver an impactful message on both individual and public scale. Approach: Contrary to most public awareness campaigns which involve government and personalities to only stop at talking about the problem, we actually brought the problem to life closer than ever. We wanted to let their plights take the center stage of Vietnam in the most culturally relevant yet surprising way which could capture the attention of the whole nation.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Implementation: The animal statues were hand crafted by the renowned artist Phan Vu Linh to highlight the sufferings of these animals down to every detail, from the gore of each wound to the pains in their eyes. All were expressed faithfully. Media Channels: While the pagodas and Buddha god statues were the ambient settings, our placement and timing made sure that the praying animal statues had the opportunity to go viral, by exposing them to multiple influencers and media outlets who later contributed to turning this into a must-check-out phenomenon. Timeline: Though the main focus was Lunar new year period, the campaign continued to make impact over the next 45 days. Scale: Nationwide

List the results (30% of vote)

Action: The pagoda goers were so touched by the statues that it didn't take long before the campaign spread like wildfire across social media and the news. It wasn't long before media outlets started to discuss the campaign on prime time and front page, followed by multiple engagements from influencers. Outcomes/awareness: The campaign created a strong wave of public opinion among religious population and general public alike. More than 105+ local and international online PR and news pages have covered the campaign. All 5 flagship TV channels also reported the installation. More importantly, influential religious leaders also wholeheartedly supported the movement, livestreaming preaches about this matter. Even the head monk of Drukpa lineage made a visit from Tibet to lend his voice to the animals. The campaign reached 30 millions people within a week and was trending on Google News. (Source: Internal Change Vietnam’s data)

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