Why is this work relevant for Direct?

MyHooman is a digital pet adoption platform. It takes potential adopters’ data and analyses it against the data of hundreds of shelter dogs. MyHooman allows adopters to browse their dog matches and encourages them to complete an application right there on the platform. Once they apply to adopt, they get live updates that prompt them to undertake different actions up until adoption. If there isn’t an instant suitable match, they’ll get prompted by retargeting banners when new matches become available. These different aspects of the platform allow us to develop a relationship with our audience and drive response.

Background

Currently 500 million dogs worldwide are homeless. It’s Pedigree’s mission to put an end to this harrowing statistic by 2030. While they have driven pet adoption through marketing, there are inherent challenges that lie at the core of the traditional adoption model that limits their success. All too often, people are shopping for the dog they want - based on superficial reasons like appearance and breed, and not the dog that’s right for their lifestyle. As a result, up to one in five dogs are returned to shelters because humans shop for them like they’re an accessory, and being constantly bounced between shelters can have long-lasting detrimental effects on the dog. We needed to rethink pet adoption so that Pedigree could better live up to their mission to end pet homelessness, so we launched a new brand - MyHooman, the first end-to-end adoption system that puts dogs first.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

MyHooman flips the way traditional animal adoption works. It stops humans shopping for animals based on superficial reasons, such as appearance, breed or ‘cuteness,’ and instead helps dogs find the human that’s right for their needs. It does this by taking subjectivity out of the equation, using data to match dogs to the right adopters for them, before even allowing the adopter to see which dogs are on the platform. For adopters, this approach means they find their ideal doggy match faster, and because the pool of dogs are pulled in from many different shelters, the process is streamlined and requires less legwork from them to find their fur friend.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We used an empathetic human-centered-design process, forming a co-creation panel, supported by global insights supplied by MARS and trusted secondary-data sources. By developing an end-to-end understanding of the dog adoption process we identified the two audiences and their associated ‘pains and gains’. Sadly we found that up to 20% of dogs were being returned to shelters - adopters had chosen the dog based on their wants, rather than the dog’s needs. This made life harder on the dogs, but it was also creating more work for shelters – effectively doubling their effort for those dogs. By activating the previously unused data shelters collected, we were able to ask adopters to ‘find their dog match’. Matching was enabled by an algorithm of 60 unique data points, 2,442 calculations and 157.3 quintillion possible combinations.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We revolutionised the adoption process by making it dog-first, matching dogs to humans that best suit their needs, while putting fun and compassion at the heart of a data-driven digital experience. Upon visiting the mobile site, adopters are unable to browse dogs on the platform. Instead, they’re greeted by a profile builder that collects user life-style data and feeds it through an intelligent algorithm that matches dogs with compatible adopters. Best matches are then sorted into a stack of match cards. A little like Tinder UI, users flick through the cards of dogs’ profiles with shared traits, meaning dogs are more likely to get a perfect match the first time, and less likely to be returned to a shelter. People applying to adopt get live updates via eDM until the adoption is complete. If there isn’t a match that’s right, MyHooman retargets the adopter once a better match becomes available.

List the results (30% of vote)

MyHooman has been tested in New Zealand, and soon rolls out globally. Since launch, an incredible 65% of the entire independent New Zealand dog shelter industry has signed up to MyHooman – exceeding Pedigree’s ambition of 50% by a massive 30%. This number is even more outstanding when considering that to achieve this, MyHooman had to overcome 0% brand awareness, 0% product awareness. MyHooman has smashed it’s onboarding target by 448.7% in just 9 quick months. In regards to adoptions, 37% of visitors to the site matched with dogs, 1 in 8 of those who matched started an application and 41% of dogs uploaded to the platform have been adopted.

Describe the use of data, or how the data enhanced the campaign output

The data collected throughout the experience is used to enhance the creative output in two key ways; the core of MyHooman and personalisation at scale. The data from both the dog and the adopter is used to drive the perfect match, enabling us to bring our belief in “dog-first” to life in a very real way. MyHooman surfaces the data collected through the experience to drive dynamic personalisation and relevance on-platform. With every dog someone matches with, comes a dynamic description based on their behavioural and personality traits, as well as tiles to signal why you would make a perfect home for this dog. Beyond the immediate experience benefits to the adopter, MyHooman uses data to evolve the platform and how the brand shows up, through optimisation and data aggregation.