Rescue Is Our
Favourite Breed
Battersea has a vital role to play
in growing the rescue sector
and delivering better outcomes
for more dogs and cats. With
increasing numbers of people
buying and selling pets online
during 2020, our Rescue Is Our
Favourite Breed campaign seeks
to ensure pets are not seen as
commodities. We want people
to be inspired to think ‘rescue
first’ not only when it comes to
rehoming, but also if they’re faced
with circumstances that mean
they must relinquish their pet.
During the year, we ran
four bursts of campaign activity
to further spread awareness
of how wonderful rescue pets
are, utilising wide-reaching
mediums such as television,
online platforms, and celebrity
supporters with large social
media followings. This included a
new ‘Rescues to the Rescue’ TV
advertising concept in June 2020,
designed to align with the mood of
the nation and ensure Battersea’s
cause remained visible.
Research carried out in
November 2020 showed that 37%
of the UK population had heard
of the campaign. Of those, 73%
claimed that it started to make
them ‘think more openly about
age or breed’ when it came to pet
ownership, and 72% stated that it
made them want to find out more
about rescue animals, indicating
the campaign is starting to shift
perceptions of rescue.
We have seen significant
increases in Battersea’s brand
health as a result of this activity,
and we were very pleased to be
ranked the third ‘most improved’
charity brand on YouGov’s 2020
charity index. In research carried
out in November 2020, 50% of
those questioned stated that
Battersea is a charity that they
would ‘talk to their friends and
family about’, up from 30% in
September 2019.
Battersea’s long-running ITV series, Paul O’Grady:
For the Love of Dogs, continued to raise the profile
of rescue animals, showing just how wonderful
they are to a global audience throughout the year.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic,
our teams worked within Covid-secure filming
guidelines to deliver an hour-long POGDOGS: Back
in Business special, focusing on our response to
lockdown, which reached 3.3 million viewers.
Alongside this, a new series titled POGDOGS:
What Happened Next caught up with rescue dogs
from the previous eight series, showing the joy
and solace they have brought their owners since
being rehomed. Each episode gained 3.4 million
viewers and repeat episodes of the popular
show continue to be shown across the world,
spreading the message that rescue is best to all
corners of the globe.
IN FOCUS - Uplifting Content
We focused on creating original, high-quality
content to keep our audiences engaged with
our cause during a time when they could not
physically visit our centres. This included
a ‘24 hours in Battersea’ film showing life
at Battersea during lockdown, the third
installment of our ‘What They Did Next’
series that follows Battersea dogs and cats
in their new homes, and a brand new baking
series to create dog and cat-friendly treats.
While plans for a wide-scale
celebration of our 160th year had to be
scaled back, we marked the anniversary in
the media and through our digital channels.
Our 160th film, featuring archive footage and
messages from our Ambassadors and highpro
file friends, achieved over 3,000 YouTube
views and 103,000 Facebook reach.
The pandemic saw pets becoming a major talking point, with more focus
on how people were coping with lockdown thanks to the companionship
of their dog or cat. In tune with the external situation, Battersea began
to explore the mental and physical benefits of pet ownership, focusing
on rescue animals.
We conducted research in May 2020, which showed that 75%
of Brits agreed their rescue pet was helping them cope during the
nationwide quarantine — whether that was by providing temporary relief
from the news cycle, making an unscheduled cameo in their tenth video
conference call of the day, or just being there for cuddles on the sofa
when things got a bit too much.
This research led to the launch of a new TV and media campaign
to highlight stories of ‘Rescues to the Rescue’. More than 1,000
people submitted video clips and pictures of their rescue dogs and
cats brightening up their lockdown lives. Our TV advert featuring
this user-generated content reached 33.5 million viewers nationally,
while research and case studies exploring the positive benefits of pet
ownership during lockdown gained national press coverage.
IN FOCUS - Rescues to the Rescue
Naomi Hannah, of south-west London, adopted mongrel Potato
from Battersea in 2017, and was just one of the voices in our
‘Rescues to the Rescue’ activity. Naomi said, “Now we’re in
lockdown, Potato is loving having us all around. He’s a great
distraction from the news cycle and it’s amazing for the kids. My
stepson has special needs and Potato is like his therapy dog. It’s
been hard for him to adjust to what’s been going on, but Potato
has provided some consistency for him.
“For anyone who is struggling with things in life, pets can
provide such valuable support. The children are so proud to
say Potato is a rescue dog. We were there for him and that’s an
incredibly valuable lesson for children, to teach them about their
responsibility to animals and their place in the world.”
Engaging with younger animal lovers is crucial to drive
generational change in the way rescue is perceived and
supported. We are working hard to widen our audience base,
creating new content and opportunities to reach, inform, and
inspire engagement through a growing range of channels
and partnerships.
To help reach younger audiences, we created our
own filter on Instagram for #RescueIsMyFavouriteBreed,
encouraging user-generated content, which was viewed over
40,000 times with 4,600 uses. We added over 130,000
social media followers in 2020 across Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Adapting to the changing world around us, we partnered
with our high-profile supporters and Ambassadors in new and
uplifting ways in an effort to boost the nation’s spirits during
strange times, alongside creating original content featuring
Battersea animals and staff.
Celebrity and influencer content continued to reinforce
our message that rescue is best. Our #MakeFetchHappen
video challenge was taken on by high-profile followers such
as Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, Laura Whitmore and David
Gandy, while famous friends including Greg James, Kirsty
Gallacher, Ricky Wilson, Dougie Poynter, James McVey, and
Sara Cox shared our ‘Rescues to the Rescue’ TV ad on social
media to a combined following of over 8 million people.
IN FOCUS - Spreading the Word
A high-profile supporter of Battersea with his
own Staffie named Tessa, Hollywood actor
Tom Holland continues to be a fantastic
advocate for our cause, helping us to reach
a more diverse audience and reinforce the
message that rescue is best to younger
fans. Tom visited our London centre in
January to take part in an original video,
where he was ‘interviewed’ by a selection of
Battersea rescue dogs carrying questions on
pieces of paper attached to their collars.
The video received 276,000 YouTube
views alongside national press coverage,
and Tom expertly delivered his own thoughts
and opinions on why rescue is best — a
vital contribution to our goal of creating a
generational shift in how young people view
rescue animals. In the film, Tom said, “I’d
say to anyone looking to rehome a dog, don’t
base your decision on looks. Look at your
lifestyle — where you live, how active you
are — and decide what kind of dog you’d like
based on this rather than whether it’s got
pretty blue eyes or something. All dogs are
cute in their own way.
“I’m a huge dog lover and I just
think that every dog deserves a second
chance regardless of where they’ve come
from or what they’ve been through. I love
coming here [to Battersea] and seeing the
happy dogs and the amazing things that
everyone here does.”
