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The #IFAKEIT Campaign
On 12th May 2015, internationally renowned music superstar Shania Twain and an international organization for conserving wild cats for wild cats named Panthera launched the #IFAKEIT social media campaign to popularize the leopard whose spotted skin has inspired fashion for ages. To date, the spotted print of the leopard is still hugely used in fashion and widely used in the southern part of Africa, and Asia as traditional wear during public ceremonies. The demand for leopard skin is the major cause of the decline in numbers of this big cat. The campaign presents a 2minute and 45 seconds YouTube video to help raise the awareness of using synthetic leopard spotted wear to save the animal from extinction. The beauty of the leopard skin is killing them. The video highlights the plight of the beautiful cat and talks about the achievement of cause so far, having distributed 5000 fake leopard skins as at the time of the launch and still working to distribute 13,000 more to local communities where the trade is rife, where they can use this fake skin in their ceremonial practices to save the cat. The project has gained wide acceptance owing to its provision of an option to what most people utilize on their cultural celebrations, signifying that the stakeholder had their culture in mind and respected it. We, average people, can be part of the project by posting a photo on social media wearing leopard print with a hashtag #ifakeit to join the movement or donate thirty US dollars, which is the equivalent of one fake leopard skin. The proceeds will be used to produce the fake skins that will then be distributed to the local communities where the use of leopard skin in cultural ceremonies is still accepted and applauded. To help keep more elephants alive, visit their website at http://ifakeit.org to see how to extend a helping hand.
The #LastSelfie Campaign
This was another successful campaign run on social media. Launched on April 9th, 2014, the crusade employed a relatively new means of communicating; the use of Snapchat in bringing out the intended message due to the “disappearing” aspect of Snapchat. The campaign tries to show how easily a species facing danger can easily disappear from the face of the earth and the best medium to bring this out was Snapchat since on this platform, images and other audio visual recordings go off the screen in about ten seconds only. This campaign gave prominence to pictures of animals staring at extinction due to human activity such as pandas, orangutans, dolphins, tigers among others. Users were then asked to take screenshots of selfies before they diminished and to post these screenshots, with their quotes, on twitter. Immediate success was realized in the drive in terms of raising funds online as a large population of both young and the old shared the pages, with the screenshots attached, of the need to raise funds. Another reason as to why the funds drive was a success is because it was able to use a relatively new app and also was able to capture the attention of the millennials.
Save Our Tigers Campaign
Tigres are predominantly found in India and this explains the origin of the drive. New Delhi Television Limited, NDTV, partnered with Aircell to launch the NDTV-Aircell Save Our Tigers Campaign in March 2010 to highlight the plight the tigers were facing in the country, with daily dwindling numbers of the big cats. The campaign has received extensive programming on NDTV which has enabled it to reach many people in India and across the world. The number of tigers grew, owing to the program, from 1411 in 2006 to 2226 in 2014. You can help in the worthy cause by watching, reading, and sharing to keep the roar alive by liking the campaign on Facebook Save Our Tiger Campaign on NDTV or on twitter @savetigerNDTV
