Influential has supported Carla Lane Animals in Need with pro-bono PR and creative efforts to launch their “Santa Paws” Christmas fundraising campaign.
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, the agency undertook 10 ‘pay it forward’ pledges to give back to the community, including volunteering, mentoring, and the provision of pro-bono support to charitable causes.
Carla Lane Animals in Need, a Liverpool-based charity, received some of this support to launch a “Santa Paws” appeal, consisting of an ad video featuring adorable animals adorned with santa hats and festive accessories. With some imaginative and skilful scouse dubbing, the animals “asked” viewers for donations to help fund their care.
Influential also supported the charity with a second campaign, encouraging people to sign up for their Bright Eyes club, which provides vital, long-term care for animals who cannot be rehomed. This was a digital campaign that ran across social media. Through the Bright Eyes campaign, sponsors can contribute as little as £5 a month to help support the charity’s mission. In return, they will receive a welcome pack, certificate, and regular updates of the animals that they are helping.
The creative posters and short form videos for the campaign saw the eyes of animals replaced with everyday little luxuries such as coffees and sweet treats, encouraging people to give a couple of these up and instead donate to make a difference.
Heading into 2025, Influential has helped to design a humorous calendar with the assistance of AI to show the furry residents of Carla Lane dressed in human clothing. This includes a chicken fitted out in a hoodie, a bunny wearing an adorable yellow raincoat, and a turkey clothed in a fanciful suit, complete with bow tie. These are now available to buy direct from Carla Lane.
The Liverpool-based charity, which has already cared for over 1,000 animals this year, provides refuge for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, and is even home to three sheep, two ponies, and two donkeys.
Over the past 12 months, the charity has successfully rehomed 860 animals, but faces the ongoing challenge of providing essential care for those animals who cannot find their forever homes.
Jane McGee, trustee for Carla Lane Animals in Need, said: “Every animal deserves a chance to have a happy home. Our Santa Paws and Bright Eyes campaign, launched with Influential’s support, is a creative and effective effort to increase sponsorships and will allow us to continue to provide the proper care these vulnerable animals so desperately need.”
Viv Griffiths, creative director at Influential, added: “As part of our 10 pledges, we were delighted to offer support to Carla Lane. Given the diverse range of services we provide, we were able to give both PR and creative support to bring this campaign to life. Through some tongue-in-cheek Liverpudlian humour, imaginative artwork, and targeted outreach, we hope that Carla Lane will see an increase in donations that it so thoroughly deserves.”
