Amarula Canada announces 'Don't Let Them Disappear' integrated campaign results

As the African elephant population disappears, Amarula Canada dedicated efforts to raise awareness on World Elephant Day

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - Amarula, the best-selling South African cream liqueur, is proud to announce the results of their awareness and fundraising 'Don't Let Them Disappear' campaign in Canada. In partnership with conservation group, WildlifeDirect, Amarula shed light on the growing need to protect the world's declining African elephant population on World Elephant Day, August 12, 2018.

Melting Life-Size Elephant Ice Sculpture Symbolized Disappearing Elephant Population
On August 12, World Elephant Day, Amarula Canada installed a life-size African elephant ice sculpture in Toronto's Distillery District. Over the course of four hot summer days, the ice elephant gradually melted to illustrate the alarming rate at which the African elephant population is disappearing. In fact, every 15 minutes an elephant is poached for its ivory.

The sculpture was created by Ice Culture and stood 9ft tall and weighed 9 tons. It 'lived' beside a digital billboard that showcased powerful imagery and messaging about the plight of African elephants. With conservation in mind, all water run-off from the sculpture was retained for landscaping at The Distillery District.

Retweet to Stop the Disappearance of African Elephants
On August 6, leading up to World Elephant Day, the @AmarulaElephant Twitter account and hashtag, #AmarulaTrust, were launched. Through tweets on the account, the elephant ice sculpture was personified and, in real-time, shared the story of its disappearing brothers and sisters in Africa ? before its own disappearance on August 15, 2018.   

The @AmarulaElephant Twitter account made it easy for Canadians to make a difference: Amarula Canada donated $1 for each of the first 10,000 retweets including #AmarulaTrust to Amarula Trust's impactful global conservation efforts, in partnership with WildlifeDirect.

Amarula Canada Amplifies Issue of Elephant Poaching
In Canada, the "Don't Let Them Disappear" campaign was created by Toronto-based agency Your Brand Integrated Marketing Communications Inc. in partnership with Distell Group Limited and Peter Mielzynski Agencies (PMA).  The campaign was developed, managed and executed as a fully integrated 360° marketing, advertising and experiential campaign inclusive of media and influencer relations, social media, sampling, digital advertising, out-of-home media, POS and integrated content creation with Rogers Media's CITY Network, OMNI, 680 News and CHFI-FM.

Through Rogers Media, radio and television spots told the impactful story of disappearing elephants in Africa.  On air TV segments included interviews with campaign spokesperson Dr. Paula Kahumbu, CEO of WildlifeDirect, on Breakfast Television. In Toronto, these ads were accompanied by live remote radio broadcasts from the Distillery District on World Elephant Day and a creative use of ten-second TV snipes on CITY Toronto where images faded on screen during programming time to represent the disappearing elephant population. Widening the campaign reach amongst Canadians, multi-language television ads aired on OMNI Television in Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi.

On social media, the campaign hashtag #DontLetThemDissapear lived as a promoted trend on Twitter throughout World Elephant Day, routing Canadians to the @AmarulaElephant Twitter account. Digital promotion was further supported by Facebook and Instagram advertising through the end of August. 

Supporting the "Don't Let Them Disappear" campaign, extensive media, influencer and consumer outreach occurred across Canada pre and post-World Elephant Day. This included interactions with Amarula brand ambassadors who were onsite at Toronto's Distillery District and the popular intersection of Burrard and Robson in Vancouver to sample Amarula Cream Liqueur and educate passersby about the campaign.

Results
On August 12, World Elephant Day, this highly successful campaign received 12,055 retweets from the @AmarulaElephant Twitter, surpassing the campaign goal of 10,000 retweets and culminating in Amarula Canada donating $10,000 to WildlifeDirect.

"We are thankful for the overwhelming and positive reception of the Amarula 'Don't Let Them Disappear' campaign received in Canada," said Brenda Wylie, Country Manager, Canada, Distell Limited Group. "Through our non-profit organization, Amarula Trust, the brand firmly believes that collectively we can make a difference to stop illegal poaching of elephants, and this campaign was indicative of that."

For more information, visit www.amarula.com. To view the Twitter content, follow @AmarulaElephant and #AmarulaTrust.

About WildlifeDirect
WildlifeDirect is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2004 with an initial focus on the plight of gorillas and then lions. In 2012, the NPO redirected its focus to elephant protection. Its flagship campaign,Hands Off Our Elephants, led by the current CEO of WildlifeDirect, Dr. Paula Kahumbu and the First Lady of Kenya, Margaret Kenyatta, created international awareness about the elephant poaching crisis in Africa. WildlifeDirect seeks to connect people to their wildlife and nature and inspire them to value and act to conserve it. Today, Dr. Kahumbu is globally recognized for her efforts. WildlifeDirect formed a partnership with Amarula in 2016 to raise awareness about the importance of conserving the endangered African Elephant. For more information, please visit http://wildlifedirect.org.

About Distell Group Limited
Distell Group Limited is South Africa's leading producer of spirits, wine, ciders and ready-to-drinks. The Distell portfolio includes South Africa's most popular wine and spirits brands including Amarula, Fleur du Cap, Nederburg, Savanna Premium Cider and Two Oceans. With a differentiated brand and product portfolio, including Scotch Whisky and French Cognac, the Distell portfolio has received global recognition from critics and consumers. The Distell team is comprised of a diverse pool of talented professionals around the world, including master distillers and award-winning winemakers. Distell Group works to distribute and promote a selection of Distell brands globally and throughout Canada. For more information on Distell, go to: www.distell.co.za.  

About Peter Mielzynski Agencies
Founded in 1979, Peter Mielzynski Agencies (PMA) has built a reputation as one of the preeminent selling agencies in the Canadian wine, spirits and beer industry. A family-operated business, PMA maintains an uncompromising commitment to Service Excellence and is proud to represent some of the most respected suppliers in the world. For more information, please visit www.PMACanada.com.

SOURCE Amarula Cream