For RSPCA South Australia, the challenge wasn’t just getting more animals adopted. It was changing how people think about shelter pets. Despite many people claiming to care about animal welfare, far fewer would consider adopting. The reason? Deep-rooted stigma. Shelter pets were often seen as “damaged,” “second-rate,” or “too hard.” And that perception had real-world consequences. Every animal that stayed in care longer stretched staff, consumed resources, and reduced capacity to help the next animal in need.

We knew we needed to open minds before we could open hearts. So, we created Perfectly Adoptable, a long-term campaign built on a single truth: RSPCA SA pets aren’t just adoptable because of what they’ve overcome, but because of what they’re capable of giving. Joy. Loyalty. Companionship. Healing. All the things people are really looking for in a pet.

Instead of focusing on sad stories or shelter cages, we focused on possibility. In some ads, the pets “spoke” for themselves, confronting stigma with warmth and honesty. In others, real adopters shared their unfiltered stories of how their pets had changed their lives. At every stage, the message stayed consistent. That these pets aren’t just looking for homes, they’re ready to bring something meaningful to yours.

The campaign rolled out in four connected programs, each addressing a barrier. We started by dismantling the stigma, then highlighted RSPCA SA’s behind-the-scenes care to build trust. Next, we showed how shelter pets fit into all kinds of lives, from Netflix buddies to family companions. Finally, we leaned into powerful emotional storytelling, showcasing pets who in their own way, rescued their adopters. This allowed us to show the profound emotional impact of adoption and that “rescuing” can work both ways.

Throughout the campaign, pet profile page views increased by 113%, while time spent on those pages more than doubled. Bounce rates dropped by 97%, showing deeper engagement and intent. Most importantly, shelter visits increased proving the campaign drove not just awareness, but action.

One of the key lessons from this campaign is that changing deep-rooted perceptions takes time. You need more than a flash-in-the-pan idea. You need a platform that can evolve, reinforce trust, and build brand distinctiveness over time. Second, it’s not just about opening hearts, it’s about reframing the decision. Adoption doesn’t have to be seen as a sacrifice. It can be a smart, rewarding choice. And lastly and as always, authenticity wins. Real pets. Real people. Real stories. That’s what made this campaign resonate and helped more animals get the second chance they deserve.

The background and objectives of your campaign:

RSPCA SA was facing a very real challenge that directly impacted its ability to fulfil its purpose. Adoption rates were declining, and persistent stigma around shelter pets was making the problem worse. Despite many saying they care about animal welfare, only a few would consider adopting from a shelter largely due to the belief that shelter pets are “damaged”, “second-rate”, or come with be behavioural baggage.

This perception issue had a large impact on RSPCA SA’s operations. Every animal that stayed longer in care added cost, stretched staff and volunteers, and reduced capacity to help other animals in need.

Our objective was to shift deeply rooted perceptions and reframe adoption not as a good deed, but as a good decision. And in doing so, increase consideration of adoption through a sustained cohesive story that could change minds and drive action over time. We focused on two core objectives:

1. Boost quality traffic to the RSPCA SA adoption page. This is critical as this is the first touchpoint where prospective adopters get more information about the shelter pets via their individual profiles curated by RSPCA SA.
2. Increase shelter visits by 10%. This is the strongest metric for adoption consideration, as this indicates a higher intent to adopt shelter pets.

The approach and key activities you implemented:

We built a long-term campaign platform, Perfectly Adoptable, to challenge the misconceptions holding adoption back. The idea was simple but powerful. RSPCA SA pets aren’t just adoptable because of what they’ve overcome, but because of what they’re capable of giving.

The Perfectly Adoptable campaign came to life through a combination of emotionally resonant storytelling and a media strategy designed to shift behaviour. At its heart was one consistent idea of showcasing RSPCA SA pets are just as able to be the pet people were looking for, turning all the limiting expectations they had on its head.

It wasn’t about showing sad animals in cages. Instead, we celebrated all the things shelter pets are perfectly able to do and be, from loyal companions to adventure buddies, healers, cuddlers, and confidants. In some cases, pets “spoke” directly to the audience, flipping the script and confronting stigma with warmth, honesty and humour. In others, we let adopters tell their own stories through powerful, real accounts of how their pets had changed their lives.

The campaign was structured around four connected programs, each focused on overcoming a distinct barrier. The first program dismantled the stigma by flipping negative perceptions about shelter pets into positives by having RSPCA SA animals directly tell South Australians why they deserve a second chance. We then reinforced RSPCA SA’s credentials to position it as the first choice for pet adoption. We highlighted the extensive care, health checks, and behavioural assessments each pet receives before adoption, giving audiences an insider view of the work done behind the scenes.

Next, we focused on building personal relevance by showing how RSPCA SA pets contribute meaningfully to the everyday lives of their owners. From championing them as the perfect “Netflix binge buddies” to celebrating how they bring families closer together, we showed that there’s a perfectly adoptable pet for every lifestyle and life stage. Finally, we captured unfiltered, emotive stories that showed how RSPCA SA pets were perfectly able to make a profound difference in people’s lives.

The results you achieved:

During the campaign, visits to RSPCA SA’s pet profile pages have grown by 113%. More importantly, the average time spent on these pages more than doubled, indicating not just traffic growth, but meaningful engagement. These profile pages serve as the “first meeting” between potential adopters and pets, making this shift a powerful sign of deeper intent. In a sense, it’s the first real chance pets have to find their new home, and potential adopters were beginning to see them not through the lens of stigma, but of possibility. The campaign also drove high quality traffic from audiences, with bounce rates decreasing by 97%.

This change in online behaviour also translated offline. Shelter visitations rose by 13%, signalling increased motivation to adopt and greater trust in RSPCA SA. People weren’t just browsing online, they were showing up in person to meet adoptable pets. This was one of the clearest signs that the campaign not only shifted perception but also drove action.