What tricks can you teach dogs?
Rolling over?
Playing dead?
Shaking hands?
If you ask people at advertising company VML, they’ll tell you dogs (even old ones) can learn major, advanced tricks that can impact humanity for the better.
In fact, the firm proved this in 2022! How?
Through a campaign that showed dogs’ remarkable ability to sniff out danger or trouble…
Giving Abandoned Dogs a Second Chance at Life
How do you solve a problem in remote areas of the globe?
According to statistics, over half of the world’s population still has limited access to critical medical diagnostics… especially those living in remote communities.
Early detection is vital to survive cancer and many other diseases, yet in some regions, patients must travel for days to reach hospitals and medical centers to perform basic health checks.
What’s more?
There is also a global problem of stray dogs. However, if trained, these dogs could live happy AND productive lives.
So, it makes sense to bring these two issues (limited medical access in remote communities and the problem of stray dogs) together to deliver a powerful solution for both!
In 2022, VML, canine medical detection unit KDog, and international cancer research group French-Brazilian Society of Oncology (SFBO) worked together to launch a life-changing campaign.
The name of the campaign?
“Dogs Without Borders!”
Photo from Clio Awards
The initiative, which is still ongoing, is radically changing the medical care system for about half of the world’s population that lacks access to basic diagnostics.
At the center of this project are rescue dogs that have been trained to detect breast cancer and other diseases like malaria, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. These dogs are then deployed all across the world, from villages deep in the Amazon or to mountaintops in the far reaches of Spain.
The animals often perform their assigned task more accurately than conventional tests (and more quickly too!), with results in just 15 to 30 seconds.
So, how does the detection play out?
Bone-shaped “odor collection kits” are handed to locals in Brazil, Morocco, and Spain, containing all the information they need for the collection of samples:
- Visual instructions
- Soap
- Gauze
- A thermal ziplock bag for the sample itself
Photo from The Work
The kit is designed to withstand harsh environments. After collection, the odor samples are sniffed by the dogs. When a dog quickly sniffs and passes by a sample, that means the person is safe.
Photo from The Drum
However, when a dog sniffs a sample and lingers there, that raises a red flag for both the campaign team and the person owning the sample.
He or she would then be sent for further diagnostics and treatment.
The dogs’ sniffing abilities return with 100% accuracy. People whose samples were suspected by the medical dogs found that they do have a health concern that needs to be treated as early as possible.
According to Dr. Carla Ismael, CEO of KDog:
“Dogs Without Borders is a unique project that delivers a scalable solution to two long-standing issues—abandoned dogs left to die and remote communities without basic diagnostics. It gives people living in isolated areas access to diagnostic healthcare for the first time.”
Additionally, Natxo Diaz, Chief Creative Officer of VMLY&R Health Spain, said:
“Everybody loves, or at least most people love, dogs. There’s something touching in the fact that even the most forgotten dogs, ones that have been confined to cages, can have a mission in life. We all have a mission and for these dogs, it is one that we didn’t expect—to save lives.”
Was “Dogs Without Borders” a “sniffing” success?
So far, over 1,000 patients have been diagnosed under the campaign across Brazil, Morocco, and Spain. The collected samples not only helped save lives that could be lost if patients go undiagnosed, but also became a tool for future research and dog training.
Additionally, in the campaign’s first year, SFBO has received enquiries to turn “Dogs Without Borders” into a non-governmental organization (NGO) in its own right.
Below are other results of the campaign:
- The project now spans rural and remote communities across three continents in the world.
- The campaign has garnered over 50 million social media impressions.
- “Dogs Without Borders” was featured in various media publications such as HuffPost, Le Figaro, O Globo, Le Parisien, and more.
- The campaign bagged the Gold award at the 2024 Clio Health Awards.
Clearly, these results show that “Dogs Without Borders” truly pulled on the public’s heart strings and attracted support from them—two of the things dogs are initially good at!
Congratulations, VML, KDog, and SFBO!
*Applause*
“Dogs Without Borders” reflects a step change in creativity when it comes to advertising in the health sector.
According to Diaz, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which put health under the microscope across the globe, it is not surprising that health has become a place for “constant creativity.”
In his words:
“Everyone has their eye on their health. We had been living for so long with the uncertainty of what is going to happen with our health. Now all the brands understand that people look after their health more.”
Additionally, the success of the campaign is at its heart a story of the success of cross-country collaboration. This shows that when brands focus on doing things that have an impact, they can genuinely make a difference.
Are you inspired by today’s guerrilla marketing topic?
We hope you do!
Find your own brand’s creative momentum about transformative ideas and implement those strategically!
In other words…
Aim for a creative outcome whose ripple effects are nothing short of LIFE-CHANGING.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you find this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
Cheers,
Dyane Diasanta
Senior Content Writer
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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