Bees are dying all over the world. We know this, but don’t realize the extent to which it hurts us. As pollinators insects, they play a critical role in global food production and biodiversity: 75% of the food we eat is the direct result of bees pollinating plants. Without them, we would miss a good portion of fruits and vegetables, but also meat and dairy (livestock feed), chocolate, coffee…

46% of wild and domestic bee species are on the verge of extinction, because of intensive agriculture, pesticides, and monoculture which destroys bees' habitat and food sources.

The heart of the matter: money. Saving bees costs a lot because we need to finance farmers’ conversion to bee-friendly agriculture, rebuild bee habitats, finance research.

Fondation de France -involved for 50 years in collecting donations for biodiversity issues- wanted to raise awareness, mobilize a wider audience and raise money for the cause.

With Fondation de France, we reinvented how to raise awareness and money for a cause, by creating the first bee influencer: @bee_nfluencer. An influencer who wants to become famous and raise money for her cause, by earning money in the same way regular influencers do, by creating and monetizing their audience through paid brand partnerships.

On her Instagram B. is an ambassador for the bees' cause. B. shares her daily life via posts and stories mixing educational content and anecdotes to recruit followers and educate them. The public loves her. She uses her influence to mobilize her audience and raise money. Soon enough, brands contact her to do paid partnerships. The more followers, the more money. All money raised goes directly to her BEEFUND, to finance 3 types of actions: 1. Financing farmers' conversion to Bee-friendly agriculture. 2. Restoring bee habitats. 3. Funding independent pesticide control and promote research.

At the heart of the strategy: a digital concept to engage a general audience and brands with social media (followers & shares), PR (media & social editors coverages), and other Influencers (share & engage).

We designed the cutest influencer ever, created her looks and tone of voice to appeal to all demographics around the world. We created a dedicated fund inside the Fondation de France: The BEEFUND, to make sure the public clearly understood where the money went.

We rolled out a PR & Digital influence campaign to make B a famous influencer.

With a clear call-to-action: follow to support. Thanks to B., Instagram’s follow button becomes a new way to act. B. benefits from her influence and money earned through paid brands partnerships to support the cause and raise awareness in her community. “The more you follow, the more brands will pay to save bees.”

-Awareness: In 2 years, 600,000people followed B thanks to outstanding media coverage. The media positioned B as the IT girl to follow. +250influencers committed to the cause, +570clippings, 70% online/30% print, 4TVs shows, 100%positive coverage. A social media &media coverage amounted to 240,317,694 impressions, with a total reach of 23,269,871 (excluding B.'s account).

-Behaviour change: 600,000 followers over 2years (272k today) engaged with the 769posts/stories shared on her account. With 4,137,376engagement, 3,106,922likes, 40,609,380impressions, B inspired an international community to act at their level, with a 8% engagement rate.

- Money: 13 committed brands worked with B on paid partnerships: Ricola, LaPoste, Burt’sBees, AirBnb, Guerlain, Fleurs d’ici, TeamVitality, BeeHome, Citeo, Abeilles&Botanique, Lydia, Axa. She even became the Galeries Lafayette’s Christmas muse. Raising 150,000€.

- Financing 4 projects for bees: Projet1.Creating new agricultural practices. Project2.Educating farmers. Project3.Analyzing pollens. Project4.Developing a toxicological diagnosis tool.

- Media outputs: In 2 years, 600,000 people followed B. thanks to outstanding media coverage. The media (including social editors, influencers, corporate media) positioned B. as the new hot topic, the IT girl to follow. +250influencers committed to the cause, + 570clippings, 70% online/30% print, 4 TVs shows, 100%positive coverage and message delivery. A social media & media coverage amounted to 240 317 694 impressions, with a total reach of 23 269 871 (excluding B.'s account).

- Audience outcomes: The 600,000 followers over 2 years (272k today) engaged with the 769posts/stories shared on her account. They always supported her in her fight, as shown by the 3,106,922likes, 40,609,380impressions. B. managed to engage an international community in Europe, South America, Russia… The 8% engagement rate, 4times superior to average, demonstrated B's message touched people.

- Business outcomes: Thanks to her growing influence, brands were quickly interested in B. We selected 13 brands sharing her values to do paid-partnerships : Ricola, LaPoste, Burt’s Bees, AirBnb, Guerlain, Fleurs d’ici, Team Vitality, Bee Home, Citeo, Abeilles et botanique, Lydia, Axa. She even became Galeries Lafayette’s muse for the store’s Christmas Bee theme. It raised 150,000€ for the cause. Financing 4 projects for bee preservation: 1.Creating new agricultural practices. 2.Educating farmers. 3.Analyzing pollens. 4.Developing a toxicological diagnosis tool.

With total impressions = 280 927 074

Total engagement = 4 137 376

And zero media spend.

@bee_nfluencer changed how we can raise money for a cause, making it engaging, and exciting.