3,200. That’s the amount of tigers left in the wild. Worldwide. And if we don’t act now this family is about to become extinct, with devastating impact on its far-reaching ecosystem.

To save the tiger, WWF needed urgent assistance from a very big group of new donators willing to engage themselves with WWF.

But how can we make Belgians relate to a cause that’s happening so far away from them? Taking into account today’s difficult economic times, with a negative effect on donations.

We linked it to their own family.

More than 30% of the Belgian population carries a family name that’s becoming extinct too.

So, we launched a national call to all these families to adopt a tiger into their family.

We launched: "Families on the verge of extinction save a family on the verge of extinction."

On an online platform people could discover how extincted their family is. And get invited to adopt a tiger immediately.

Journalists and Famous Belgians with a name on the verge of extinction got a personalized shirt so they could show how limited edition they really are.

The campaign took Belgium by storm.

After just 2 weeks of campaigning, we received more online donations then WWF Belgium receives yearly. And… we’re still counting.

To kick off and raise extra awareness we recruited a well-known Belgian radio host with a family name on the verge of extinction and launched with an impressive PR-campaign. Families with the most rare family names received a personalized letter with an invitation to adopt another family on the verge of extinction. And famous Belgians with rare family names received a personalized t-shirt so they could show how limited edition they really are.

And not only Famous Belgians supported the campaign

… people started sharing their family results

… discussing them with friends on Facebook and Twitter

.... in radio shows

…. and on TV-shows

This intense PR approach was supported by social media ads pushing online videos and a long term tactical online bannering plan.

The campaign took Belgium by storm.

- After just 2 weeks of campaigning, we received more online donations then WWF Belgium receives yearly.

- Belgians with rare family names showed to be 30% more likely to donate. Proving the success of our personal approach.

- Famous Belgians supported the family of the tiger by posting selfies on their social media when wearing their personal campaign T-Shirt. Some of them even wore their T-shirt during public performances and when giving personal interviews.

- Only one hour after the official launch, the campaign became trending topic on Facebook and on Twitter.

- We reached 1 out of 3 Belgians on social media.

- It was covered by almost every TV and radio show in Belgium. National newspapers and magazines published in depth articles explaining their readers the story of the tiger and the need for their long-term financial support.