From a branded content perspective, New Zealand definitely lags behind larger international markets. Truly unique content created for the benefit of media partnerships and brands is still in its infancy. In New Zealand, the cost of “bought media” is considerably cheaper due to economies of scale, and the popularity of “owned digital media” is increasing, while the cost of producing branded content remains fairly high. Most New Zealand clients, with limited budgets, would therefore prefer to revert to a more traditional advertising media model to reach their consumers.

As a consequence there are few rules or restrictions regarding branded content, with the only stipulation from media owners being that it should be clear to the audience that the content is bought to them by a brand. Pretty simple really.

What that does mean is that the media owners are very open to new ideas to ensure they’re connecting brands with their audience in more engaging and relevant ways.

Thousands of dogs are abandoned in New Zealand every year, and millions more around the world. The PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive raises awareness of the plight of these dogs and donates money to many animal welfare organisations across New Zealand that give these dogs a second chance to find loving homes.

‘Share for Dogs’ uses cute puppies who want to be as cute as they can be to ensure as many people as possible watch and share the film, raising more money to help find, treat, feed and rehome their fellow dogs in need.

After two weeks:

• 550,000 views across 197 countries

• 60,000 social shares - 9.2% share rate (2.5% industry benchmark)

• US Top 25 Most Shared Videos in Week One.

• Featured on 70+ sites including Mashable, Upworthy, Huffington Post and Time Magazine.

• Viral reach of 50+ million - significant global awareness for our cause.

• 404% traffic increase to pedigreeadoptiondrive.co.nz (91% new visitors) and 383% increase to the donation page, versus month prior.

• Established a self-sustaining model that’ll generate revenue over time. From YouTube revenue generated to date, this initiative will fund the re-homing of 3 dogs every week.