Creator / originator

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Lacoste

Background

The IUCN is a Swiss-based organisation, founded in 1948. They are a membership body and have an income of US$148 million a year. The IUCN specialise in conservation efforts and the sustainable use of natural resources, as well as research projects around the world. But the IUCN are perhaps best known for their ‘red list’, where they monitor how endangered species are. 

Lacoste is a French luxury clothing brand, primarily known for their polo shirts which feature an iconic crocodile logo.

Summary / objectives

In 2018, the IUCN and Lacoste joined together to launch a new, impactful campaign that aimed to raise awareness of endangered species and generate much-needed funds to help ensure their survival. 

During the ‘Save Our Species’ campaign , Lacoste did something unprecedented. On their white polo shirts, Lacoste replaced their crocodile logo with images of ten different endangered species. The partnership only produced 1,775 shirts in total. This number represented the entire remaining population of the ten chosen endangered species. 

According to IUCN’s website: 

‘The species were selected from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ and included insects, freshwater fish, amphibians, mammals and birds, highlighting the diversity of wildlife in need of conservation. The number of shirts produced for each species corresponded to the estimated number of individuals remaining in the wild. All profits from the sale of all items went to IUCN to help conserve threatened wildlife.

‘Launched during Paris Fashion Week in 2018, the first Lacoste X IUCN Save Our Species campaign consisted of creating 10 limited edition designs of polo shirts, where its iconic crocodile logo left its historic spot to make way for 10 of the most Critically Endangered species in the world. The objective was to raise awareness and much needed funds. The number of polo-shirts per design available corresponded to the number of known remaining individuals left in the wild for each species.

‘Using an integrated media campaign featuring social media influencers…the campaign went viral on social media and quickly jumped into mainstream press, resulting in worldwide television coverage in a matter of days.’

Results

The limited-edition shirts cost US$183 each. They sold out in just one day! During that 24-hour window alone, the IUCN raised US$325,000 from the campaign.

Beyond that immediate contribution to the campaign with Lacoste, donations to the IUCN multiplied by four. There was a 200 per cent increase in visits to their website, and sign ups to the IUCN newsletter increased by 300 per cent in the first month of the campaign. 

This is an example of a successful fundraising idea, where the message and means can align. 

Together, the IUCN and Lacoste sparked a global conversation about conservation and the funding raised helped to save critically endangered animals: 

‘Following the campaign, a Call for Proposals opened for projects targeting any of the ten species. Three projects got awarded with the Lacoste funds: a project to protect the Critically Endangered Burmese Roofed Turtle, another to protect the Critically Endangered Mountain Chicken, and another one to protect the Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.’

Merits

For Lacoste, this tapped into something very powerful. Customers want to support brands that stand for something. And people are willing to pay more for that. 

They came to the partnership with a global platform – and this campaign reached their existing audiences as well as new ones. Of course, they changed up the logo on their shirts, but took it one step further too: 

‘Lacoste’s crocodile not only gave up its spot in the shirts but also across their brand. For one day only, nine Lacoste stores worldwide as well as the online shop got a makeover and featured the threatened species in their retail space.’

Influence / impact

By making less than 2,000 shirts, this campaign perfectly captured the message that our planet’s wildlife is in crisis. It was a striking reminder of the fragility of these species and the crisis that they’re facing as a result of human activity. 

I love the creativity behind this idea – and the way the means, and the message, came together. It created a symbol of what is at stake.

The campaign captured global attention and generated incredible awareness of the red list and endangered species. It had 1.2 billion impressions – that’s the number of times that a piece of content is seen or displayed on screen. It also generated €9.9 million in earned media – that’s the publicity or coverage that an organisation gets that they don’t directly pay for. 

What this says to me is that the campaign sparked a global conversation on extinction. And that’s something that few campaigns have managed to do, to the extent that this one did in 2018.

Other relevant information

The campaign collected ten Cannes Lions Advertising awards, proving its originality in terms of execution, messaging and effectiveness.

Final notes

I’m a partnership manager and I work with trusts, foundations and major donors. So, what’s important to me is finding that synergy and alignment between my charity’s goal, vision and mission and that of current and future partners. I work to find the ‘sweet spot’ of trust and relationship building that leads to long-term partnerships.

This campaign inspired people and got them emotionally engaged with the cause – it’s a perfect example of what can be achieved when two organisations align and trust each other. 

The lessons here for fundraisers are clear. 

Build strong, meaningful relationships with your partners. Aim for that synergy. Look for that overlap. Make the ask tangible and relatable. 

© IMAGES: The IUCN, see links, captions and credits

Manon Oliver at IWITOT 2024: If you’d like to watch Manon Oliver’s seven-minute presentation on the Lacoste and IUCN Save Our Species campaign, please click the image below.