Adoption Live

Nordic pet store giant revolutionizes pet adoption with the world's first fully live-streamed outdoor campaign

A nationwide cat crisis is unfolding in Finland where over 20,000 cats are abandoned each year and animal shelter resources are stretching thin. Now Nordics’ largest pet store chain Musti Group is launching Adoption Live, the world's first fully live-streamed outdoor campaign to help solve the problem. The nationwide campaign allows people to kick off their pet adoption process via billboards that broadcast live to animal shelters and aims to connect pets with their new forever homes.

While the ongoing cat crisis in Finland is alarming, it's important to recognize that the issue extends globally. According to the International Organization for Animal Protection, an estimated 4 million cats are euthanized in animal shelters worldwide every year. The current situation places immense pressure on animal welfare organizations, with many operating at full capacity.

Adoption Live aims to find new homes for as many pets as possible together with SEY Animal Welfare, Finland’s largest animal welfare organization. At the same time, it encourages people to support SEY and its member organizations through various means.

“The current situation of our member organizations is simply untenable, and we urgently need swift solutions to calm the situation. Meanwhile, our organizations have limited resources for actively marketing their own initiatives. That's why we need collaborative efforts like Adoption Live, that offer visibility to pets seeking homes”, states Kati White, Executive Director of SEY.

Beyond social media, Adoption Live can be followed in the streets nationwide. The broadcast is live-streamed on hundreds of outdoor advertising spaces around Finland, making it the world's first fully live-streamed outdoor campaign. This means that the adoption process can commence, for instance, while waiting for a bus. This nationwide exposure is made possible by Musti Group, a longstanding partner of SEY.

"Caring for pets and their families is at the heart of our mission, including those still seeking their forever homes. Organizations nationwide do invaluable work, and we actively support their efforts. Adoption Live is a good example of how we can utilize our advertising budget for a good cause and do our due diligence as a responsible company”, says Eveliina Rantahalvari, Head of Nordic Marketing at Musti Group.

While the live broadcast focuses on cats, viewers will be directed to a website where they can find all the pets awaiting adoption from SEY's member organizations. Prospective pet owners interested in adoption will undergo a thorough process to ensure the suitability of the pet for their specific home.

The creative partner behind the idea is Helsinki-based creative duo Erma&Reinikainen. Their “Be Aware of the Dogs” campaign for Musti Group was awarded with a bronze lion in Cannes last summer. The campaign used reactive outdoor advertising to showcase how the sounds of fireworks affect dogs during New Year’s Eve.

“We’re constantly trying to come up with innovative ways to use traditional media solutions. Turning hundreds of outdoor media spaces into livestreams was quite a technological hassle, but crucial for creating the desired impact. It’s totally different to see something happen before your eyes in real time, than seeing something that feels, and is, the result of a photoshoot”, says Aleksi Erma, Creative and Co-founder from Erma&Reinikainen.