#WhatThe Fox?, a campaign by Freshwater UK with the League Against Cruel Sports, has been named Best In-House Consultancy Collaboration at the Public Affairs Awards 2014.
The campaign helped to quash a proposed amendment to the Hunting Act 2014, which was set to allow a full pack of hounds to draw out a fox to a waiting gun. The campaign mobilized support from key political stakeholders, existing League supporters and the general public through a range of campaigning strategies.
Freshwater’s group managing director, Angharad Neagle, said: “This award reflects our commitment to working in close partnership with our clients to develop creative, multi-channel campaigns that deliver results on issues that really matter.
“What The Fox? drew on expertise from both our London and Cardiff offices, delivering a hard-hitting campaign that incorporated many strands of our fully-integrated offering.
“Of course, the real win here was quashing the immediate threat to the Hunting Act 2004 which made hunting with dogs for sport illegal in England and Wales – and all within a month of our campaign launching.”
Michael Stephenson, Director of Campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, explains: “This campaign played a vital role in stopping the re-introduction of hunting with dogs via the back door. The Hunting Act is the most successful piece of wild animal welfare legislation in history and the fact that it is still intact is in great part due to the way “What the Fox?” brought together all the different aspects of traditional and modern campaigning.
“Thanks to the efforts of all those involved in the campaign, the Hunting Act is here to stay.”
The below is the campaign’s original submission to the Public Affairs Awards:
In brief
It was being sold as a development to ‘help farmers’. On 1st March, Freshwater was commissioned by the League to prevent this amendment being made through a Statutory Instrument. This type of legislation used to push minor changes through Parliament is typically met with less scrutiny than a full vote on repeal requires. By 26th March, as a result of this successful in-house and agency collaboration, the threat was quashed. Strategy and tacticsWith such a tight timeframe, we built a public affairs and integrated communication plan which centred on collaboration and aligning in-house and agency-side activity to maximise impact right across the UK. We identified key political targets and publicity opportunities to mobilise support. Talking politicsTo supplement the League’s engagement with key political figures in Westminster, Freshwater engaged with politicians in Wales to broaden the reach and rally UK-wide support. The agency monitored parliamentary activity, developed an audit of target politicians, and assisted in drafting political ‘letters to’ and briefings. Freshwater also developed lead angles for media and drafted press releases, articles and content for political blogs – selling these in to key targets to raise awareness. The League and Freshwater worked in tight partnership to develop a powerful infographic and flyer to present the key arguments in a highly visual way. Following Freshwater and the League’s key briefings with politicians, David Cameron responded directly to a question on this matter posed by Angela Smith MP on 26th March. Driving engagement
Supporters and prospects were also encouraged to change their Facebook cover photo to the #WhatTheFox? banner, to post set tweets and Facebook updates, as well as to share pictures of themselves with the campaign adverts via social media. The Twibbon initiative generated 462 ‘supports’ and 885 Facebook ‘shares’. Twitter followers increased by 14 percent during the campaign period and Facebook ‘likes’ increased by 76 percent. Secured media coverage included a front page spread in the Times, as well as articles in the Observer and Express. Advertising reached 2.2 million people and included placements in the Telegraph, Evening Standard and Metro as well as an MPU advert on www.conservativehome.com So, through the power of partnership, the close collaboration between the League and Freshwater certainly got parliament talking and the masses saying #WhatTheFox? |
Back in 2004, the Hunting Act was passed, making hunting with dogs for sport illegal in England and Wales. But earlier this year, The Federation of Welsh Farmers’ Packs and the Countryside Alliance were pushing for an amendment to the Act that would allow a full pack of hounds to draw out a fox to a waiting gun; an amendment that the League believed would bring back hunting ‘via the back door’.
The hashtag #WhatTheFox? was designed to grab attention, get people talking and to aggregate all campaign activity. When a ‘Twibbon’ featuring a ‘fox’ visual was added to a Twitter profile, an auto-tweet was directed to @David_Cameron with the hashtag #WhatTheFox?