Wildlife impact card program
Mastercard and Conservation International will support the conservation of 40 million hectares of landscape and seascape by 2030.
Last year when the COVID-19 cases took a dip, marketers had already predicted some fancy curves of recovery. In addition to this numerous reports were also released on how to brave the new normal and how to recover from the slump.
In all the recovery reports one thing was common that brands will have to move from advocacy to action. In other words, brands will have to do more than changing the colour of the logo to support the pride month. In India, it becomes a tricky subject but let’s just avoid the discussion.
At the beginning of the fabulous year 2021, Dentsu listed “The Urgency of Alleyship” as one of the creative trends to look forward to. The Creative 2021 Trends Report says:
“As brand behaviours come under scrutiny as never before we see a continued emphasis on the role of brands as a force for social good.
In an age of radical transparency there will be no quarter given to brands who say one thing and do another, a movement exacerbated both by the impact of Covid 19 on communities worldwide and the power and urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
One million species face extinction
Earlier this year Guardian did an extensive story on the world’s rarest rhino which stands at the brink of becoming extinct. There are only two white rhinos left in the world and both are females - mother and daughter.
With the last male being killed in 2018, scientists now have a last-minute chance to bring the northern white rhinos back from the void, thanks to stem cell breakthroughs – but only if they can manage to work through the constraints of the pandemic.
Habitat loss and aggressive poaching have been the main reason for near extinction.
In 2019, a UN report painted a sobering image of the natural world — and the blame for the damage lies solely at humanity’s feet.
Almost 1 million species face extinction; essential crops are under threat; our oceans are overfished. What’s making it worse: climate change (and we’re the cause of that, too).
The IUCN calculated in March that 27,159 species are threatened, endangered or extinct in the wild out of nearly 100,000 species biologists examined in depth. That includes 1,223 mammal species, 1,492 bird species and 2,341 fish species. Nearly half the threatened species are plants.
Mastercard wildlife impact gift card
On the National Endangered Species Day (observed on the third Friday of May every year), Mastercard and Conservation International recently announced the introduction of the Wildlife Impact Card program, which enables consumers to help protect wildlife habitats, including those that are home to many Critically Endangered species.
Each card features a Critically Endangered animal, along with an expiry date that highlights just how short the timeframe is for protecting these animals from extinction.
For every card purchased, a $1 donation will go to Conservation International to help protect wildlife and the habitats of many Critically Endangered Species.
The Wildlife Impact Card program is available to issuers globally. The first card offerings launch in the U.S. in partnership with Usio, with virtual prepaid cards available now that can be added to any mobile wallet. Physical cards made from 100% recycled materials will launch this summer.
The awareness campaign created by McCann utilizes the Mastercard gift card expiry dates as a tool to show users the species that could be potentially extinct by the time the card expires, such as the black-and-white ruffed lemur, the African forest elephant or the Sunda pangolin.
The copy on the card and the ad - “By the time the card expires many Critically Endangered Species may go extent” make the campaign stand out.
Mastercard also has an option for individual donation for the ongoing campaign with Conversation International.
The donation page isn’t that exciting but it does the job. Simplification of the donation page is something that the brand should look into.
“Saving nature has always been about saving ourselves, which is why we are proud to partner with Mastercard to provide a simple way for consumers to take immediate action to help protect wildlife and their habitats,” says Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International.
However, the nonprofit organization which creates self-sustaining, scalable conservation models hardly mentions its association with the campaign on the Internet. Maybe going forward it will after the pride month is over.
Mastercard is talking about the campaign on social media and building awareness around endangered species.
If you take a look at Mastercard’s support to causes platform, it has a host of tie-ups with leading nonprofit organizations from different sectors. However, the smart awareness campaign’s integration stands out.