Mars Petcare invests £1.25m in Hope Reef campaign
Over the past 13 years, Mars Petcare has worked with community ambassadors on coral reef restoration and as a result, more than 285,000 coral fragments have been planted and 19,000 reef stars have been installed to date.
Mars Petcare is marking the launch of its latest ‘Sheba Hope Reef’ campaign with a £1.25m investment in in-store and online support across all channels to raise maximum awareness.
It revealed the new programme supports its global ambition of restoring 185,000 metres squared of coral reef by 2029.
The retailer said the new programme is the “next chapter” in one of the world’s “largest” coral reef restoration programmes and is a “vital step” to signal and demonstrate that regenerating and restoring ocean ecosystems is possible.
Kicking off in January and running until March, in-store point of sale materials will be available to help retailers across all channels “spread the word” on Sheba Hope Reef.
In-store activation and media support will encourage new and existing shoppers to support the campaign through their choice of purchase and watching the campaign video online. The funding generated from the video views will be donated to the Sheba campaign partner, The Nature Conservancy, to support coral restoration projects.
Over the past 13 years, Mars Petcare said it has worked with community ambassadors on coral reef restoration and as a result, more than 285,000 coral fragments have been planted and 19,000 reef stars have been installed to date, all using locally sourced materials.
According to Mars, the creation of the programme brings an important issue to the forefront, serving as a hub for training others as well, including reef builders, ambassadors and staff at national parks, NGOs, and governments, so that the project can grow elsewhere.
Kim Smet, interim general manager at Mars Petcare, said: “It’s important to us that we share our journey with our loyal customers and consumers, and we aim to do this through our in-store and online activation.
“In order to drive long term success, we need consumer support in watching our ‘Film That Grows Coral’ to raise vital funds. Fish is an important ingredient that allows us to provide pet owners with healthy, nutritious and high-quality pet food, and we know that sourcing practises are increasingly important to shoppers.”
