MEDIA RELEASE | Jan 13, 2011 13 Jan 2012 —
The Cat Welfare Society (CWS) will launch its first-ever social media campaign on 14 January, aimed at creating awareness of the benefits of cat ownership. It carries a simple message: Life is better with a cat. Hosted on CWS’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/catwelfaresg), “Better With A Cat” will feature a series of light-hearted webisodes that portray owners of unsuitable “pets”, as well as video testimonials from satisfied cat owners Melody Chen and Lee Amizadai.
Said Fareena Omar, President of CWS: “There are many homeless or rescued cats that deserve a second chance at life in a loving home. Through this campaign approach, we hope to reach potential cat owners and make them think about whether they have room in their home and the heart to adopt a cat. This campaign is a run up to our first adoption drive for the year to be held at Pet Safari NEX on 5 Feb.”
Fans of the CWS page who already share their lives with one or more cats can take part in the “Better With A Cat” photo contest, by submitting their own cat photos and stories of why their life is better with a cat. Participants stand to win forty-five prizes comprising 1 kg of cat food each, sponsored by pet food company Iams. The “Better With A Cat” campaign was produced as a charity project by media agency MediaCom Singapore and creative agency Daydream, in collaboration with sponsors Wildfire and Iams.
Said Edvarcl Heng, head of social media, MediaCom Singapore: “Our aim was to develop a sharable social approach that would cut through the clutter of cat-related videos online. We chose to reinvent the storyline of feline companionship by demonstrating the flipside of life with “pets” with non-feline traits and multiplying the impact with crowd-sourced affirmation of the positive equity of cat ownership.” The campaign launch will be held at the National Geographic Store Auditorium at Vivocity on 14 January, 2.30 pm.
Also launching on the same day is “Mad About Katz”, a children’s picture book by Tan May Lin, a Year 3 student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Diploma in Child Psychology and Early Education. Created as part of May Lin’s final year project, this book is a resource for educating the young about empathy for community cats.
About Cat Welfare Society
The Cat Welfare Society is a charity, run almost entirely by volunteers, whose aim is to improve the welfare of community cats in Singapore. All community cats deserve our compassion and protection, and we believe that there are humane, effective ways to control their population — that is, through sterilisation instead of destruction. We exist for the following purposes:
* To promote tolerance, kindness and respect towards cats and other living creatures.
* To promote sterilisation as opposed to culling (putting to sleep) of cats.
* To promote responsible pet ownership and responsible management of community cats.
* To increase awareness of the state of cats living in the streets of Singapore and stop ignorance through education.
For further enquiries, contact:
Veron Lau Vice-President Cat Welfare Society Email: [email protected]
Germaine Ong Manager, Social Media MediaCom Singapore Email: [email protected]