|
|
My much anticipated date with Joe and Kathleen Camp began with what else - horse talk! Their life changing book The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd has many people scratching their heads and wondering why they've done what they've done to the horses in their lives for so long. Vintage practices like banging nails into horses' hooves, putting steel bars aka "bits" into horses' mouths, confining horses to stalls, and a host of other unnatural, outmoded horse keeping traditions are called into question. Eloquently and compassionately (but never condescendingly), Joe and Kathleen share what they've learned since horses entered and illuminated their lives. With stylistic beauty, they gently nudge us and plead with us to do things differently if we truly want the equines among us to be healthy and content. So with all the events and public appearances surrounding horses, has Benji been forgotten? Absolutely not! When our conversation shifted to animals in shelters, the need for mindset makeovers surfaced again when the Camps described their longstanding dream for Benji's Buddies, a program they're developing to stimulate adoptions. "We need to do things differently. We need to be willing to change the way we promote homeless animals if we truly want them to get adopted." Joe and Kathleen believe that the business of saving animals' lives needs to be treated more like, well, - a business. In order to make adoption an individual or family's first choice once they've decided they really want to add a dog or cat to their life, the Camps believe the concept needs a face. A face like Benji's that says please take one of my buddies home. Please remember that I was once a shelter dog myself. Joe marveled at what followed as a result of finding and adopting Benji from a Gulfport, Mississippi shelter. "The shelter in Gulfport emptied for the very first time. It put an okay stamp on adopting mutts from shelters." Joe and Kathleen believe this sort of phenomenon is possible for shelters everywhere. With a program like Benji's Buddies in place, a shelter and its overlooked animals would have consistent exposure via the media, promotional materials, and creative advertising. Instead of focusing on a shortage of donations or whatever else shelters feel they lack to accomplish their mandate of saving animals' lives, Joe advises "Don't cry the blues, market like other retailers!" |
In terms of promoting homeless animals, marketing like other retailers translates to what was permanently etched into my brain during my Emerson College days - frequency, duration, and reach. Members of the general public need to see the faces of homeless animals frequently, all over the place, and for as long as it takes to get them adopted. Like all good marketing programs, the Camps insist that Benji's Buddies will be a results-oriented program. The expectation will be that funds will come in, and animals will move on to new homes. Adoptions will be the measure of the program's success. Shelters will need to do their part too. Kathleen talked about the differences between shelters that are inviting, and those that cause potential adopters to stay away. "It really does matter how they look, and how people feel when they go in. If there's nothing but sadness, people won't even go in to see the animals." I asked Joe if he's witnessed a shift in the way people respond to the whole question of what should be done for homeless animals. "There seems to be more awareness, more people talking proudly about adoption or how they rescued an animal; but the number of people who adopt as opposed to the number of people who purchase from pet stores or backyard breeders is still small." Committed to the idea that a program like Benji's Buddies can help change all that, the Camps will keep moving forward until their dream materializes. Knowing what Joe and Kathleen have accomplished together already, my guess is it won't be long before we see large corporations stepping up to sponsor nationally broadcast advertising for a shelter animal near you! Take a look at these sites if you'd like to learn more about Joe and Kathleen's work on behalf of homeless animals and horses. - Bonnie Silva www.benjisbuddies.org www.thesoulofahorse.com |
Kathleen and Joe Camp |