Project Overview
A roaming cat lives up to 10 years less than a cat kept at home. The Rethink Roaming campaign challenges common beliefs and social norms by highlighting the risks of cat roaming using behavioural science methodologies. Owners can see the risks relevant to their cat's location and find helpful resources and programs to encourage behavioural change.
The campaign will contribute to reducing the 30,000 cats that are impounded annually in Victoria, lowering the $15.5 million in care costs per year, and the number of cats euthanised.
For every owner that chooses to contain their cat day and night, an average of 110 native animals are saved each year and their cat's life expectancy is doubled.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Beth Walsh - Creative Director
Michael Walsh - Technical Director
Project Brief
Roaming cats face higher risks of injury, disease and death, living half as long as those kept at home. They also contribute to native wildlife deaths, with a single roaming cat killing an average of 110 native animals a year. RSPCA Victoria encourages responsible cat ownership and containment in a way that safeguards cat welfare.
The challenge was to shift the behaviour of owners who let their cats roam by questioning the belief that letting your cat roam benefits their welfare. Past messaging on environmental impact and council curfews was ineffective, so the campaign utilised behavioural science methodologies to focus on the consequences of these behaviours.
The primary objective was to decrease the number of roaming cats, reduce the financial cost of cat roaming for local and state governments, loss of native wildlife and to improve cat welfare.
The secondary objective was to increase rates of desexing and vaccination and to lower semi-owned and feral cat populations and cat illnesses.
As a not-for-profit organisation, the campaign had to provide maximum impact for a smaller budget.
Project Need
In the past, cat roaming campaigns had focused on the environmental impact and owner responsibility. The strategy from the beginning was to differentiate from other campaigns by using behavioural science methodologies to challenge and change behaviours.
Insights from the Victorian Pet Census revealed the target audience did not consider saving wildlife or council cat curfews a priority, but they did care strongly about their cat's welfare and the costs associated with injuries.
The campaign highlights an owner's optimistic perspective; when their cat roams, it doesn’t fight, cross roads, go far or interact with other cats. Taking that belief, the campaign catastrophizes what cats do when they roam, and in the process, shows how roaming reduces a cat's life expectancy by up to 10 years.
The website provides a personalised experience through a custom implementation using Google Maps SDK and Google Places API. Risks are shown on the map along with the radius their cat likely roams to challenge thinking on how far they go from home.
The map and content use a data matrix of location, council area, roaming hours and sex to determine the results and statistics presented.
The campaign is designed to make owners rethink cat roaming and provide relevant location-specific evidence for why roaming reduces their cat's life expectancy. Risks motivate owners to contain their cat. The website provides evidence-based resources and programs to help owners change their behaviour and belief that roaming is good for their cat's welfare.
User Experience
A high-contrast accessible colour palette was chosen for the campaign, allowing content to stand out across digital applications and to differentiate from RPSCA's branding. The campaign targets a mostly female 35+ audience who own a cat in Victoria.
The slogan and lockup were designed to be short, simple and easy to remember. It describes the action the audience is encouraged to take when engaging with the campaign, urging them to learn about the risks in their area and make a plan to contain their cat.
Evocative copy and imagery elicit an emotional response from the target audience, firstly self-recognition in relatable excuses owners make, then a sense of dread that the cat in the image could be their own. Easy to scan when scrolling, the campaign encourages users to ‘understand the risks in your area’ on the website. Location-specific content was created, providing an interactive map of location-based risks and messaging across Victorian councils.
Colours were selected to ensure AA contrast across applications. The website meets WCAG AA accessibility guidelines and provides an optimal experience across devices.
The website provides users with evidence-based information, resources and programs from the RSPCA that are displayed based on their cat's location and risk profile, helping owners plan to contain their cats.
Supported by the Victorian Government, the campaign aims to change owner behaviour, improve cat welfare and help reduce the social and financial burden of roaming cats on the community, local councils and pounds.
Project Marketing
Cat containment is a high priority for the Victorian Government and RSPCA Victoria. Currently, the cost of roaming pet cats in Victoria is estimated to be $15.5 million annually, which covers impounding, desexing, vaccinations and euthanisation. 71% of pet cats roam in Australia, killing an average of 186 animals per year, 110 of which are native, which has a large impact on local biodiversity.
The campaign aims to reduce these figures and have a positive impact on wildlife populations, reducing the overpopulation of cats and feral cats by keeping them contained, desexed and microchipped.
The campaign and website will help to support the new Victorian Government Cat Management Strategy by encouraging meaningful behavioural change. It will promote and educate responsible cat ownership behaviours and help RSPCA Victoria secure government funding in the future, continuing to help support animal welfare initiatives.
The website has been designed to outlive the one-year campaign period and scale as required, as more resources, information, and programs become available.
By focusing on the serious risks to roaming cats rather than the environmental and financial impact on society, the campaign aims to make meaningful and long-lasting change to owner behaviours. In time, this change will become common sense in the community, significantly reducing injuries, wildlife loss and the financial cost of cat roaming to local and state governments and animal welfare organisations.
Project Privacy
The website adheres to best practice security and privacy requirements. More information can be found on the privacy page of the website.
Digital - Community
This category is all about helping our communities to connect and engage, from emergency services to Not for Profits to social groups, these apps and sites not may not only assist in delivery but also create efficiencies providing those at the coalface more time to do their important work whether it be fighting fires or managing the local team. It's not all serious though we're also looking for projects that work to help bring the community groups together with fun and enjoyable activities.
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