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June 23, 2008
Call Us Crazy - Part Two
I am no marketing expert but I have done a little research into the concept of viral marketing. Two basic elements are of particular interest. First is the observation that people's opinions tend to be strongly influenced by their friends and family members. Thinking of buying a new vacuum cleaner? Chances are, your research includes asking people you know which brand they use and what they think of it. Personally, I would just ask Karalee, which demonstrates my point.
Second, people who agree with a message are a cost-effective way of conveying that message to a wider audience. Love your vacuum cleaner? You're probably pretty motivated to share that information with anyone who is interested.
Okay, what does this mean for the dumping problem? One surprising fact we have learned is that a number of people, including people who work at shelters, believe that domestic rabbits can be dumped outside with no harm to the rabbits. Hard to believe but apparently true. Granted, some dumpers really don't care what happens to the rabbit. But some subset apparently do not understand that domestic rabbits are fundamentally unprepared to survive in the wild. Education might be a way to get to these people.
Second, it may be possible to put out an email and watch it work its way throughout the country. A friend of mine at work is an excellent source of links to humorous youtube videos. Interestingly, a friend of mine from my previous job has forwarded the same links.
The obvious question is, is it possible to create an educational email, with a link to our web page, that could be distributed to all of our friends and the rabbit lovers we know, as an inexpensive way to start an anti-dumping campaign? That's what we intend to find out.
In the next week or so, you will find an email from CHRS in your Inbox. Please forward it to sympathetic friends and family, and encourage them to do the same.
It may not be much but it could be a small step towards reducing the number of dumped rabbits. At the very least, we need to do "something."
Posted by Sue at June 23, 2008 5:51 PM