How World Animal Protection is harnessing influencer marketing to drive global change

World Animal Protection has long been a powerful voice for animals. With offices in 12 countries, from Denmark and the Netherlands, to Thailand, India and the United States, the organisation has spent decades working to end animal suffering around the world. In recent years, it has embraced a new and more human way of raising awareness: influencer marketing.

“We believe influencer marketing can be a powerful force for good,” said Solbritt Beranek, Engagement and Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection in Denmark.

Over the past two years, Beranek and her team have turned that belief into a structured, values-led strategy that delivers results.

A mission grounded in twin global causes

World Animal Protection focuses its efforts on two urgent and interconnected issues: industrial farming and wildlife exploitation.

On the farming side, the team is calling for fundamental changes to how we produce food. That includes pushing for fewer animals to be farmed, improving conditions for those that are, and supporting a global shift towards plant-based diets. 

“We’re really trying to change the way we produce food,” explained Solbritt. “Both for animals and for the climate, biodiversity and future generations.”

Equally as important to the organisation as the question of industrial farming, is protecting wild animals used in the entertainment sector and traditional medicine. This includes raising awareness around cruelty behind elephant rides, tiger selfies, dolphin shows and bear bile farming, as well as the trade in lion bones. The team works closely with local offices and partners to shift behaviours and challenge tourist expectations. This is also where influencer marketing plays a key role.

“We’re working with travel agencies and other partners to change what people experience on holiday,” said Solbritt. “And that’s actually where we work with influencers the most.”

From casual reposts to purposeful collaboration

A few years ago, influencer marketing at World Animal Protection Denmark looked very different. “We used to just hope that someone would share a post or message us saying they liked our campaign,” said Solbritt. “It wasn’t as strategic as it could have been considering the potential we saw.”

That changed when Beranek took on a hybrid role that allowed her to start building a more thoughtful approach. What began as an experiment soon became an integral part of the Danish office’s campaigning, from media and video production to petition mobilisation and fundraising.

The team now works with two types of profiles. First, there are public ambassadors, like well-known actors or TV personalities, who appear in campaign materials and lend credibility through media reach. Then there are macro and mega influencers who share content with engaged audiences and help spread messages organically.

None of these partnerships are paid. The organisation is transparent from the start, explaining clearly to KOLs that while it can offer involvement, impact and a sense of shared purpose, it doesn’t offer compensation. 

“Only one person has ever asked to be paid,” said Beranek. “We said no, and that was fine.”

Better tools, stronger impact

Before they had any tools, Solbritt had to rely on manual research. “I’d spend hours clicking through people’s profiles, trying to work out if they had ever said anything about climate, organic food or animal welfare,” she recalled. “It was exhausting.”

That changed when the team started using influencer discovery platform Woomio (acquired last year by Kolsquare). These platforms allowed them to speed up their research, identify profiles based on shared values or behaviour, and build longer-term relationships with creators.

“With Kolsquare, we can now search by content,” explained Solbritt Beranek. “If we want to find people who have posted about elephants in Thailand, we can. You couldn’t do that in Woomio. It saves a huge amount of time.” 

The ability to run more precise, content-based searches has helped the team find better-aligned partners more quickly.

Kolsquare also supports better campaign planning. The team can create lists, track past collaborations and estimate earned media value (EMV) to report the impact of content. 

“That’s a first for us. It’s helping us show the real value of what we’re doing,” she said.