Digital Advocacy Case Study: Barred from Love

As part of the ASPCA’s marketing and development leadership team, I co-led the digital strategy behind Barred from Love—a national advocacy campaign designed to mobilize Millennial audiences in the fight to end puppy mills. This marked a bold evolution of the ASPCA’s long-standing work on inhumane breeding, reframed for a new generation through emotionally resonant storytelling, strategic celebrity influence, and scalable digital tools.

We developed a fresh campaign narrative that positioned advocacy as aspirational and action-oriented, rather than reactive or guilt-driven. I co-led the social and digital engagement strategy, which included a dynamic microsite with clear, shareable calls to action, custom content toolkits, and behaviorally informed design to reduce friction and drive conversions.

A centerpiece of the campaign was a partnership with nine-time Grammy nominee and animal advocate Sia, whose voice and visibility brought cultural relevance to our message. Her appearance in the campaign video significantly expanded reach and emotional resonance.

In just six months, Barred from Love generated 10.5 million social media impressions and 1.5 million direct social actions from our target audience. The campaign’s creativity and impact were recognized with a Shorty Award for excellence in digital advocacy and cause marketing.

Barred from Love successfully bridged cause and culture—reshaping a decades-old advocacy issue into a modern, shareable movement that deepened awareness, drove measurable engagement, and reached the next generation of changemakers.