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We helped WWF launch their innovative #EndangeredEmoji campaign, the world’s first emoji-based fundraising initiative. By building a scalable system architecture, we ensured that WWF could handle huge spikes in engagement when their brand ambassadors encouraged millions of followers to participate.
The Challenge
When Wieden + Kennedy realised that 17 of Twitter’s animal emojis represented endangered species, they collaborated with WWF to create the #EndangeredEmoji campaign. The idea was simple: turn emoji engagement into donations to support WWF’s conservation efforts. However, the technical challenge was to create a system capable of handling massive surges in Twitter activity, particularly when high-profile brand ambassadors retweeted to their vast audiences.
WWF needed a back-end system that could scale dynamically to handle thousands of tweets per second and efficiently track donations linked to emoji usage.
Our Approach
- System Architecture Design
Coherence designed a fully scalable back-end system using Docker containers and a horizontally scalable architecture based on RabbitMQ, MongoDB, and Python workers. This architecture allowed us to scale rapidly to accommodate high spikes in engagement whenever WWF ambassadors promoted the campaign to their millions of followers.
- Campaign Mechanic
WWF tweeted an image showing all 17 #EndangeredEmoji. Users who retweeted were automatically registered. Every time a registered user tweeted one of the emoji, WWF tracked the usage and added 10p as an optional donation. At the end of the month, WWF tweeted registered users with a link to their donation page, showing a total of their tweets, and allowing them to make an optional contribution based on their activity.
- Handling High Engagement
Our system architecture ensured that thousands of tweets per second could be processed without disruption. We worked closely with Twitter to ensure seamless tracking and real-time processing of emoji-based engagement across the platform.
Testimonial
“Working on the #EndangeredEmoji campaign with WWF was an exciting challenge for Coherence. The scale of engagement, especially with high-profile ambassadors involved, meant we needed to build a robust and scalable system that could handle massive spikes in real-time. Our architecture ensured that no matter how many tweets came through, the campaign ran smoothly and donations were tracked efficiently. We’re proud to have played a role in turning social media engagement into real support for endangered species.”
Julian Tedstone
Managing Director, Coherence
The Outcome
The #EndangeredEmoji campaign achieved phenomenal success:
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Over 12,000 retweets in the first day.
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More than 500,000 Twitter mentions in the first four days.
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59,000+ registrations within the first four days.
Thanks to the scalable back-end architecture, WWF was able to efficiently manage and track donations while engaging users in a creative, fun way that turned social media activity into real-world impact.
About WWF
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is one of the world’s leading conservation organisations, committed to protecting the environment and promoting sustainable living. Through campaigns like #EndangeredEmoji, WWF engages global audiences to raise awareness and generate support for endangered species and habitats.
