Cats Protection

The Perfect Match

Overview

Taking Cats Protection into live sport

Younger audiences were drifting away from charity adoption, so Cats Protection needed to meet them somewhere new. JAA took the brand into live sport for the first time, partnering with ITV around the Women’s Euros 2025 to turn football attention into meaningful action.

The Problem

How do you make adoption relevant to a new generation?

Only 16% of new cat owners were adopting through a charity or shelter, while 74% were buying cats online. With younger audiences more likely to buy than adopt, Cats Protection faced a long-term challenge to change behaviour.

The Trait

Find common ground beyond cats

Rather than compete for younger audiences in crowded social feeds, we found a new way in. The Women’s Euros offered scale, emotion and shared cultural energy – giving Cats Protection an unexpected but highly relevant place to belong.

A playful tabby cat lies beside a black-and-white soccer ball beneath a purple banner urging people to join a summer fundraising squad for cats.

The strategy

Enter the game, not just the ad break

Working with ITV, we created Cats Protection’s first live-sport partnership. Tournament reach was combined with bespoke content and talent, helping the charity become part of the occasion rather than simply another advertiser around it.

An alert orange tabby cat stretches across a wooden floor, gazing upward in a bright living room; ITV Sport and Cat Protection logos appear above.

The Tactics

Big tournament. Bespoke opportunities

Linear TV and ITVX BVOD built reach, alongside Cats Protection’s first ITVX Pause Ads. Bespoke content and voiceovers from football talent Karen Carney and Rachel Yankey gave the campaign a fresh voice throughout the tournament.

Still from a Cats Protection ITVX Pause Ad. Three black-and-white kittens sit on green turf with scattered toy balls in a bright yellow playpen; one looks alert, while the caption reads, “Ooh, he came out of nowhere.”

The Results