Animal Place's Rescue Ranch

Why are Chickens So Misunderstood?

Every year, more than 150 million egg-laying hens are killed in the United States. Most spend their lives in battery cages that hold 5-8 birds. Each hen has less space than a standard piece of paper. Even hens in “cage free” facilities are crammed in windowless buildings with up to 50,000 other birds. They’re slaughtered at just 1.5-2 years of age, even though they can live to be 15.

Bud Did You Know?

Chickens are intelligent, chatterboxes, and socialites? Chickens can do basic arithmetic by keeping track of addition and subtraction in shuffling games. They also develop empathy and recognize stress. Some chickens are smarter than cats and dogs!

This campaign challenges misconception. It challenges the exploitation of innocent, sentient, beings.

During my time at Sanky, I had the pleasure of directing, editing, and designing a multi-channel fundraising campaign for Animal Place, a sanctuary in Grass Valley, CA. The goal? To help them raise the funds needed to open a dedicated chicken sanctuary in Vacaville, CA. Given that this campaign was all about saving farm animals and supporting sanctuaries, it’s no surprise that it remains one of my all-time favorites. And that’s saying a lot—I lost count of how many campaigns I’ve worked on ages ago!

We started by creating a campaign brand: the Rescue Ranch Fund. Its visual identity centered on an orange megaphone, designed to complement the Animal Place logo while also functioning as a symbolic element. Paired with imagery of a hen, the logo became a dual visual—representing a chicken calling out to compassionate animal lovers everywhere.

We launched the campaign with a custom-designed and coded SEM landing page, focused on education and lead generation, with a touch of fundraising baked in. This was followed by a branded four-color direct mail package, including a two-page letter signed by Animal Place’s founder. We also included a four-panel brochure featuring shareable facts about hens and tangible impact metrics to reinforce donor value.

To round it out, we built a robust email series—ranging from highly visual layouts to simpler HTML formats—alongside organic and paid social media content, all working together to create a true multi-channel experience. The results spoke for themselves: Animal Place met its fundraising goals, and we helped bring a new sanctuary to life.