Xiaomi India with CUPA initiates special pet adoption drive

Xiaomi has collaborated with Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) Bengaluru in a one of a kind community initiative, leading a special pet adoption drive. With the upcoming launch of its new Android One device, the brand helped create a series of unique portfolios of dogs under CUPA care looking for new homes with the help of the device’s camera.

As part of the initiative, Xiaomi team took up the pursuit to drive adoption efforts of 50 dogs sheltered at the NGO seeking both active and passive adoption. The initiative aims to draw attention towards the dire need of supporters for the cause, and providing a home to these animals. The animals under CUPA team’s care are rescued from the streets and offered relief at their shelter. CUPA offers them ample treatment to recover and then be re-homed or rehabilitated.

The team created unique image profiles for the animals, further amplifying the efforts towards finding them a new home. These profiles will be shared across both Xiaomi and CUPA’s social handles, and will be extended to pet adoption groups and pet influencers across social media. Interested individuals will be required to fill in a simple application form. In addition, Xiaomi has also set up a new microsite featuring all the animals’ new profiles upon completing the photo-shoot with Xiaomi team.

The Xiaomi and CUPA initiative aims to break several myths around pet adoption by addressing frequently asked questions on animal adoption through their social media channels. Some of these questions address how an individual who lives alone and is mostly out for work can still adopt responsibly; creating awareness on how to care for pets in a better way, and how to choose what kind of pet to adopt. This added effort was also implemented in line with the upcoming Independence Day as a measure towards breaking free from common misconceptions around adopting a rescue dog, and sharing the responsibility.

Anuj Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Xiaomi India comments, “With our upcoming launch drawing closer, we wanted to take up a truly unique initiative to highlight the device's incredible camera feature with a powerful cause. We hoped that our vision of innovation for everyone could extend beyond the conventional norms of delivering to the Indian consumers. We learnt that there are nearly 5 lakh pets who are abandoned in India every year apart from the existing homeless animals on our streets. Hence we chose to partner with CUPA. And we recreated profiles of several rescue dogs using the power of 48MP camera. This was a truly fruitful experience, and we hope the adoption responses see a positive hike with the initiative."

Suparna Ganguly, Co-Founder, CUPA says, "We're very excited to be collaborating with our very first smartphone brand partner, Xiaomi India with this really unique adoption initiative. It was an absolute joy to witness CUPA rescue dogs get a quirky makeover thanks to the beautiful photos from Xiaomi's upcoming smartphone. We are positive that this collaboration will help our dogs find new loving families soon."