Category: Pet Food

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Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Supplies
pet care marketing scaled 1
pet care marketing scaled 1

Successful pet care marketing means watching current pet care trends, as pet owner desires and behaviors continue to change fast.

An apparent immunity to economic downturns, rapid growth, and a rising share of sales from eCommerce made the pet supply market one of the shining stars of the past year. Still, as Common Share punned, some pet care marketing services still face dog-eat-dog competition as the biggest players capture the lion’s share of business.

For just a few examples: 

  • PETCO and PetSmart took in almost half of all total revenue in 2019.
  • Amazon penetrated the online market with its own white-label pet products.
  • Large retailers, like Walmart and Target, increased their online presence.

Still, plenty of smaller DTC and distributors have pulled off some amazing wins with excellent product development, on-the-nose pet product branding, and catering to hot trends. Look at the top pet product trends from the perspective of a pet care marketing agency to find high-growth opportunities in this expanding market.

A data technology company called SPINS reported upon the hottest pet trends in 2020. For a general tip about pet product branding, they said that companies that convinced customers they truly cared about pets and their owners had the best chance to thrive in the current environment.

Otherwise, these are specific niches that have performed well recently:

  • Natural products: These days, consumers don’t just lean towards choosing natural products for themselves. They also want to provide their pets with wholesome, natural food, toys, supplements, and remedies. As an example, hemp supplements for pet anxiety have grown increasingly popular.
  • Custom products: In addition to offering their furry or feathered friends a more natural diet, pet owners want to choose products specifically tailored for their own pet’s needs. For instance, they may seek different dog food products for puppies or kittens, overweight dogs or cats, or elderly pets.
  • Unique items: Besides custom products like bespoke food, some retailers did well with unique items that caught customer’s attention. Some examples included pet portraits, pet socks, and cute dog beds that look like dollhouse beds. In fact, some IKEA stores had trouble keeping their doll beds in stock because people bought them for their cats and small dogs, even against the company’s advice.
  • Community- or eco-friendly products and packaging: Consumers don’t just want to buy wholesome products for their pets. They also want purchases to contribute to a clean and sustainable environment. Any pet marketing agency can give their brands a boost by using and promoting their sustainable packaging and ingredients. Supporting worthy causes that their customers care about can also catch the attention of a market audience.
  • Better shopping experiences: The rise of large chains and eCommerce doesn’t necessarily keep neighborhood stores or startups in the doghouse. Many pet owners like and use various options, depending upon the situation. Omni-channel marketing with stores, eCommerce, and pickup or delivery can help niche businesses thrive.

Examples of successful pet marketing campaigns from smaller companies

To spark some inspiration, a pet marketing agency might look at some good examples of startups that successfully launched products.

Natural pet food

Some smaller pet food businesses gained traction with their high-quality, natural products, a DTC marketing model, delivery, and often, subscription sales. As an example, Ollie delivers vet-approved, customizable, and healthy meals. The Farmer’s Dog offers a meal-delivery plan that starts at only $3 a day.

Pet beds

Surprisingly, some of today’s popular pet beds come from businesses that gained a reputation for innovation by first making mattresses and bedding for people. These brands include Purple and Casper. This ties into the trend of people looking for the same benefits for their pets they would favor when they buy products for themselves.

Dog hygiene

Not only do Ethique’s solid shampoo and conditioner bars help reduce packaging waste, the company also uses natural ingredients. Besides marketing these bars to humans, they market the Bow Wow Bar for dogs. According to the company, the PH-balanced, gentle dog shampoo bars can replace three typical bottles of shampoo.

To put it all together, pet products enjoyed a boom in recent years. In particular, online sales have spiked. Even better, forecasts suggest the pet product market hasn’t even matured yet, so there’s plenty of room for growth. It’s true that the major players have benefited the most from this spike. At the same time, some smaller, more innovative companies have found room to profit and grow by paying attention to current trends and satisfying changing customer desires.

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Direct-To-Consumer DTC Marketing Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Supplies
Chewy
Chewy

DTC brands are known for their clever, original, and on-trend ads. Read what we can learn from the pet product marketing tactics Chewy.com uses to connect with audiences.

In a few short years, DTC (or D2C) brands have gone from a novelty to an essential part of the lives of most consumers. Emarketer forecasts that DTC sales will account for $17.75 billion of total ecommerce sales in 2020, up 24.3% from the previous year.

Many of the newer DTC brands who have become household names have used highly memorable and creative direct to consumer marketing approaches to gain traction. One such example is Chewy.com, a DTC pet brand. Let’s take a closer look at how Chewy.com advertises, and what we can learn from their pet product marketing approach.

Using a Savvy DTC Ad Strategy to Build Market Share

This Chewy.com ad cleverly targets the new parent demographic. One of the primary benefits of Chewy’s direct to consumer marketing model is convenience — it delivers toys, chews, food, and treats directly to a consumer’s home, in a box.

For new parents, saving a trip to the local brick and mortar pet store is a significant draw. Chewy’s ad shows how its service can ease the burden of new parenthood, often one of life’s most overwhelming experiences.

Chewy’s ad is smart for another reason: It targets a large and growing demographic. Pets are often regarded as “training babies” by millennials, who are delaying the rituals and milestones of adulthood longer than earlier generations. Because younger people humanize their pets and treat them as family members, they are more willing to pay for premium products and services. Focusing on the “new parents with a dog” market is a smart move for Chewy.com, given their passion and willingness to spend.

Chewy’s ads also make an economic case familiar to DTC or D2C brands. This ad stresses that all the products offered by Chewy are not only cheaper than those found in a brick and mortar retailer, they also come with free shipping.

It’s a powerful ad because today’s “pet parents” want to do more for their animals, but they may be constrained by lack of income (a particular problem for younger pet parents). Chewy’s ad maintains that it’s possible to buy the best for your animal by opting for their low overhead DTC model.

Chewy.com also released ads focusing on the ease of the delivery and exciting experience of “unboxing” a collection of dog food, treats and toys; an ad showing how Chewy.com customer service reps can assist with helping find food for dogs and cats who are “picky eaters”; and ads that feature specific owners and their dogs, all enjoying Chewy.com boxes.  

All of the ads are upbeat, brief and colorful and feature lots of testimonials and images of happy pets. Additionally, all of the company’s pet product marketing messages highlight at least one aspect of Chewy.com DTC value proposition: Cheaper products, easy delivery, the boxing experience, etc.

Experience-based Advertising and Pet Product Marketing, Chewy-style

Chewy operates on the premise that consumers only share two types of experiences online: Great ones and terrible ones. So Chewy, obviously, strives to generate the former.

The company has drawn notice for sending flowers and condolences to a customer who called to cancel an order after a pet’s unexpected death. The customer was stunned and appreciative and later shared the story on social media.

Chewy is also known for sending handwritten notes addressed directly to its customers’ pets — a whimsical touch that plays extremely well in an era when most of us humanize our animals.

The Takeaway for Pet Product Marketing

DTC brands seeking to build awareness, attract new audiences, and engage with their existing customers would do well to consider Chewy’s direct to consumer marketing, DTC advertising, and customer service model.

Chewy’s ads are not high concept; instead, they hammer home the core value proposition of the company’s DTC model and show plenty of happy and excited pets.

At Bigeye, we have the experience and expertise to create top drawer DTC ad campaigns such as those created by Chewy.com. Contact us today for more information about how we can help you reach your goals.

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Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Insurance Pet Supplies
pet marketing
pet marketing

Pet marketing in 2020: Consumer confidence may have waned, but pet owners still spend money on their dogs, cats, and other pets.

COVID-19 has generated plenty of concerns about health and finances all over the world. This global pandemic may have initially begun when the virus jumped from an animal to a human host. On the plus side, the CDC says that you probably don’t have to worry about pets getting sick or contributing to spreading the disease. Instead of making people leery of keeping pets, the crisis appears to have sparked interest in them.

In fact, pet ownership has even increased in the United States during these days of social isolation. Even better for pet product marketing, most sectors of the industry have proven remarkably resilient to past financial downturns. Still, pet industry trends and consumer behavior have changed abruptly during the current crisis. It’s important to understand what’s different about the COVID-19 outbreak than financial slumps of the past. That way, you can develop pet product marketing plans that will attract and retain today’s customers.

How has the coronavirus impacted pet marketing?

Even before coronavirus, marketers have touted pet product marketing as a typically recession-proof industry. That positive view of the overall pet business held true both during the Great Recession of the last decade and in the aftermath of 9/11 two decades ago.

Still, the current pandemic has generated both some new opportunities and new challenges for the pet business. For instance, previous economic downturns did not have associated stay-at-home orders and perhaps, did not occur quite this abruptly. While many retailers and marketers still have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic, others have struggled and may need to pivot their pet marketing plans rapidly in order to maintain and grow their business.

Local pet services face the most obstacles 

The virus has generated the most challenges for local pet services. In particular, locally owned businesses may struggle to survive. Travel restrictions and increased remote work have slashed the need for such services as pet boarding, daycare, and dog walkers. Restrictions on in-person contact have limited dog groomers, even if they’re considered essential businesses. People may delay some other discretionary services as they tighten their purse strings.

On the other hand, one sort of pet service has enjoyed an upswing. According to USA Today, pet shelters and adoption centers have not reported an increase in the number of pets dropped off because owners were either financially unable or too ill to take care of them. Actually, pet shelters have reported an increase in the number of people who have signed up to foster or adopt shelter pets.

Because of social distancing measures, people may have decided pets can help them cope with isolation. Others may simply have found more time to care for a furry friend. Also, many shelters and sponsoring agencies have made it possible to reduce or even eliminate adoption fees. Probably for multiple reasons, expect to see pet ownership increase and not decrease during the coronavirus outbreak.

Local retailers must take safety measures and find alternative business tactics

Most of the government stay-at-home orders consider pet stores an essential business. That means that they can stay open, even when non-essential businesses have had to close. At the same time, they’ve generally had to take more stringent safety measures to satisfy local regulations and of course, to keep their customers and employees safe. For instance, stores might limit foot traffic, have employees use PPE, and offer curbside service or new delivery options.

Keven Fink serves as the CEO of Worldwide, a pet products manufacturer. He said that many of his company’s local retailers should have prepared themselves better by leaning into online retailing a little more. He believes they should take advantage of their community presence by offering more online ordering with local pickup.

In this way, customers still won’t need to pay a shipping charge. Still, they can enjoy the convenience of contact-free payments, online ordering, and in many cases, same-day pickup. Traditionally, this model has served other types of retailers with physical stores very well. In addition to other marketing, physical stores could better position themselves by adding online pet supply marketing to their existing advertising.

How to benefit from the rise of online pet supply marketing 

Pet industry marketers will face challenges both during and shortly after the outbreak. Compared to an original project increase of five percent for 2020, the marketing research firm Packaged Facts predicts an overall 17 percent decline for the year. Most of that decline comes to a drop in such pet services as boarding, dog walking, and pet daycare services. Travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders mean that more people won’t need this kind of help. Packaged Facts also expects a somewhat more modest decline in other discretionary services and products but an increase in sales of such non-discretionary pet products as food and litter.

Along with obstacles, marketers can also find some growth opportunities. Online pet supply marketing already enjoyed steady growth before the outbreak. Mobile and online sales have been surging for all sorts of eCommerce. Pet product retailers and marketers should take this as good news because historically, online sales have tended to grow the overall market instead of cannibalizing other retail sales. Packaged Facts expects online sales to reach at least 24 percent of total industry sales in 2020 and grow to over 26 percent within five years.

Choosing an online platform

Larger retailers and distributors may already have their own eCommerce platform. Other pet product marketers may simply take advantage of the vast audience and developed infrastructure that Amazon already offers them. If a pet product supplier has a brick-and-mortar store, either option can offer a customer base that extends far beyond their local market.

Of course, many sellers have both a presence on Amazon and their own store. Managing both Amazon listings and a business website makes an marketing a bit more complex; however, it can also offer your business many advantages. For instance, you can run a newsletter from your site. You can also give customers a place to go to learn more about your company when they do their own research. At the same time, you can take advantage of Amazon’s vast customer base.

Tips to market Amazon pet products

Some benefits of pet product marketing on Amazon include:

  • A giant audience who spends billions of dollars each year on the site
  • The chance to provide excellent products and services and then earn repeat business without any other marketing
  • Tested backend support and infrastructure
  • Automatic referrals from Amazon’s recommendation algorithm
  • An implied level of trust from associating with Amazon

Even though Amazon has a lot of customers, pet sellers may also find plenty of competition in some niches. Dan Vas, a successful Amazon seller, says that he’s achieved success by differentiating his listings, even if they’re for the same products and brands other sellers promote. He shared such tactics as careful keyword research, high-quality images, and using page headings and text to let customers know how your product or business is unique and beneficial.

Amazon also allows sellers to set up autoship programs, which can automatically generate repeat sales. If you are promoting your Amazon listings, you might first run your visitors through your website in order to collect their email addresses. For instance, you might offer prospects a discount code in exchange for a subscription to your newsletter. Amazon has lots of restrictions on the way you can contact “their customers.” If you can collect email addresses earlier in the sales funnel, you won’t violate the rules.

Online pet business ideas

If you have a physical store or solely sell online, you can also differentiate yourself by your choice of pet supplies you focus upon selling. Sure, the demand for non-discretionary items has increased; however, those are the kinds of things that many viewers view as simple commodities. You may also find some opportunities with more discretionary pet supplies. For instance, you might decide that it’s a good time to consider advertising animal supplements and anti-anxiety pet products.

Advertising animal supplements

Animal supplements have also grown into a fairly large niche within the broader pet products category. For example, Beyond Animals markets natural supplements that may help with such issues as digestive health and improved immunity. Joshua Erret, the company’s chief revenue officer, says April sales doubled over March, and he expects this pet industry trend to continue.

Even though some large players dominate this market, a couple of factors may mean that smaller players still have room to grow. First, the population of pet owners keeps growing. Also, as people have become more interested in high-quality food and natural remedies for themselves, they’re also interested in providing these same alternatives for their pets.

Anti-anxiety pet products

No doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has generated its fair share of anxiety. Naturally, people feel uncertain about the future and are justifiably concerned about the disease. According to research from Trends.co, people also have concerns they have transferred some of these feelings to their pets.

For instance, keywords for such items as calming dog and cat beds generate several thousand searches a month on Google. Likewise, they’re also trending on Amazon. Besides soothing beds, other examples of anti-anxiety products might include calming pet jackets and aromatherapy gels and sprays.

Back to the topic of pet furniture, all sorts of dog or cat beds have proven popular. In fact, there’s now a pretty viral, organic social media movement around the subject of people accidentally discovering their small pets like IKEA doll beds. However, IKEA has already published statements that their doll beds are not intended for pets. Sellers with similar designs of beds that were designed for pets should have an easy time piggybacking on some of that attention.

Pitch social consciousness

Even before the current outbreak, consumers had increasingly preferred brands they perceived as more socially conscious. According to McKinsey Research, post-pandemic customers put even more emphasis on spending money on businesses that they believe will care about them and their communities. Lots of companies may make some token efforts to present themselves as socially conscious. If your company’s products are centered around improving communities, you will have an edge.

For instance, the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted the story of Piggyback Treats. One of the founders, Jennifer Kirby, said that their company works with farms and restaurants to collect food that would have otherwise been discarded. Some of their popular pet products include treats made from salmon skins or byproducts from making beer. They also make their pet food packaging out of sustainable materials.

According to Kirby, they had initially been devastated because they lost access to trade shows when the pandemic caused mass cancellations of in-person events. The company had already spent thousands of dollars to book booths and expected to recoup their money and make a profit through sales. On the positive side, online sales climbed steeply in March and April. Kirby said that their revenue would not make up for the amount they lost on trade shows, but it would be sufficient to sustain them until the crisis passes.

How the best pet websites have reacted to COVID-19

Your business should develop its own competitive advantages, so you don’t necessarily want to copy industry leaders. On the other hand, you should take the prudent step of studying their reactions to the coronavirus crisis to see if you can use some of their ideas to fit your own business model. Take a look at how some of the best pet websites have coped with the crisis in order to sustain and grow their business.

BarkBox

Barkbox offers a subscription program that delivers healthy pet treats and toys. This company joins the ranks of pet product marketing companies that have enjoyed increased revenue during the crisis. However, they also understand that many of their customers face financial uncertainty right now, so they’ve made a commitment to be very flexible with their subscription programs.

Chewy

Chewy has the distinction of being one online pet product marketer to outsell Amazon. During the outbreak, they’ve mostly struggled with scaling to meet demand while protecting employee health. While they plan to hire up to 10,000 more employees, they’ve also improved sanitation, added health benefits, and changed some work policies and processes. Also, Chewy has partnered with GreaterGood.org with a donation of $3 million for rescues and shelters all over the country.

The Dodo

The Dodo doesn’t manufacture or market pet products. Instead, they produce entertaining content that centers around animals. In addition to the overall increase in pet ownership, The Dodo has enjoyed an increase in viewers during the current crisis. The company’s president, YuJung Kim, says that they’ve also seen traffic spikes during times of natural disasters and even election cycles. He believes his site’s content offers viewers a bit of hope and respite during stressful times.

In any case, a pet supply marketer might take a lesson from The Dodo’s popularity. Adding some content focused on pet owners to your online platform could be an effective way to grow your audience. Sponsoring sites and social media influencers with this kind of content can offer you a somewhat simpler route to get started. From the standpoint that this sort of content can help relax and entertain people during these uncertain times, your audience may view this effort as socially responsible as donations. Of course, you can use the content to promote your business and your favorite worthy causes.

Large pet food brands offering sustainable pet food packaging

Besides Piggyback Treats, a number of national and even international brands have explored using more sustainable pet food packaging. According to Pet Food Industry, almost 60 percent of customers report a more favorable view of businesses that avoid or reduce single-use plastics in their packages.

Some large brands that have either introduced or explored more sustainable packaging include Royal Canin, Wellness, and Purina. Some of these manufacturers have developed biodegradable packages, while others have encouraged recycling. You can use your support for sustainable products to help promote your own brand as socially conscious too.

Moving forward to enjoy the boom in online pet food industry marketing

Lots of your customers may have tightened their budgets right now. At the same time, today’s pet owners tend to regard their furry friends as part of the family. Thus, pet owners want a good value. At the same time, they won’t always skimp on quality, especially for essential pet items. In general, consumers also like to spend their money on brands that have the same ideals that they do. That means your own investment in being a good neighbor and a reliable source of quality products can provide you with great returns.

Most of all, you can enjoy an expanding market of new pet owners and more reasons to offer online shopping. Your attention to researching and marketing trending pet products can help you gain an edge against larger competitors. There’s not a one-size-fits all model for every sort of business; however, you can study your competitors to determine which of their successful tactics can also help your pet business thrive.

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Marketing/Business Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Insurance Pet Supplies
pet product marketing scaled 1
pet product marketing scaled 1

Find out how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted pet product sales, and how your pet product marketing can take advantage of opportunities.

In the past, marketers thought of pet product marketing as reliably recession-resistant. According to Pet Food Industry, an industry journal, that proved true both after 911 and during the Great Recession of 2008. In contrast, industry forecasters do expect to see at least a temporary drop in some pet product sales during the coronavirus crisis.

Of course, pet owners still need to feed and care for Fluffy and Fido. Because of this, not all kinds of products will suffer, and the market should rebound by next year. In fact, some brands have continued to do quite well during the crisis. Take a minute to understand the state of the current market and how a pet product marketing agency or retailer can appeal to customers.

Challenges to pet product marketing during the coronavirus

These are some recent recent forecast for U.S. retail sales for pet product marketing and sales that Pet Food Industry published:

  • Post-pandemic forecasts assume a 17 percent drop in U.S. retail sales of pet products for 2020 to 2021. Before the pandemic, those same forecasts predicted a five percent increase.
  • If true, these declines will translate into about $18 billion less revenue in 2020 than in 2019.
  • The forecasts do predict that the market will begin to recover in 2021. This rebound underscores the strength of the market for pet food and other pet products in the United States.

Pet product marketing opportunities during the coronavirus crisis

While forecasters expect pet product marketing to struggle during the next year, some kinds of products may not suffer as much. For example:

  • Industry analysts believe non-medical pet services, vet services, and non-food pet supplies will have the largest drops.
  • On the other hand, these same forecasters expect non-discretionary product sales to maintain modest growth.

Non-discretionary products include such necessary items as pet food and cat litter. Even with these need-to-have items, expect to see consumers looking for value by turning more to sales and in some cases, store brands.

Pet ownership may actually increase during COVID-19

Packaged Facts provides industry research for several industries, including pet products. Their research director, David Sprinkle, believes that U.S. pet ownership might even increase during this crisis. He said that happened during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2008. It’s even more likely to happen now because pets can provide comfort and companionship during these times of social isolation measures. As more people have switched to remote work, they may also feel they have more time to care for a pet.

Surges expected for eCommerce pet product sales

Even before the current crisis, eCommerce sales of pet products had begun to grow at a steady pace. As with other packaged goods, the online part of the market has continued to climb during the outbreak. Consumers may feel reluctant to leave their homes to shop as much and might even have trouble finding their favorite brands reliably stocked in stores.

In addition, once pet owners find an eCommerce retailer who offers competitive prices, they often decide that ordering pet products online provides them with convenience and affordability. In any case, Packaged Facts expects the online share of the market to reach 24 percent in 2020 and over 26 percent by 2021.

Maintaining and growing sales during the coronavirus pandemic

A pet product agency can take some comfort in the potential growth in pet ownership and a strong demand for such essential pet supplies as food and cat litter. While other niches may slump somewhat, they won’t completely drop off and are expected to resume growing again by next year.

Based on these insights for the current state of the industry, businesses can take some steps to position their own pet business better. For instance, good tactics might include offering competitive prices for essential pet products to attract and keep customers. Those same customers are still likely to consider some discretionary pet purchases.

Maintaining or creating pet products brand loyalty

At least when it comes to pet food, most owners tend to remain pretty loyal to certain brands. If their pet appears to like a certain kind of food and that food keeps them healthy, their owners will generally keep buying it. As most pet owners know, switching brands can take a period of adjustment, so that’s something most people would rather avoid.

A survey from Civic Science found that even during the pandemic, just about three-quarters of pet owners had more concerns about pet food quality than price. As an interesting note to help develop buyer personas, women, people who cook a lot for themselves, and older people appear most concerned about quality. Dog owners seemed somewhat more concerned than cat owners.

People who value quality the most will tend to turn to online retailers; however, people who also value patronizing locally owned businesses also tend to care a lot about quality. This also suggests that locally owned business could have a good chance to grow their business with online ordering options.

To dig a little deeper, the survey also asked these pet owners some specific questions about their buying behavior:

  • Brand vs. price: Where 40 percent said brand mattered more than price, only 14 percent said price mattered more. To be fair, almost half of the survey respondents said that they considered price and brand just about equally important. Unsurprisingly, typical consumers would rather save money but not at the expense of quality.
  • Sources: About 55 percent of the respondents said they bought their pet food at the store. Of these, 43 percent shopped at either a grocery or discount store and 28 percent purchased from a local or chain pet store. Online sales from Amazon and other online retailers captured about 29 percent of sales.

In conclusion, pet owners do tend do demonstrate brand loyalty. On the other hand, most of these consumers would prefer to find a good deal that won’t make them sacrifice quality. Also, while the number of online shoppers keeps increasing, a majority of pet owners still tend to pick up pet products locally, very often when they’re doing their own shopping.

Consumer pet product shopping concerns

Also, the Civic Science survey asked if pet owners shopped online more now because of the pandemic. About 17 percent said that they did, but seven percent said they shopped online less. Over a third of pet owners replied that they had concerns about obtaining enough pet food during the crisis and almost two-thirds said they had stocked up with enough products to last for at least three weeks.

Some of the steadily increasing demand for essential pet products may come from people stocking up because they have concerns about finding their favorite brands on the shelves. Pet product marketing might do well to focus upon ensuring consumers that they will provide a steady, reliable supply of high-quality pet food to ensure and increase brand loyalty.

Online pet product marketing companies weathering the coronavirus well

Because of social distancing, online shopping for all kinds of products has enjoyed rapid growth during the pandemic. In order to improve pet product marketing for any particular retailer or brand, it helps to look at companies that have demonstrated the most growth. For example, Chewy has recently announced they would hire over 6,000 people to handle the surge in demand at fulfillment centers.

This online retailer has had to contend with higher costs both for labor and for putting additional safety measures in place to protect employee health. On the other hand, Chewy doesn’t operate retail stores at all, so they haven’t had to worry about any fallout from decreased foot traffic or even closed stores.

So, what gives Chewy a competitive advantage for pet product marketing over many other online retailers? Even just before the pandemic, Motley Fool called Chewy a “millionaire making” stock. Even though many marketers consider Amazon unbeatable for online sales, Chewy has managed to take the largest online retail in the world on. A lot of people might regret failing to take the Motley Fool’s advice to buy Chewy stock back in January, but there’s still time to learn from this example.

What is Chewy’s competitive advantage over other online retailers?

Chewy concentrated only upon pet product marketing and nothing else. Mostly, Chewy has managed to stay even with Amazon for prices, selection, reliability, and convenience. Both of these large retailers also have the resources to budget for competitive keywords and other marketing tactics.

Chewy beat Amazon by going the distance to provide exceptional customer service. Examples include hand-written welcome and sympathy cards and even sometimes, hand-drawn portrait photos. Typically, Chewy also employs pet owners who also own pets, so they’re very engaged with the market.

While Chewy has increased private-label product sales, they mostly sell other brands. They have worked on developing their private-label pet packaging design with lots of images of cute, happy pets and big lettering that explains the product’s benefits. You can actually find images of these packages shared quite a bit on Pinterest and other sites. Still, it will probably take some time to get many brand-loyal pet owners to switch, even if they can save money.

Mostly, the company accepts low margins or even losses upon first-time sales because they offer lots of coupons to encourage new customers. They work to profit by retaining customers with discounts for enrolling in the autoship program and by steadily increasing the types and brands of products they sell.

The company has found that repeat customers tend to buy more after having positive experiences with their first purchases. Obviously, Chewy also promotes the popular idea that pets are family members and certainly not just creatures. Their customers tend to identify with the brand because they believe the brand identifies with them.

The future of pet product marketing after coronavirus

Americans have proven famously loyal to their pets, even during economic downturns. Very often, pet owners will compromise on themselves before sacrificing their pet’s needs. Previous economic downturns have demonstrated this quite well. While many pet owners still shop locally, they’re increasingly turning to eCommerce pet stores for convenience, selection, and pricing. Smaller or newer online retailers may have to struggle to compete with giants like Amazon to get a share of new sales.

Providing great service and high-quality products at competitive prices can help. Pet product marketing can attract and retain new customers with price promotions, loyalty programs, and discounted autoshipping offers. By taking a page from Chewy, going the extra mile to prove that a company cares about pets and their pet parents can provide a competitive advantage that won’t necessarily require a huge investment.

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Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Insurance Pet Supplies Video Production
pet product videos scaled 1
pet product videos scaled 1

The pet industry has never been more competitive. Here’s what you need to know about making pet product videos that engage audiences.

It’s hard to understate the affection people have for their pets. According to the American Pet Products Association, the pet industry now averages more than $99 billion annually in sales, and is one of the fastest-growing retail segments. The rate of pet ownership (or “pet parentage”) in the US also continues to climb, as millennials and members of Gen Z adopt or buy pets with greater frequency than older generations.

Given these developments, it’s obvious that the pet industry is a massive and lucrative market. Yet it’s also extremely competitive. So how do pet product companies move to the front of the pack and establish a dominant competitive position? Clever use of video — and the help of a skilled third party video production company — can make all the difference.

The trick to shooting great pet videos

How important is video to a digital marketing strategy these days? Consider this: Mobile video consumption doubles every year, six in ten people prefer online videos to television and online videos will comprise 82% of all Internet traffic by 2022 — an increase of 1,500% since 2017. With numbers like these, you don’t have to be a marketing genius to understand how important video is, both now and in the future.

You can’t just slap together any video and watch the conversions roll in, however. The brands that get the most bang for their marketing budgets are those who create the kind of video content that aligns with viewer desires and preferences. Sometimes that can be done internally, but other times it may require help from an agency specializing in pet video marketing services.

With that in mind, let’s dive into some tips for making pet product videos that dazzle pet owners.

10 tips for better pet product videos

  1. When making a video, don’t forget to create an eye-catching thumbnail. Many readers will click away from an article if the first sentence doesn’t interest them. The thumbnail plays the same role here; if it doesn’t spark interest, the video may get ignored. The same principle applies to the first five seconds of your video, as many people simply lack the patience for a slow build.
  2. Many app users have their default setting for videos set to mute. Because of this, it’s essential to anticipate this by incorporating subtitles and visually engaging graphics.
  3. Tell a story, but take a fresh angle. Pet parents have in inexhaustible appetite for pet content, yet many of the topics have been well mined at this point. By approaching a familiar narrative at an off-kilter angle, you can spark greater interest.
  4. Make sure you create a steady, regular flow of video content. If you want to build an audience, you can’t publish pet videos in fits and starts. You need to be consistent in terms of your schedule.
  5. Tailor your videos to the channel or the platform. Instagram, for example, is extremely visual, so there’s less of a need to devote time to copy, and more of a need to consider visual elements. Snapchat, on the other hand, is a great place to release more irreverent or playful videos. On Twitter, it makes sense to integrate more videos into regular tweets. Tweets featuring video are 600% more likely to be re-tweeted than photo tweets.
  6. Create dedicated video playlists that group content together. This feature works best on Facebook and YouTube, and helps organize your content for easy accessibility.
  7. Tap into the enormous pool of pet bloggers and pet account operators. If you’ve spent any time on major social media platforms, you realize that pet content is everywhere. The pool of potential creators is limitless. By identifying some of the best amateur talent online, you can generate ideas and partner to create promotional content.
  8. Make a significant investment in TikTok promotion. This short-form video app continues to take over social media. One of its secret weapons? Funny pet videos. Ignore this platform at your own risk, because it has enormous cachet with younger pet parents and soon-to-be pet parents.
  9. Create videos that have an emotional appeal. This applies to almost every product category, but it is especially relevant for pet brands. Pet parents love their animals, while consumers merely like the products they own and (possibly) identify with the brand. Given this emotional investment, the right video can resonate deeply — this famous tear-jerking video is still a topic of cultural conversation 13 years after it was shot. 
  10. Finally, come up with a great idea and keep it short and simple. That’s a prescription for a video that strikes a chord and is widely shared.

Finding the right video marketing agency

If you need help with pet marketing services, we encourage you to contact Bigeye. Our team of skilled creatives has the pet industry expertise and the technical skills to do what other video advertising companies can’t.

Reach out today and let us help put together your next great pet products campaign. 

Categories
Influencer Marketing Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Insurance Pet Supplies
influencer marketing scaled 1
influencer marketing scaled 1

Don’t knock influencer marketing when building your strategy for pet products. This type of marketing amplifies word-of-mouth marketing through social media.

Do you trust a random TV actor pitching a product?

What about a celebrity pitch person — someone you’re familiar with? Would you trust this person more?

How about a close personal friend whose opinions you respect? Does their product recommendation carry even greater weight?

In most cases, the answer to these questions are all in the affirmative. There is a definite spectrum in terms of whom we trust — that’s one reason why word-of-mouth marketing has historically been so effective. People trust friends, family members and people they respect more than faceless corporations.

Influencer content marketing offers many of the same benefits associated with word-of-mouth marketing, and amplifies those benefits by including the reach of social media. Let’s take a closer look at the current state of influencer marketing, how it can specifically be used to sell pet products more effectively, and the benefits of working with an influencer marketing agency.

Influencer marketing: a maturing market

The growth of influencer marketing has been nothing short of astonishing over the last few years. Just consider these statistics from Influencer Marketing Hub’s “The State of Influencer Marketing in 2020” report:

  • The industry is worth nearly $10 billion, growing from $1.6 billion in 2016.
  • Average earned media value per $1 spent has jumped to more than $5.
  • The number of micro-influencers used by large companies has tripled in three years.
  • 80% of respondents plan to have a dedicated influencer marketing budget in 2020.
  • 91% of respondents believe influencer marketing is an effective tactic for growing a customer base.

As those statistics show, it’s on a rapid growth trajectory. Yet to get the most out of your influencer marketing campaigns, it’s essential to have your finger on the pulse of evolving trends. eMarketer’s recently published “2018 Influencer Marketing Report” cites the following trends for 2020:

  • 48% of businesses plan on using celebrity (or “macro”) influencers, while 45% will use micro influencers.
  • Instagram is the preferred platform for influencer marketing, with 100% of report respondents using it. 85% use Facebook, 67% reported using YouTube, Snapchat 44% and Twitter 33%.
  • TikTok, which is seeing some of the fastest growth among social platforms, is expected to be a major player in influencer campaigns in 2020.
  • Influencers will continue to cross-over from having niche social media followings to being full-fledged celebrities. While this will give the most prominent macro influencers more leverage with businesses seeking to work with them, it also greatly expands their potential orbit of influence.

How can this be applied to pet products?

The pet industry is a natural home for influencers. People are devoted to their animals and love to consume and share pet-related content over social media. It’s estimated that one-quarter of all social content is pet-related and that one-fifth of pet owners have created a social media account specifically for their animal. The #dogsofinstagram hashtag alone is closing in on 200 million posts. Social media influencer marketing agencies that are solely dedicated to working with famous animal accounts have sprung up in the last couple of years, attesting to the power of this phenomenon.

Companies seeking to sell pet products, therefore, have a powerful advantage relative to businesses in other industries: An army of potential influencers waiting to be leveraged. Pet bloggers and owners of pet social media accounts number in the millions, which means that the pool of available influencer talent is vast. Given that the ability to source influencers is perennially ranked as one of the most difficult challenges for firms engaged in influencer marketing, this is a considerable advantage.

There is an obvious parallel to be drawn here: Mommy bloggers. Brands, over the last ten years, profited enormously from their partnership with high-profile mommy bloggers, who were able to build vast and deeply engaged audiences across various social platforms and websites. Parent-focused social media marketing become a core strategy for countless brands, and helped generate billions in new revenue.

Pet industry brands have a similar opportunity to leverage pet bloggers in the same way, given their sizable numbers and considerable reach. Pairing this approach with some of the trends we’ve cited above is a winning strategy for 2020 (we especially encourage brands to focus on integrating TikTok into their influencer marketing strategy, as that platform is poised to become perhaps only second to Instagram in terms of cultural cachet and reach).

Finding the right influencer marketing agency

At Bigeye, we are experts at crafting compelling influencer marketing campaigns rooted in a deep understanding of the latest trends and technologies. If your pet product campaign needs a boost, we encourage you to reach out to us today — and learn what the right influencer marketing campaign can do for your brand.

Categories
Marketing/Business Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Insurance Pet Supplies
pet product marketing
pet product marketing

Pets have graduated to full-fledged family members. Here’s what brands need to know to ensure their pet product marketing is keeping pace.

Pets aren’t really pets anymore. Today, many people are more likely to regard themselves as “parents” rather than “owners” of their animals — and they want the very best for their children. Pet product marketing needs to reflect this cultural change — and brands that fail to adapt will soon fall out of favor with pet-crazed consumers.

Trending towards humanization

One stroll through a pet store or a dog park will tell you everything you need to know about how the treatment of pets in society has evolved. A generation or two ago, parents would often purchase or adopt a dog or a cat “for the children” and then provide the animal with the bare minimum level of care and attention.

Today’s pets are comparatively lavished with attention, and there are a few reasons for this shift. First, millennials have delayed marriage and child-rearing longer than any previous generation, largely due to economic uncertainty. Pets serve as “proxy children” or “starter children” for many people in this segment.

Second, the proliferation of social media has created a situation where everyone wants to document and share their lives – and pets play a major role in this. Open up Instagram, Facebook or any other social app, and you’ll be deluged with animal photos.

Pet ownership numbers have also sharply increased, rising from 56% to 68% over the last three decades. As you might expect, younger people are overrepresented in pet ownership, accounting for 62% of all pet owning households.

How the pet industry – and pet ownership – are evolving

Changing cultural dynamics around pet ownership are reflected in larger trends inside the pet industry. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the most important trends, and how pet product marketing is adapting.

  • Direct to consumer pet boxes 

 Brands have used the DTC subscription box model to great effect, as it allows consumers to feel like they are receiving a gift in the mail each month and doesn’t require driving to a brick and mortar shop. This model has been especially successful in the pet sector; brands such as Bark have experienced fast growth by shipping curated boxes of dog treats and toys direct to consumer doorsteps.

  • Elevated pet food 

The days of feeding pets undifferentiated food brands of questionable quality are over. Today, pet owners are buying pet food much in the same way they purchase human products — and pet food marketing should reflect this. Witness the recent craze over grain-free dog food, which mimics in some ways the “gluten-free” craze of the last few years.

  • TV for dogs 

Pet parents are understandably worried about leaving their animals alone for extended periods of time. Dog TV — a new network that creates dog-centric television programming – purports to solve this problem. When you depart for work in the morning, you can position your dog in front of the TV screen, where he can watch hours of programming calibrated to his interest and level of understanding.

  • Dating apps for dog lovers 

People have famously highlighted pet photos in their Tinder profiles for years, but Dig takes this to the next level. Dig is a dating app for dog lovers that helps set up canine-friendly dates. Unlike other dating apps, women outnumber men by a significant portion on Dig, which gives the app another interesting wrinkle.

Finding the right pet care marketing agency

Most pet product marketing agencies produce campaigns that are all bark with no bite. Bigeye is different – we’re a team of talented creatives, tech wizards and strategic thinkers, and we all have one thing in common: We love pets, and we’re great at producing high-level pet industry market research.

Come visit our website, and we’ll be sure to show you a few tricks to help you catalyze your next pet product marketing campaign.

Categories
Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Supplies
global pet expo scaled
global pet expo scaled

The 2019 Global Pet Expo shined a light on some of the most interesting trends in pet ownership and pet care marketing. Here’s what we learned.

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of pets, the Global Pet Expo is a required stop. Much as the famed CES shines a spotlight on the latest consumer electronics offerings, this expo offers a window into the newest trends and products within the pet industry. If you’re in the pet business — or the pet care marketing business — it’s a vitally important date on the calendar.

So what did we learn from this year’s “petpreneur” extravaganza? Let’s take a look at the latest products and trends about to capture the imagination of pet lovers everywhere.

What pet owners will be buying this year and beyond

The Global Pet Expo offers an early look at innovative new pet industry products, and this year was no exception. The multi-day expo featured hundreds of new products designed to address lingering problems within the pet care market.

Those products included:

  • Leashes that attach to bicycles, allowing dog owners to “walk” their pets while cycling.
  • Portable water bottles custom designed for a dog’s mouth that offer easy drinking during walks and hikes.
  • Licking pads. These pads can be smeared with peanut butter or any other sticky substance and then used to divert a pet while nails are being trimmed or paws cleaned — a boon for anyone who has ever struggled with a pet who hates nail trimming.
  • Recyclable and compostable bags for cleaning up doggy messes.
  • Crash tested car carriers and harnesses (these operate much like a child safety seat).
  • Tick removal devices that function much more effectively than simple tweezers.
  • Catnip-infused crayons.
  • Neon colored kitty litter.
  • Backpacks designed for portable cat carrying.

Product displays are always a good barometer of what’s happening in the pet sector, both in terms of consumer offerings and overall trends.

Let’s take a closer look at the pet industry developments shaping 2019 and beyond.

What pet owners will see more of in the coming years

If you want to predict the future of pet care, simply counting booth types inside the Global Pet Expo offers a rough — but fairly accurate — yardstick. As you might expect, at this year’s event pet-focused CBD offerings were thick on the ground, as were boutique/specialty food and treat purveyors.

Additionally, the American Pet Products Association (the sponsor organization of the Global Pet Expo) compiled new research examining emerging trends within the pet industry. Among the most prominent trends cited are:

  • Direct to consumer subscription boxes for pet owners.
  • Pet food composed of human-grade ingredients.
  • Ethically sourced and non-GMO pet food.
  • More pets being kept in the classroom. This trend, which allows teachers to keep small pets for students, is being supported by grant money and charitable donations.
  • Continued expansion of the backyard chicken movement. This practice is more widespread than many realize. According to U.S. Census data, 1% of homes raise backyard chickens and an additional 4% plan to begin doing so within four years.

By understanding the role new products and trends play within the industry, brands can perform more accurate audience analysis and create deeply compelling marketing messages for today’s pet owners.

Partnering with the right pet care marketing agency

If you want to get the most out of your pet care marketing, you need to stay current with evolving industry trends. You also need inspiring creative work, deep sector expertise and advanced technological tools.

At BIGEYE, we can help you connect with your ideal market. We can also help with package design, branding, TV production  and the entire full service marketing stack.

Reach out to us today to learn more about what the right pet care marketing agency can do for you. 

Categories
Audience Audience Analysis Marketing/Business Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Supplies
Pet food marketing scaled
Pet food marketing scaled

Pet food marketing requires more than creativity – you need hard data to inform an audience analysis. Here’s what the stats say about pet marketing in 2019.

If you want to sell pet products, you need to know your audience on a fundamental level. That requires hard data — the raw material that facilitates proper audience segmentation. Without it, your pet food marketing campaigns will be scattershot, poorly targeted and irrelevant to most of the people you reach.

Fortunately, we’ve collected the data and consumer insights you need to connect with the right pet-owning audience.

The pet-owning audience, by the numbers

Audience research can provide us with critical insight. It tells us who pet owners are, how they spend their money and the hobbies, interests and priorities that drive them. Armed with this data, it becomes possible to create finely targeted pet food marketing campaigns that resonate with buyers and spur them into action.

This market data can be broken down into three primary categories: Commercial data, demographic data and personal interest data.

Let’s take a closer look at all three, beginning with commercial data.

What commercial pet owner data tells us

Examining how pet owners spend their money gives us clear insight into buyer motivation. Unlike with consumers surveys or interviews, there is little open to interpretation here. These are quantifiable numbers, which makes them highly reliable.

Consider the following:

84.6% of pet owners in the U.S. are searching for products or services they want to buy.

93.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are visiting online retail sites such as Amazon.

60.1% of pet owners in the U.S. are the main shoppers in their households.

81.9% of pet owners in the U.S. are always looking for the best deals for products they want to buy.

Additionally, free delivery, coupons, and discounts increase the likelihood of U.S. pet owners buying a product online; followed next by reviews from other consumers.

Pet owners in the U.S. typically discover new brands and products through TV ads and word-of-mouth recommendations. Search engine recommendations and online ads are next in order of importance.

What demographic pet owner data tells us

Demographic information also plays a critical role in audience analysis by illuminating who owns pets, the kinds of pets they own and their financial attributes.

For example:

U.S. pet owners are 51.2% female; 48.8% male.

49% of U.S. pet owners are married; the slight majority are childless.

Household incomes of pet owners are in the mid-50th percentile.

Dogs are the most common pet (71.8%), followed by cats (49.6%).

What personal hobby and interest pet owner data tells us

By evaluating how pet owners spend their time and gauging their hobbies and interests, it’s possible to create tailored pet food marketing messages designed to resonate with audiences. Package design, product naming and other creative processes are more informed by analyzing this kind of data.

Hobby and interest data shows us the following about today’s pet owners:55.4% of pet owners are interested in wildlife/nature; camping and hiking are their next greatest interests (47%) followed by technology (46.6%).

FOX, CNN, ESPN, Food Network, History Channel and HGTV are the most-watched networks by pet owners.

U.S. pet owners report being fans of the NFL (55.5%), baseball (42.9%), basketball (40.1%), soccer (38.5%) and hockey (25.6%).

Pet owners in the U.S. are most likely to participate in the following sports and activities: swimming, exercise classes such as yoga and spinning, basketball, soccer, and golf.

U.S. pet owners enjoy cooking, food & drinks, traveling, DIY and home improvement and gardening more than the average person (and, of course, pets and pet care).

Choosing the right pet food marketing firm

A great marketing agency uses all tools at its disposal: Hard research data, engaging creative work, deeply informed audience analysis and sophisticated technology. At BIGEYE, we have the tool suite to help you create the kind of compelling pet food marketing campaign that truly moves the needle.

Contact us today to learn more about pet food package design, logo design, SEO, TV production, and other services.

Categories
Audience Audience Analysis Pet Pet Food Pet Health & Wellness Pet Supplies
cropped Dog Food 2 scaled
cropped Dog Food 2 scaled

Millennials are a natural audience for pet food marketing — but they shouldn’t be your sole focus. Let’s find out why casting a wider net is the smarter play.

We get it — millennials are the cat’s pajamas. They represent a huge generation with a lot of buying power. Thousands of bloggers have written millions of think pieces examining why millennials are such a critical audience. And — even better — they’re huge pet lovers. So why are we going to tell you to cast your gaze elsewhere when creating your next pet food marketing campaign?

Let’s find out.

Why millennials should not be your sole marketing focus

Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. They own pets at a higher rate than Baby Boomers. Millennials treat their pets as proxy children, showering them with attention and expensive products.

A pet food marketing practitioner’s dream, right?

Sure — but that dream can quickly turn nightmarish if you develop tunnel vision. Millennials may check all the boxes in terms of a pet marketing audience, but let’s consider a few other facts:

  • 65% of pet owners in the U.S. are not millennials.
  • The average millennial has a net worth of just $8,000.
  • The median net worth for Baby Boomers is $360,000.
  • Gen X has a median annual income that’s 250% higher than millennials.
  • Baby Boomers spend $548 billion on products annually, $200 million more than Gen X, the next closest cohort.
  • Baby Boomers are responsible for 70%  of all disposable income in the US.

Millennials aren’t looking quite so dreamy now, are they? They love animals — there’s no doubt about that. Yet they pale in comparison to older buyers in terms of raw spending power. Though they haven’t been the subject of countless marketing think pieces, older Americans still control consumer spending in almost every category, including pets.

That’s the financial case for diversifying your marketing approach.

Yet there’s also a cultural case — and it runs in the opposite direction.

Don’t overlook Gen Z…and tailor your messages to the appropriate market

The same financial arguments that apply to Millennials apply doubly to Gen Z, whose vanguard are just now reaching their early 20s. Yet brands would be foolish to overlook them: They are another massive cohort with equally massive devotion to their pets. Gen Z pet ownership numbers are expected to eventually exceed those of millennials, who are already the top generation in terms of ownership percentage.

Fortunately, there is lots of overlap between the two groups in terms of how they view pets. Both humanize their animals and both are willing to pay more to furnish them with the best products and experiences.

However, there are some differences as well. Gen Z members are more skeptical in terms of branding messages and less likely to believe claims that products are special because they are organic or all natural. They tend to dislike overly curated branding and favor a more direct and unmediated approach, and this particularly applies to brand identity.

Brands engaged in pet food marketing should also consider the desires and priorities of older buyers. Baby Boomers preceded the pet humanization trend; as such, they are more likely to have conventional notions about pet food and pet care.

Older buyers are also receptive to marketing messages that emphasize how pet products will help make their own lives easier. The demands of keeping a pet are often much harder on older consumers, so it’s important that brands consider that angle of the pet ownership experience when marketing products.

Finding the right pet marketing agency

A smart, forward-thinking marketing agency understands the value of audience analysis. If you’re pitching to one segment to the exclusion of another, you’re hurting your bottom line.

At BIGEYE, we can help you create a comprehensive pet food marketing campaign that speaks to all audiences.