Key Marketing Insights From Pet Industry Execs

Issue #42

January 30th, 2024

Quick Hits:

🐶 How would your dog dress?

👮 Paw & Order stuffed animal unit

🐕 We’re dogs…

📺 Dogs have their favorite TV shows as well

🦠 If people can be allergic to pets, can pets be allergic to people?

• Cosmo raises - The turn-key private label received investment from a private equity firm.

• Dogtopia - The pet wellness brand had a massive 2023.

• Space needed - Nestle’s Purina PetCare recently paid $108 for warehouse and manufacturing facilities.

• Doubling down on canned - Hill’s Pet Nutrition opened its newest manufacturing plant to double the company’s production capacity.

• Farmers Dog - The fresh food company just announced a joint partnership with the World Small Animal Veterinary Association

• Going big down under - Lyka Pet Food has established a new $16 million flagship premium pet food manufacturing in Victoria.

Our guest author this week Dan Nagler is the founder of Pack Partners, a partnership consultancy for pet brands, and brings 20+ years of cross-functional business development, partnership marketing, and strategy expertise. 

Marketing can feel overwhelming.

Brands big and small are faced with consistent pressure to grow. Crafting and executing a marketing strategy is rife with unknowns and potential pitfalls. For some, it can be incredibly costly to make the wrong bets. 

If you’re a marketer, or care about driving growth, you are likely evaluating all of the possibilities and hearing that you should lean into or focus on many of the following: content, community, building brand, influencers, partnerships, organic, SEO, social, events, humanization, personalization, AI and so much more! 

There are countless ways to refine your marketing approach, and attempt to focus on what might work for your brand.

For me, looking across the pet industry, I believe we can all learn from each other. So I asked leaders at two buzzy brands, Maxbone, and Spot Pet Insurance to share their marketing perspectives – consider these insights as a window into what they too are experiencing and seeing. My guess is that there is a nugget or two that could help further shape your marketing efforts in 2024 and beyond.

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What's a marketing highlight or two from your 2023 efforts?

Mariana Alves, Head of Marketing (Maxbone):  For us, it was meaningful initiatives that brought real value to our customers. For example, we dropped an exclusive holiday design, the Christian Cowan Glitz jumper, which quickly sold out within a few days due to its relevance to our audience at the time. We also teamed up with influencers and content creators who share our brand's mission, and it's been incredible to see our community evolve so much, boosting brand loyalty. We're excited to keep building strong connections that go beyond just a transaction.

Joe Tofilon, VP of Sales (Spot): We saw a 150% increase in follower count and impressions in 2023, largely driven by utilizing meme marketing, user-generated content, and focusing on short-form video creative.

What marketing channels or tactics have your attention for 2024 and why?

Mariana Alves, Head of Marketing (Maxbone): Our focus is on cultivating partnerships with like-minded brands that share our values. Over the years, we've collaborated with top-notch companies such as Away, OUAI, Illesteva, and Disney. However, our emphasis on aligning with brands that resonate with our mindset has become more important than ever. We see this as a strategy for not only achieving brand exposure but also for fostering a narrative that truly reflects the essence of our brand. 

Joe Tofilon, VP of Sales (Spot): Creators with engaged communities will become more than just brand ambassadors; they'll be integral to product development, campaign planning, and distribution. Think "micro-influencers" with deep audience trust and niche expertise. While platforms like TikTok and Instagram will remain important, look for collaborations beyond established platforms, exploring creator communities on Twitch, Discord, and member/loyalty groups.

What's one macro trend you're keeping your eye on?

Mariana Alves, Head of Marketing (Maxbone): The rise in pet ownership resulted in the increasing trend of humanization in the pet care space. While we leverage technology to gain insights and improve our shopping experience, we recognize the value of the human touch in our connections. Pet owners are looking for not just convenience but also a genuine, personalized experience that understands the unique bond they share with their pets. While AI can make us more efficient, the authenticity of human interactions and the personalized care we provide will always be crucial in our relations with our customers

Joe Tofilon, VP of Sales (Spot): Hyper-personalization: Leveraging AI and data, look for highly personalized ad experiences tailored to individual preferences and real-life pet scenarios. Ads will adapt in real-time based on user behavior and context, displaying the most relevant message at the right moment.

If budget wasn't an issue, where would you want to double down and why?

Mariana Alves, Head of Marketing (Maxbone): While our holistic strategy aims for seamless online experiences, doubling down on face-to-face connections and amplifying our offline presence is a great way to bring our brand to life and foster real connections.

Joe Tofilon, VP of Sales (Spot): Podcasting as we have seen this trend increase by triple digits from 2022 to 2023. Podcasts offer a unique way to connect with an audience, build trust, and shape brand image through storytelling.

What's one piece of marketing advice would you share with startups in the pet space? 

Mariana Alves, Head of Marketing (Maxbone): Be a company worth buying from. Don’t follow what everyone else is doing and try to find your own voice in the category. Focus on authenticity, innovation, and a genuine commitment to addressing the specific needs of your customers.

Joe Tofilon, VP of Sales (Spot): Focus on engaging and organic omnichannel experiences, targeting social media. Invest in an organic marketing strategy and prioritize your data to identify and understand your audience.

• Foul mouth - A wildlife park has an unusual outbreak - parrots are teaching other parrots to swear.

• Not what you want to be known for - Pennsylvania is officially, the fat dog capital of America

• Skippy - Was named the winner of the 2024 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year award.

• AI Pet - Snapchat is planning to debut a generative AI pet.

• Globetrotters - Sponge Cake, Donut, & Mocha are some of the most well-traveled felines in the world.

• Data breach - A new study reveals alarming data privacy concerns in pet care technology. 

• Cat miraculously beats cancer - All this cat needed was a bit of love.

• Bearded Dragon = Salmonella? - A rare salmonella strain has been traced back to pet bearded dragons, according to a new study.

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• The cost of feeding your dog - A new study reveals the cost of feeding your dog in every country. Where does your country rank?

• Mealworm - Ÿnsect, the insect protein company was just granted authorization to use defatted mealworm proteins within dog nutrition.

• Another Recall - This time, from Viva Raw Pet Food.

You reached the end, you deserve a treat 🍖

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Finally, what do you call a large dog that meditates?

Aware wolf.

See you next week!

The Woof is a weekly newsletter dedicated to covering the pet industry.