Getting Furry: successful campaigns that build an authentic, emotional connection with pet owners

On Monday 20^th February it was Love your Pet Day. To celebrate, we took a closer look at the effectiveness of pet-orientated Out-of-Home (OOH) campaigns by pet FMCG brands, pet insurers and animal non-profit organisations.
In a saturated market of pet products, consumers often feel lost for choice. Brands need to work hard to stand out and achieve cut-through. But what unites both pet owners and pet brands is their love for their furry friends. This shared emotional connection opens doors to building consumer-brand relationships.
Making a choice among dozens of competitors can be difficult and consumers are often drawn to pet brands that they relate to. Campaigns that grab attention are those with an emotional component, which matches the unique characteristics of the pet-owner relationship. Playful, humorous and entertaining campaigns stand out. Furthermore, when they effectively communicate the brand identity, they achieve a high brand recall and a positive brand perception. So in the spirit of celebrating our pets, let’s have a look at some pet brand campaigns that caught our attention. 

Play fetch with experiential and motion recognition | Lost Dogs Home, JCDecaux Australia

Lost Dogs Home shelter needed to increase awareness and hoped to dog adoption rates in Melbourne. So, instead of talking about it, they decided to show people how wonderful and fun it is to have a dog. The campaign was a combination of experiential and tech. People could meet some friendly pooches and ask questions about adopting dogs in the experiential space. Passers-by could also play fetch with a Labrador via a digital screen, which was outfitted with custom AI and motion recognition technology.

Think like a Cat | Nestle Purina, JCDecaux Lithuania

Purina’s Felix is a brand known for its playful and crafty cartoon cat, Felix. To reflect this, Purina challenged pet-owners to look at things from their cat’s point of view. Purina challenged them to a game. Participants had to think like a cat find a way to push the big red button placed on top of the branded bus shelter. The button was quite high up and it was not an easy task. If they managed to push it, they got a reward. At each push of a button, the bus shelter dispensed a free packet of Felix cat food to take home to their fluffy friend.

An Ad for Dogs | Mars Pedigree, Gewista Austria

Mars’ Pedigree is all about understanding dogs and their needs. So they decided to run a campaign just for dogs. The custom miniature billboard was at a canine eye-level and featured copy in dog (“WUFF, RRWAFF, WAU”). In addition, it was scented to draw the attention of passing dogs. The campaign was unmissable; dog walkers passing by were promptly pulled towards the billboard by their intrigued four-legged companions.

A few more favourites

About JCDecaux Creative Solutions

Creative Solutions is an international division of JCDecaux that brings innovative Out-of-Home (OOH) concepts to on-street reality. Creative Solutions campaigns grab attention and build a dialogue with target audiences.
Whether special builds or Dynamic Content, dedicated teams around the world use the latest technologies to optimise campaigns across all OOH environments.