RetailWire alerted me to an LA Times article reporting on the death of Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her role in the Taco Bell “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” campaign which ran from 1997-2000. Gidget was 15, and suffered a massive stroke at home.
This Taco Bell campaign became a cultural icon, despite criticism both for perpetuating Latino stereotypes and promoting impulse purchases of Chihuahuas.
More evidence of the resiliency of pet food and products in the recession appeared in a MediaPost article reporting on a study of grocery shopping behavior conducted by Digital Research and ThinkVine.  Many respondents reported changes in their shopping behavior such as stocking up on sale items, using coupons and switching to store brands.
Pet products were one of the categories most resistant to change. While 57% of respondents said they had made changes to save money on cookies, only 40% said the same for pet food. Eleven percent had changed to buying a generic or store brand of cereal, for pet food the figure was 7%.
A similar finding was reported by Petfood Industry from a survey described on the U.K. website Retail Bulletin. Over half the people survey (59%) said they switched from national to private label brands for food and healthcare products, while less than one quarter (23%) switched to private label pet food or supplies.
Pedigree Adoption Drive poster
CMD Global profiles a campaign by Pedigree in Germany which launched in 2008 to raise brand awareness and sales when Pedigree found its products trapped in a stagnant mid-market position. Growth areas in the industry were in value priced store brands and at the premium end of the market.  Pedigree’s strategy leveraged the dog-owning public’s love of dogs and sympathy for homeless animals to improve brand imagery and preference rather than focusing on a product-centric message.
The Pedigree Adoption Drive campaign encouraged consumers to adopt shelter dogs and donate to the drive that benefited local shelters. Photos and stories about shelter dogs were featured in the campaign which included television, newspaper, outdoor and point of sale media.
The campaign exceeded its donation target, increased shelter adoptions, and helped Pedigree register an increase in both sales and share during the Adoption Drive period.
The July issue of Petfood Industry magazine includes an article titled “Business is Barking” which summarizes Packaged Facts presentation from the 2009 Pet Food Forum. Although I have to call Packaged Facts out on their creative cropping of the Y axis on a few charts for dramatic effect, the overall message is positive for the pet industry’s potential.
Total pet market spending was up 1.4%Â in 2008 compared to the prior year with some indivdual brands up by double digits. Unfortunately, sales are forecast to see a slight (0.5%) decline in 2009, but are expected to regain momentum and continue climbing through 2013.
Petfood Industry reported on promotional efforts by HBH Pet Products on behalf of their No Grainers dog treats. These include a photo contest co-sponsored by WalMart which is offering a $200 gift card as one of the prizes. They also ran a Twitter contest; consumers who follow HBH pet products and re-tweet (RT) a message about the contest were entered into a daily drawing to win a clicker and some treats.  The company has also launched both Facebook group and a Facebook page, allowing consumers to join or declare their fandom, respectively. I know I’ve seen debates as to which is better for commercial promotion and MBH seems to have come down squarely on the side of trying – both.
At the time I checked, which was after the Twitter contest concluded, the company had 200 followers, 17 group members and 6 fans, so I can’t say they’re getting the word out effectively. I often see promotions like this mentioned in MediaPost, but this one I have so far only seen mentioned in Petfood Industry, which has deeper coverage of industry promotions, but I would not think is as widely read. Of course, pet treat BUYERS are the ones who really need to know in order to improve these numbers.
Putting my consulting hat on, I’d recommend creating branded identities for No Grainers apart from the manufacturer in social media and also putting more investment into mass media to get the word out to dog owners about the treats – and the contest.  Grain-free products are riding a trend in pet food at the moment so there seems to me to be an opportunity to better leverage PR in support of this brand even if ad budgets are limited.
Packaged Facts recently released the 3rd edition of its Pet Care Services in the US report. I haven’t seen any online summaries of the report yet, but I could glean a few insights from the table of contents available online. Total expenditures on pet care services in 2008 reached $23 Billion, hitting a 10 year high. Veterinary services are the fastest growing sector within pet services, with the increase in pet obesity with its health consequences as well as increasing numbers of geriatric pets helping to fuel this growth. The number of households owning cats and dogs also continues to increase.
The report also covers changes in the structure of the pet services industry, increased corporate presence, more workers, and the growth of franchising. Details about expenditures by service type, pet owner demographics and speculation about the impact of the recession on spending are also included in the full report, which is available in a variety of formats on the Packaged Facts site.
Via a referral from the Pet Biz Helper on Twitter, I discovered an article on the Small Business Trends site regarding pet-related franchises. The article quoted statistics from the American Pet Products Association regarding the strength and growth of the pet industry and then listed a number of “young” pet franchises. Most were in the pet care services area, including boarding/daycare, grooming, photography, food delivery and waste removal. One I found particularly interesting was Interquest Detection Canines, which provides canine scent detection services to schools and other organizations. It appears that one of the things you purchase from the franchisor are the trained dogs.
The realization that this industry is recession-resistant has attracted attention from enterprising business people who are offering these franchise opportunities. Most pet businesses sectors, with the exception of pet supply retailers, are dominated by small businesses. The success of some services, like grooming, can be highly dependent on an individual person’s skills and personality, which to me seem like they would be difficult to standardize in a franchise model. Others, like pet food vending and waste removal, may benefit from the franchise approach. It will be interesting to watch this trend as it develops.
Primo Pad crate pads
Primo Pads was a vendor at the Ann Arbor Kennel Club shows July 4th weekend, so I stopped by to purchase a pad for one of my dogs and exchange one that had been chewed. I decided to ask the business owner, Gary Berding, how he got into the business of making these durable, high density foam crate pads. It was quite a tale! After being hit with a severe case of blood poisoning which landed him out of commission for nearly a year, he found himself virtually penniless. While visiting family, he went to a flea market and noticed the busiest booth in the place was selling foam padding. The sellers were the parents of the owner of a foam manufacturing plant who were helping him unload excess product. The material was waterproof, non-toxic, and high density and was produced in large sheets. Within a couple weeks, Gary had a warehouse full of foam and needed to find customers. Initially he sold the foam for various athletic and household uses. Someone from a local kennel club happened to see his booth at a sports show suggested the foam would be great for dog beds and arranged to get Gary a booth at their show. The booth sold out twice the first day and he’s never looked back, focusing exclusively on the dog owner market since that time.
Primo Pads focuses on customer service, offers a money-back guarantee, and stays attentive to customer comments to keep improving the products. Upgrades include the addition of a heat sealed tough vinyl fabric covering and standardizing density so all mats are suitable for heavy dogs. Currently marketing efforts include booths at dog shows, a tri-fold b/w brochure, a website and word of mouth. Pads are sized for all common crate sizes and custom sizes are available by special order.
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