The Dog Marketing Blog

Chihuahua enjoying Kwispelbier

Latest sighting in the humanization of dogs trend – my latest Dogs in Canada newsletter has arrived with an article about dog beers.   The article profiles three dog-targeted brews, Kwispelbier from the Netherlands, Australia’s Dog Beer created by an enterprising pet retailer, and the US entry,  Bowser Beer.  Bowser Beer even has its own Facebook page. Producers of these beverages claim they offer the product to raise awareness of the hazards of giving beer to dogs and allowing people who just can’t resist sharing a brew with their dog a safer option.  My opinion? Your dog (and your pocketbook) will be better off if he or she drinks fresh, clean water.

Carefully worded True Blue Buffalo Promise

As premium dog food brands which claim to use higher quality and more appealing ingredients grow in market share, some traditional market leaders are pushing back in court. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which produces Science Diet brand pet foods, has been aggressively pursuing manufacturers which it feels have used deceptive advertising for their products.  Blue Buffalo is their most recent target; Hills objected to their use of the phrase “Contains no by-products” when promoting Blue Buffalo products which contain fish meal, lamb meal, and liver.  Hills claims that guidelines for the meal ingredients do allow parts of the fish and sheep in the meal that most consumers would consider by-products; they also consider liver a  by-product.  Based on the NAD’s ruling Blue Buffalo altered  its advertising and web site (note carefully worded promises in sidebar) to conform to Hill’s demands, but has not altered its packaging, claiming the agency to which Hills complained, the National Advertising Division (NAD)  did not have jurisdiction over packaging claims. Blue Buffalo has said it intends to appeal this decision which was announced in May, 2009.

Pet food nutrition standards and labeling requirements were developed well before the current surge in interest in “human grade”, “organic”, and “natural” foods. As a matter of fact, none of these terms has a regulated meaning for pet foods so manufacturers can use them at will, with consumers having to decide for themselves whether the description is accurate.

Don't Mess With My Pet logo

Pet Product News reports in its November print edition on the recently launched consumer campaign by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a non-profit devoted to the pet industry.  PIJAC is reaching out to pet owners to help their efforts to combat legislation that attempts to restrict pet ownership.  Individuals can join the Don’t Mess With My Pet campaign for $25 a year; their membership benefits include a logo tee shirt.

Cesar Millan - The Dog Whisperer

MediaPost reports that Cesar Millan, also known as The Dog Whisperer from his National Geographic television series of that name, launched a magazine titled Cesar’s Way with the first issue published on September 15, 2009.  Cesar’s Way will publish two issues in 2009 and go to a bi-monthly schedule in 2010.

This provides further proof of not only Mr Millan’s personal celebrity status, but the strength of the dog services industry in the face of the recession and weakness in the magazine sector generally.  The magazine will focus on the human-canine bond with stories about people and their dogs, including both celebrity and non-celebrity dog owners.  Stories about dog training and adapting to life with dogs will also be included in the magazine.