'Doggie Daycare' Fetches Millennial Demand

Millennials are driving growth for pet owner marketing, especially sales in the pet boarding and grooming arena, where spending hit an annual $6.16 billion in 2017 per the American Pet Products Association. For example, this summer the New York Post reported that growing demand from pet owners inspired the American Kennel Club to jump into the high-priced Manhattan real estate market: Its AKC Canine Retreat venture purchased five locations from Spot Canine Club as well as the Running Paws dog-jogging (not walking) service to re-brand under the AKC umbrella. Similarly, "doggie daycare" service Camp Bow Wow, founded in 2000, is busy adding franchises to its existing 144. The Millennial generation's disposable income coupled with pet-centric attitudes are behind the trend, Camp Bow Wow's Chief Barketer (also VP of marketing) Julie Turner recently explained to Direct Marketing News. As the Millennial age cohort marries and has children later in life than their parents, "they're filling the gap with a dog," she said, treating their dogs as "really a part of the family." Millennials are not only frequent travelers who need pet boarding, they are working "pet parents" who choose daycare services so their canine companions can go to camp rather than stay home alone. They like to collect a "happy and tired dog" at the end of the day, she noted. Millennials are definitely mobile device addicts, so Camp Bow Wow upped its mobile strategy in 2014 when Turner came aboard, starting with a more mobile-responsive website "in line with other brands millennials support." Camp Bow Wow introduced a mobile app that allows owners to find locations and make reservations, but its top use is watching live feeds of pets at play. "Pet parents want to talk about [the service] and show pictures of their dog at camp," Turner explained, something Camp Bow Wow enables by texting photos of dogs having fun to their owners. The digital engagement and sense of community are not only key to retaining customers, digital strategies dominate acquisition via local search engine optimization, e-mail and texting programs, and social media advertising. Camp Bow Wow actively works with social influencers to drive referrals, for example: "We have a very high net promoter score," claimed Turner. Camp Bow Wow reps also attend community events to promote the brand and acquire new customers. At events, the #GiveAFetch is a popular draw, dispensing tennis balls to happy pups from a what looks like a giant bubblegum machine. Plus, Camp Bow Wow ups its brand reputation by partnering with shelters and providing a temporary "foster home" environment for abandoned dogs to help with socialization. For more on pet owner marketing, see http://www.acculistusa.com/doggie-daycare-market-fetches-millennial-demand/

Demographics Fuel Pet-Owner Spending, Marketing

Direct mail and e-mail lists and data services targeting pet owners are one of AccuList USA's high-demand markets, and we expect trends in pet ownership to grow that marketing interest--and the competition that makes quality data and targeting even more essential. A recent post for The Marketing Insider highlights the demographic trends that are making pet owners such attractive targets: "Americans now own 305 million cats and dogs, an increase of 85 million over the past 10 years. The 50+ demographic is responsible for 60% of that growth. With 50+ population expected to grow twice as rapidly as the 18-49 segment over the next 10 years, brands that include 50+ pet owners in their marketing strategies will improve their odds of maximizing revenue growth," asserts columnist Mark Bradbury. Bradbury makes the point that marketers hoping to cash in on the older pet-owning market will need to adjust their buyer profiles given that 50+ pet owners are mainly empty-nesters (80%), retired (one-in-three), and three times more likely than younger pet owners to be divorced, widowed or separated--leaving more time and disposable income to devote to pet members of the family. Bradbury points to statistical proof that older owners are on a pet-spending splurge: People 50+ spent over $15.6 billion on their pets in the last year, more than all of the other generations combined, according to PetBusinessProfessor.com. The opportunity to market pet-pampering products is expanding, but so is the competition. Bradbury suggests several tactics that put the focus squarely on the growing Baby Boomer pet market, including messaging that celebrates a pet-centric Boomer lifestyle. Multi-channel campaigning is a must for this market. In addition to digital marketing via online, social and e-mail, Boomers are also still heavy users, and responders, of direct mail, magazines and television, Bradbury points out. "Synergistic cross-media marketing plans" are required to maximize reach at every stage in the purchase funnel, he advises. Plus, though Boomers like to spend to dote on their pets, they also want to spend wisely and are attracted to savings opportunities. Direct marketers will want to include discounts or loyalty reward programs to win brand fans. For a link to more pet marketing suggestions, see http://www.acculistusa.com/demographic-trends-drive-growth-in-pet-owner-spending/

PetSmart's 'Dog Day' Leverages Social Marketing

PetSmart took National Dog Day, not one of the nation's most well-known occasions, and made it the center of an imaginative social media marketing plan catering to dog lovers' passion for their pets, reported a recent Direct Marketing News magazine article. PetSmart engaged in social media conversations (more than 780,000 tweets) on the fun Aug. 28 dog recognition day and rewarded user-generated content, such as personal pet photos, with fun giveaways when users tagged @PetSmart with #NationalDogDay. As a result, PetSmart earned a whopping 56% of the #nationaldogday conversation in the Twitter pet space and positioned itself as a trusted partner of pet lovers. It's not the first time PetSmart has used a quirky national day to generate social media buzz; another effort included a dog-oriented promotion for National Lazy Day during the "dog days" of summer. As the DM News article points out, other industries can emulate the PetSmart social media tactics--and have--with promotions centering on National Underwear Day or National Doughnut Day, for example. For the full article, read http://www.dmnews.com/social-media/petsmart-barks-up-the-right-marketing-tree/article/437885/