If you're a shoe company or a brewery or a car company or a dating website how can you possibly get in on the fun and excitement that comes with a pet-centric holiday?
Can you truly help your customers, and potential customers, get into these February pet holidays:
1. Pet Dental Health Month
2. Valentine's Day
3. National Cat Health Month
4. Responsible Pet Parent Month, or
5. Walking The Dog Day
Yes, you can! It's easier than you think as long as you look strategically at your marketing. How does a brewery or restaurant or delivery company jump into the pet-centric holidays? We have tips for you that will enhance your marketing to pet parents. If you haven't already added "pet parents" to your demographic you are missing out as these pet-loving people spent more than $75 billion on their pets in 2019 and we'll bet that spending goes even higher in the coming years.
How To Market Your Business On Pet Holidays
Choose a holiday on which to focus. Decide whether you want to highlight a month-long holiday or make a big splash on a single day (like Valentine's Day, for example which is also Pet Theft Awareness Day).
Decide what makes sense for your unique business to focus on when you've chosen the holiday. For a brewery, for example, choosing Responsible Pet Parent Month could mean you highlight ways in which a person can be a responsible pet parent: Take your pet to the vet (offer a free or discounted drink for anyone who shows an invoice from a vet visit); Walking The Dog Day, offer a discount on pet merch in your brewery (if you carry branded leashes, collars or harnesses -- even better!); Valentine's/Pet Theft Awareness Day, take a polariod (yes, those are still on the market) of the pet parent and his or her pet when they come to your brewery. Use a Valentine's day background (with your logo on it!) and give the photo as a memento. Remember, part of Pet Theft Awareness Day is to have a current photo of you and your pet -- you're providing a service and celebrating with a pet parent.
Get the word out. Share the holiday you're going to be celebrating, what you're doing to celebrate it, why the pet parent should care and want to be involved and why your business is committed to pets and pet parents. If you're looking for your company's "why" as a way to highlight its commitment to pet-centric holidays and causes, let the public know that your office is pet friendly, that you sponsor shelter dog adoption events, etc. Jump on your social media and share information about the holiday. Write a press release and reach out to local newspapers, radio and television stations. Partner with a local shelter and combine forces to highlight and celebrate the pet holiday you've chosen.
Stock your shelves with pet merch. What better marketing strategy than to have a dog carrying a plush can toy to the dog park or having a pet parent slip a branded logo onto her dog's neck before they go out for a walk? Use your branded pet merchandise to connect with a pet-loving community. The word-of-mouth benefit you get when a dog plays with one of your branded items after he and his pet parents have gone home is priceless! Each time the pet parent plays with her dog and the toy, she will be reminded of your business and just might be a fan for life!
If you are looking for ways to celebrate pet-centric holidays with branded pet merchandise and need further insight on ways to use that merchandise to celebrate the holiday, contact one of our dedicated branding professionals today!
Helping Your Brand Forge An Emotional Connection With Pet Parents