The dog food category didn’t interest consumers, so Pedigree had to find an emotional way to engage them. We defined the future vision for Pedigree: “Everything We Do is For the Love of Dogs”. It was a true call to action that was manifested in every aspect of the company. We envisioned Pedigree as a company of dog-lovers that created products for other dog-lovers and their dogs. The question now became: how could we help Pedigree do more than just say that they were dog-lovers?
What if a dog food brand could transcend the category and appeal to the hearts of dog-lovers? Quantitative research from Spectra BehaviorScape and Simmons indicated that Pedigree buyers tended to be more generous and giving than the average consumer. Despite the fact that most Pedigree buyers did not have much money, they aligned themselves with causes and looked to make a difference in the world in their own small way. Qualitative ethnographies in key markets conducted by the agency confirmed the insight: dog- lovers’ hearts were much bigger than their wallets. What if we could give them a simple way to make a difference to dogs? What if every bag of dog food could be a step toward finding a home for a shelter dog? We initiated a campaign to find out.
During the 10 weeks the Pedigree Adoption Drive campaign ran, the brand was able to increase sales by 2.48%, despite the dog food category decreasing by 1.36% (IRI).
The campaign raised the brand’s association with the core values: “a company that truly loves dogs” and “understands the importance of the dog/owner relationship”. People saw it as a unique message that significantly increased their loyalty to the brand, as evidenced by the increase in the “only brand for me” measure (IPSOS).