New feature for Facebook page admins: ‘This Post Was Served To'

Just this morning I noticed a new feature on Facebook. Take a look at this screen shot of a post from Pawsible Marketing's Facebook page:


Notice at the bottom there is a newly changed item, 'This post was served to 444 people.' It seems that Facebook may be testing a different way to tell page administrators how many people are seeing posts from their pages. 

 Are you seeing this change on your Facebook pet business page?

The 'ins and outs' of packaging for your pet business product.

Walk into any pet store and you are instantly overwhelmed by all the products and services offered.

With all of those products, good packaging can make or break a sale on the store shelf. That's why, today, we are discussing the importance and key elements you need to think about when developing, updating, or re-packaging your pet product.

First and foremost, always put yourself in your customer's, or prospective customer's, shoes. What do they like, what don't they like, what 'speaks' to them for their pets, what concerns do they have about the type of product you offer?

Take the time to do your research, either through a market research firm, or through your own testimonials, Facebook comments, reviews, forum searches or just a good bit of Google searching before you begin the process of packaging your pet product. This will help you in creating more powerful packaging that will grab consumer's attention and make the sale. As a pet product manufacturer it's imperative that your packaging grab pet lovers as they browse the various pet store isles.






What is the goal of your packaging?
  • To be seen and seen first
  • To engage shoppers and entice them want to learn more
  • To communicate key messages and key differentiation
  • To close the sale.
What needs to be included on your packaging?
  • A 'Wow' - creativity, innovation, texture, use of color, form, imagery and punchy text and call outs can provide your product packaging with just the right amount of 'Wow' to get noticed the quickest on the store shelf.
  • Imagery - great use of imagery helps potential customers immediately identify with the product, it's use, and why they need it for their pet.
  • Description - short and pointed descriptions shown prominently on the packaging help shoppers more fully understand what your product is, what it does and why they need it.
  • Differentiation - competition in the pet industry is tough. This is your opportunity to quickly showcase why your product is superior without putting down the competition.
  • Extension of your brand - you've spent a lot of time and effort (hopefully) thinking about your prospective customer, their likes, wants and needs, and identified elements to represent your brand that will 'speak' to your potential customer (and current customers) and build and increase sales. Don't miss this opportunity to utilize your packaging as your company's brand extension.
  • Ingredients - if needed list it and list it fully. And for treats and foods list the guaranteed analysis for a more informed shopping experience.
  • Instructions - always provide complete and easy to understand instructions on how to use your pet product.
  • Company logo - your logo (unless you're a super brand like perhaps Facebook) is not the most important message to convey to your potential pet product purchaser. The most important item to relate is what it is, what it does and why they must have it for their pet. So while including your logo on your packaging is important, make it smaller...it's not the most important inclusion.
  • Contact info - provide a way for customers to have easy access to how they can reach you, company name, phone, email, city, state and your Facebook url need to be included.
  • UPC - for products to be sold in mid to larger stores, you will be required to show a UPC code on your packaging.



A couple of example ideas to help make your pet product stand out from the crowd and match your packaging to your audience:
  • Are you a green, eco-friendly focused company with products that are healthier? Then look 'green and eco-friendly,' and reflect that mission in your packaging to appeal to those individuals looking for healthier options for their pets. These consumer scanning the pet aisle will instantly know you are greener and healthier by the look of your packaging.
  • Are your products highly stylized and geared toward the more affluent pet loving consumer? Be sure that your brand packaging is representative of what more affluent consumers want. Make it clean, with colors that express a higher end market like purple, gold and black. Make it highly stylized and expensive looking.
Other important tips:
  • By all means make certain that your package is as easy to open as possible and find that balance between secure packaging and easy-to-open packaging. More and more studies are showing that consumers dislike packaging that's very difficult to open and will immediate get 'turned off' by the product by association.
  • Pet loving consumers are focusing more and more on healthy, eco-friendly and greener options for their pets. This is a great opportunity to reach that important audience by providing recyclable and recycled packaging and indicating as such on your product package.
  • Keep it simple. If pet shoppers see your product packaging as busy, complicated and difficult to digest and read, they will associate those 'feelings' with your product and shy away because it may be 'just too difficult.'
  • Want to keep your pet product in front of consumers for the long haul? Provide consumer reusable packaging. For example: treats that are sold in a container that may be refilled and re-used for a wide variety of purposes will keep you in front of the consumer a long, long time. 
  • Complete disclosure. I can't stress this enough. The higher purchasing pet loving consumer wants to know what the ingredients are, and feel confident that they are safe for their pet. Provide full disclosure on your packaging to immediately put them at ease.
  • Check the legalities. Does your product require any formal approvals by governmental agencies to showcase various claims or logos? Check.
  • If your packaging doesn't showcase the product, then be certain that it is showcased visually through imagery. For example, if you need to box your product, make sure that your product image, enjoyed by a pet, is showcased prominently on the box.
  • Make sure it fits on the shelf, or in some cases on hanging racks, end caps, or in showcase display cases.

Happy packaging!

Why #ThrowbackThursday can be a great marketing tool for your pet business.

#TBT or #ThrowbackThursday is a meme that individuals utilize to showcase older photos of themselves or their lives on social media using the hashtags mentioned.

I love Throwback Thursdays. Why?

Because I see it as a great way to bring back some of the success of your company's past that individuals may have missed, as well as provide the benefits listed below.

But what is #TBT?

For example #TBT is a great day to share on social media:

  • Older, yet highly relevant, blog content or articles you've written or provided.
  • The evolution of your products and services with before and after photos.
  • Photos and testimonials, from some of your first or past customers.
  • Old photos of your first business office, even if it was in your garage. (Many very successful business started there).
  • Your logo. Has it evolved? Share it's evolution.
  • Photos of your business and/or manufacturing facility from the early days.
  • Great shots of your employees then and now.
  • Photos of you in your childhood, perhaps even your first entrepreneurial experience. 

What is the benefit?

  • Older photos of you, your business and your first customers showcase that you are a stable business that has a history and is here to stay.
  • Photos from early customers with testimonials showcasing just how great individuals believe your product is now and has been in the past.
  • Sharing #TBT photos and info show that your business is creative, fun, hip, and definitely with the times.
  • Being 'with it' is appealing to your upcoming primary purchasing demographic - the millennials and beyond.
  • Individuals enjoy learning more about your businesses past to help them make more informed future decisions now and in the future.
  • Posting photos of employees then and now shows that your business is a great place to work, is stabl and enjoyable.
  • Sharing more personal anecdotes and photos engages your audiences and helps them connect more closely with you and your business.
Just for fun, below I am sharing a photo of me and my dog, Johann (YoYo), enjoying time in 2008 the day he passed his Canine Good Citizen test. We took a day off that day...


The Top Pet Industry Trends for 2014

If you are in the pet industry; developing, innovating, creating, marketing and selling pet products and services, get ready for a sea change in our industry.

The future of the pet industry

The pet industry has been growing, surviving and thriving consistently over the past years and during the recent economic downturn, while other industries have faltered and suffered.

The pet industry, often called 'recession resistant', has thrived as baby boomers, the largest consumer group in history, have adopted pets and, for the first time, treated them as full-fledged members of the family.

With baby boomers aging and coming into their senior years, this potential market for the pet industry will begin to fade, creating a situation where the consistent growth of our industry will begin to level off in coming years.

As we wrote in our Top Pet Industry Trends for 2013 article, 'the coming years will see a shift in who purchases pet business products and services; moving from the present day (baby boomer) market of women, ages 25-55, to the upcoming market of women currently between the ages of 8-51. This next generation of purchasers of pet products and services include the 13th Generation or GenX, who are presently 31-51 years old, and the Millennial Generation or GenY who are presently 8-30 years old.'

We've already seen the beginning effects of the economy and the baby boomer generation pulling back in their adoptions of pets as outlined in the historical numbers of pets owned, according to the American Pet Products Association. From 2006-2011, 62-63% of US households owned pets with a decline in the categories of fish, reptiles, horses and birds, and fairly flat numbers in growth of the higher pet product and service purchasing categories of cats and dogs.

Add to that information shared by Pet Business Magazine in 2011 showing 'the average U.S. pet owner is 48 years old.' However the article goes on to state that the 'average pet-owner age reported in the 2009-2010 edition of the survey was 47 years old, and in 2003-2004 that age was 46,' showing that there is a decline in pet ownership among these younger generations.

In addition, the article states that in 'a study conducted by The Nielsen Company last year, pet-owning baby boomers significantly outspend pet owners categorized as Gen-Xers or Millennials. For example, baby boomers spent an average of 80 percent more on pet food than Millennials did in 2010 (38 percent more than Gen-X pet owners), and 22 percent more on pet care items (9 percent more than Gen-X pet owners).'

So you can see the pet industry has its hands full in the coming years to keep the industry on its continued growth path.

On the bright side, this past 2013-2014 APPA Pet Owners Survey indicated an uptick in pet ownership over the past seven or more years with 68% of US households owning a pet versus the previous years (2007-2011) average of 62%. Growth was specific in the areas of dogs and cats, and fairly flat in other categories of pets.

Competitive Influences

The landscape of competition has also changed over the past four to five years as nearly every industry, in addition to the pet industry, sees our market as a growth opportunity, and seeks to capitalize on that opportunity.

The pet industry has historically lagged behind other industries in the areas of consolidation, acquisitions, licensing, co-branding, partnerships, marketing, pricing, distribution and more. This year, however, we believe will be the continuation of the past couple of years in the transition and further alignment in how other industries have been operating for years.

The pet industry is now the 'wild west,' where anything goes and everyone is involved. The strongest, most well-funded, organized, branded and marketed will take the lead in many categories.

As the economy has begun to stabilize over the past couple of years, we've seen a boom of consolidation and acquisition within the pet industry, an increase in co-branding, private labeling, partnerships and licensing deals with high profile 'lifestyle' brands, as current pet business companies look to expand their markets to a broader audience, and as companies historically outside of the pet industry seek to capitalize on the pet industry growth opportunity and bring products and services to a broader market. In the coming years we will see more and more of these types of  'deals.'

Pet product, service and retail companies will continue to bring a broader range of products to their additional markets by 'partnering' with well established brands through licensing deals, co-branding, endorsements, partnerships and more. Examples of these over the past years include Martha Stewart, Toys'R'Us and National Geographic brand of pet products with Petsmart.

Well branded companies outside of the pet industry will continue to dive into the pet market, extending their product lines and bringing related and fitting pet products and services to a wider audience to capitalize on the success within the pet industry. Examples of these include Select Comfort's Sleep Number Pet Bed and the recent announcement by Body Glove International, a manufacturer of wet suits, clothing and other apparel geared toward active, outdoor and water enthusiasts, of their new line of pet products.

Additionally, pet product and service companies (and companies outside the pet industry, newly entering the market) will continue to leverage relationships with well-known pet industry figureheads and celebrities to get a 'leg up' in gaining awareness with the pet industry market through licensing deals, partnerships, endorsements and more. A couple of examples of these include: Quaker Pet Group's licensing deal with Duck Dynasty, and Grumpy Cat's deal with Accuy Natural Solutions.

Acquisitions within the pet industry will continue to grow as the economy seems to become more stable, and companies open up their deal making and funds.

It's going to get a lot tougher for individuals, small businesses, and those companies without proper funding to take that great idea, develop a prototype, manufacture a small amount of product, and bring it to market via the internet, and/or through grass roots marketing tactics, and be successful.

Going forward pet product and service companies will need a full range of opportunities to bring products and/or services to market to be successful, including developing full and well-rounded marketing and branding strategies and tactics to reach consumers, retailers, distributors, and wholesalers; expand into co-branding, co-marketing and licensing deals; and look to International markets to really be able to sustain the future of their pet business.

Challenges and World-wide Growth

As in past years, and increasingly in coming years, US pet related product providers will look toward International markets for growth and expansion opportunities, as these International markets pick up steam in pet industry growth occurring from increased pet ownership and spending, and as increased opportunities are made available. Countries showing significant opportunities include China, Japan, India, Brazil and Russia.

Legislative influences, pushed by caring consumers, will additionally present the pet product and service market with challenges. From the push to ban sales of pets in pet stores, the growing involvement of the FDA in regulating pet related foods/treats, and individual legislative actions by certain states to ban certain ingredients and GMO's in products, including those for pets.

Pet businesses who change with the times, and align their business, and the products and services they offer, with customer wants and needs, will be more successful in the long term and be better able to evolve and become leaders in their markets.

Specific trends and growth areas within the pet industry.

Quality, Healthy, Made in the US, Green, Eco-Friendly

Pet loving consumers have become more and more savvy over the past years as information is more readily available to them via the Internet. If pet related product and/or service companies aren't concentrating on bringing high quality, healthier, 'Made in the US', green, and eco-friendly products and services to market they will be missing out on one of the most growing product/service categories in our industry. Everything from pet food, treats, toys, gear, healthcare, grooming, day care and more will be under scrutiny by the pet loving consumers. The largest consumer group of pet purchasers, and those with the highest level of spending, will be concentrating on healthier, safer options for their pets.

Companies that continue to manufacture and sell lower quality pet foods, treats and other goods will have a hard time marketing to the pet lover that treats their pet as part of their family, and will have to expand their markets to target lower income and more uneducated prospective buyers; as well as other segments that historically haven't thought of their pets as much a part of the family.

Technology

Technology will increasingly paw its way into the lives of pets and pet lovers. As technology advances have occurred, and outside interests continually see the pet market as a viable and interesting new market, more and more products with and focused on technology will be made available in the coming years. And some big technology investment dollars are making their way into these new prospective tech/pet companies.

We will see more and more mobile device apps available, some good, some 'same old, same old.' Newer technology will makes its way into the pet market that will allow us to keep track of, monitor and interact with our pets in many more ways; including the monitoring of heart rates, activity tracking, respiratory rates, calorie expenditures and more. Wearable computing has arrived in the pet market and will bring the ability to share this valuable real-world information to healthcare and service providers.

Lifestyle

Savvy and high purchasing pet product consumers have long considered their pets as part of their family. This demographic will be seeking out more and more products and services that allow their pet to more actively participate in their entire lifestyle, be more 'pampered,' and enjoy life more fully and comfortably with their families. Hence, we will see a continued increase in products and services related to pet travel, hotel services, airline services; additional human-like pampering products and services; and comfort and living products such as health, rehabilitation and senior related lifestyle products, and consolidated services for both pet and pet parent at one single location.

Wellness and Healthcare

The health, wellness and care segment of the pet industry will continue to evolve. Over the years pet loving consumers have changed in the way they think about this area of their pet's life. They are more demanding, educated and opinionated in how they care for their pet throughout their life.

We will continue to see an increase in the types of health and wellness care availability for our pets. In addition, with the increase in healthcare costs, and the fact that pets are living longer lives, pet lovers will seek out more complete health and wellness care for their pets, including holistic approaches; and they will also increase their options for how to pay for these higher wellness and health care costs through insurance and alternative payment options. We fully expect pet healthcare insurance companies to this year begin bringing their level of insurance provisions more in line with human insurance practices including direct billing and self insurance options.

We'll also see increased services pertaining to the aging pet population including in-home hospice services and out-of-home senior care, as consumers look for services to care for their senior and ailing pets.

Foods and Treats

Foods and treats are the largest purchasing category for pet lovers. Again, as pet loving consumers become more and more educated, and as regulatory, manufacturing and sourcing ingredients problems continue to plague the pet food industry, these dog, cat, bird, small animal and reptile owners will seek out more whole, less processed, healthier, safer and made/sourced in the US foods and treats for their pets.

Trends we will continue to see in the pet food and treat category are grain-free, species appropriate, whole, less processed, healthy, safe, and USA sourced.

Toys for All

Toys, one of the largest segments of the pet lover purchasing pie, will continue to be a large focus for the pet lover. In the coming years, we will continue to see more engaging  and interactive toys for not only dogs and cats, but for birds, reptiles, and small animals. Toys and habitats will become more elaborate and engaging for pets; as well as trend toward more green, Made in the US, eco-friendly, healthier and safer as pet parents become increasingly educated and create demand.

Over the past couple of years innovation in the pet toy category has begun to stagnate. We fully expect to see pet product companies seek out relationships and partnerships to bring new and innovative toys to market, as well as invest more in research/development as the economy becomes more stable.

Pet Business Marketing in the Coming Years

This year we see several primary marketing related directions pet product and service companies will (and will need to) take this year and into the future to secure a successful business.
  • Broaden their base of prospective and current pet lovers; reaching more and additional demographics - through consolidation, acquisition, co-branding, licensing, and marketing tactics.
  • Creating, marketing and selling products and services that appeal and reach into other market segments beyond the pet loving baby boomers that the industry has historically marketed to, including mommies, men, genX, millennials.
  • Healthier, greener, safer will increase even more in the coming years as additional pet product and service consumers become even more savvy, utilizing many of the online and offline resources available to them in making more informed decisions for their pets.
  • Expectations for the pet loving consumer are changing. If pet business are not focusing their efforts on serving, assisting and nurturing current and prospective customers, continually reinventing how they market their pet business, keeping pace and adapting to the wants and needs of the continually changing demographic of the pet industry consumer, they will be left behind.
  • Marketing in the digital age, with the Internet, mobile, demographic and location based tactics, is continually challenging; yet with a well-rounded, integrated, targeted and tech savvy approach, pet businesses will be able to market and sell to the evolving demographic of the pet industry consumer in the coming years for the success of their business.
In conclusion

As the pet industry begins to come into its own, we will see many changes, growth, consolidation, and opportunity. But we will only see this for pet related businesses that adapt to the our changing market and increased competition from outside sources, develop tactics to reach a wider variety of demographics and market segments, as well as concentrate their efforts on healthier, safer initiatives.

Sources:
Baby Boomer Magazine
American Pet Products Association
Pet Business Magazine
Packaged Facts

Pets again featured prominently in Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" ad contest.

There is no shortage of pets included in ads created by amateur ad creators in this year's Doritos "Crash the super Bowl" contest.

Two of the selected ads will be shown during the Super Bowl. Doritos will pick one winner, and the other shown will be selected by viewer voting. The ad with the most votes will win the $1M prize.

Check out the 5 finalists below, and vote for your favorite at Doritos.com until January 29. The Super Bowl airs February 2, 2014 on the FOX network..











One pet featured submission that didn't make the voting cut:


Photo courtesy of NFL and The 2014 Super Bowl organizing commmittee.

Using Vine to promote your pet business products and services.

Vine, one of the newest and hottest social media applications on the market. Now 40M strong, Vine is a mobile app (owned by Twitter) available for both iOS and Android that allows users to create and post six second video clips.

These clips can then be posted on Vine, shared on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, as well as embedded on website and blogs.

Like Instagram video (15 second vids), Vine has spawned an entirely new kind of content marketing in the form of short social video. Because of it's visual nature this new application lends itself very well to the pet product and service market. All types of businesses are now taking to Vine to promote their businesses, everyone from Home Depot to Blue Diamond to Gap and many, many more.

In the age of ADD, these short videos can be very powerful in helping you promote your pet business products and services. Here are a few ideas of how you can use Vine (and Instagram video) to help your pet business be more successful:
  • Give your customers and potential customers a little peek into what goes on behind the scenes of your pet business. Do you have dogs and cats roaming around your office? Let your audience meet them. This allows your business to connect on a more personal level with your customers and prospective customers.
  • Does your product require a little instruction? This is a great opportunity to bring more awareness of how well your product works through very short how to vids.
  • Want to show your customers and potential customers what sets your business, your product, your service apart? Get creative and showcase your differentiation.
  • Are you getting ready to launch a new product or service? Vine and Instagram video are great ways to showcase just how fun, interesting, and value-added your product/service can be.
  • Do you have customers just waiting for the chance to sing your praises? These tools are great ways to showcase product and service testimonials.
  • Vine and Instragram video are great ways to hold contests with your audiences. From user submitted and tagged vids to sneak peak guessing games, there are lots of innovative and creative ways to reward your customers or find new ones through contests.
Your vids don't have to be professionally done as candid is very popular. And it doesn't have to be specific to your product, but can be all about your brand. Remember, however, to always, always make your vids:
  • Creative
  • Entertaining
  • Engaging
  • Fun
To get your creative juices flowing with ideas of how you can utilize Vine and Instagram vids see these great examples from some great brands:
And have fun!

Photo courtesy of Vine.

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