Market Profile

·  86% of adults who have a dog said they value their dog’s health as much as their own.

·  “Natural, indulgent, eco-friendly and healthy” are the keywords in the market today, this can be seen in the growing number of websites and forums in which consumers talk about the importance of ingredients and materials in their dog food.

·  Americans in 2006 spent $37 billion on their pets with 40% of that being pet food sales, in particular the average Canadian house spends $174 a year on just pet food. That doesn’t include the growing snacks and treats market, which has been increasing the last couple of years by 11.9% each year.

Product Profile

·  With such campaign successes as the “30-day challenge” where they had 35,000 people register on their website in just over 10 weeks, Purina to this day increases its sales based on the word of mouth and referral marketing tactics (40% of participants in the “30-day Challenge” said they heard it from a friend/ bulletin boards on pet websites/ chat rooms).

·  Purina sure knows their business. The development of PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance, has proven to be a very profitable market because in today’s growing pet economy, pet owners spend an estimated $24.5 billion annually on pet health concerns.

·  generous in the community and helping recognize those who deserve to be recognized, they are an important sponsor of the guide dog training schools across Canada, International dog shows. They also annually home such events such as Woofstock and the “Purina Animal hall of fame” where they recognize exceptional pets.

Competitor Profile

Iams offers 24 different cat and dog brands under the Iams name. *Note: they are financer for a new pet radio on the satellite radio network, which is a pet talk show, giving expert advice and tips on dogs and cats.

Del Monte offers 12 brands for both cats and dogs under the Del Monte name *Note: their website was VERY confusing as each sub brand of the company has their own site. Ex. There were 12 websites, one for each pet food brand.

Pedigree offers 16 brands of food for only dogs, under the Pedigree name. They are currently offering you a free bag when you sign up as a member of their website and a chance to win prizes in a contest entitled “My Amazing Dog Contest”, where you submit pictures and stories about your dog They too are available in supermarkets and pet food stores. *Note: they offer continuous contact with customer like Purina through emails. A lot of ideas were a part of Purina’s old campaign that is now being used by Pedigree.

All companies offer their products at similar supermarkets and pet stores internationally. In conclusion the market between Purina and these three companies is pretty competitive and quite similar at present point. They offer similar products, at similar prices, in the same places. Their websites offer nothing new and unique from one to the other.


Target Market Profile

Young, fun and In The Know

(Demographic) / Women, children and young adults are most active pet owners (their needs to be met too)
Pet household incomes to target: $15,000 - $59, 000 (49% of total household income in Canada)
(Psychographic) / Looking at eating healthy and staying healthy mentality (Dog and owner)
Looking at ways to improve their dog's quality of life constantly (50,000 queries each month about dogs on JustAnswer.com)
(Geographic) / Developed urban provinces (Ontario $861,720,380.00/ year on pet food, Quebec $533,414,566.00, B.C. $278,975,398.00, Alberta $239,066,442.00)
(Consumer Behavior) / Owners demand food that offers health, nutrition, wellness, authenticity and convenience
Pet owners rarely experiment if they find a good that seems to work

Budget

The given budget for the repositioning print ads to be created for Purina is $200,000. Further in this brief the forms of print that will be included in this budget will be discussed.

Problem/ Goal

A number of customer’s trust has been lost and Purina has been labeled with a non-healthy profile in the eyes of the consumers, which is not good seeing as the market is growing more health conscious. The goal is to regain the trust of customers lost in the product recall and promote a new image of health conscious food thus resulting in more hits to the website and a sales increase of 25%.

Advertising Objectives

To achieve the above goal a few Advertising objectives have been created and they are: to reposition Purina in the customer’s mind by presenting images that will attract the health conscious pet owner target market, to achieve an awareness level of Purina’s website by revamping it and introducing it to customers more through their print ads thus increasing the level of hits by 60% within a 12 month period, to introduce a trial period of products with coupons offered through veterinary offices across Ontario and Quebec and through the website, thus increasing sales by 25% within a 6 month period and finally to reposition Purina in the customer’s mind by presenting images that will attract young people and children.

Positing Statement

Purina dog food is a healthy choice for young new owners and families who are existing Purina customers who want to improve their dogs health and continue to learn how to help improve their dog’s quality of life. Available at local supermarkets and pet stores.

Creative Objectives

1) To communicate that Purina’s products are healthy 2)To communicate that customers can trust Purina and that they care about you and your dog 3)To communicate that Purina knows what they’re talking about by providing information on improving dog’s health but in a fun and entertaining way 4)To communicate that Purina’s website offers fun, games and more information on how to help dogs (interactive)

Creative Strategy

Portray a realistic comedic or entertaining dog moment that a owner might encounter by using images and creative headlines (use possible play up on words). Should be fun and creative, but hint at a serious approach on dog’s health and or safety.

Both the tone and theme should revolve around trust and care.

Creative Execution

Full Colour customer mail-outs trial versions with coupons to be introduced in veterinary offices and human societies in the four most profitable pet food provinces (Ontario, Quebec, B.C., Alberta)

Full colour Cut out/ standing posters to be positioned at the checkouts of supermarkets and at the end of aisles in pet food stores.

Full colour customer mail out (post card style) inviting customers to visit website and veterinary offices for trail size