Merrick Pet Care, a leader in premium natural pet food, built its marketing campaign around the unique insight that most pet parents believe their dog is "the best dog ever." To celebrate that special bond between pet & pet parent, we built a campaign around this observation gy gathering user-generated videos of everyday dogs doing everyday things while commentators provide humorous voice-over narration as though they are narrating a dog show competition. The :15 and :30 spots ran as pre-roll on a variety of online platforms such as Hulu, YouTube, Scripps Network (including Food Network and HGTV online), among others, generating 42 million views.
We then opened up the concept to a platform that dog lovers everywhere could participate in – a social app that allowed pet parents to upload their own Best Dog Ever videos and pair with voice-over narrations in a variety of categories (like "best freak out ever"). The app was promoted on Facebook and Twitter, targeted to the existing Merrick fan base, fans of competitor dog food brands, as well as potential fans with dog-related interests. The app was promoted for 6 weeks and resulted in more than 500 user-generated videos.
The app (BestDogEverVideo.com) was optimized for mobile use, to make video creation and participation easier.
RESULTS:
Over 500 created in 6 weeks
Original videos generated 42 million views
Merrick's goal was to create a campaign that would increase awareness of Merrick dog food and generate affinity for the brand. To do so, Merrick needed to be differentiated from other dog food brands. It did this by showcasing and celebrating a pet parents' special bond with their own dog.
When the campaign launched, user-generated footage about pets was nothing new but rarely did pet parents celebrate every day activities of a dog (sleeping, sitting, eating etc.). The video maker gave users a way to put their own dog's activities up on a pedestal, to nominate them "the best dog ever" simply for being themselves. The over-the-top narration of two well-bred dog "experts" provided a funny foil for the user-generated footage. Where in a traditional dog show, commentary tends be quite serious and functional – in the case of ordinary dogs doing ordinary things, the commentary proved to be rather humorous.
We collected user-generated content to utilize in running the Best Dog Ever videos on both digital and social platforms. In doing so, we also gave people a taste of what to expect when they uploaded their own content.
Example:
Merrick lovers and dog lovers alike were quick to participate. Social community members and influencers were eager to share videos of their own "Best Dog Ever." In just four easy steps users could have a video declaring their best friend the Best Dog Ever. As a result, dogs barking at squirrels were celebrated, dogs jumping on the couch were described as heroes, and couch-chewing behavior was analyzed by the prestigious "judges."
Example:
Each time a user-generated video was shared, it provided another not-so-serious testimonial for Merrick, a brand that takes premium dog food (but not itself) very seriously.
RESULTS:
Over 500 created in 6 weeks
Original videos generated 42 million views
We guess you could say we gave quite a few dogs their day.
