Canidae introduces its Kibble Refill Station with demos, sampling, and popups.
Everyone wants to be a pioneering brand launching new products, although this comes with many responsibilities.
You need to generate attention, educate, spark trial, motivate purchases, and, ideally, transform people into brand fans.
Canidae did all this for the Kibble Refill Stations product rollout at Petco stores nationwide.
The dog food company is known for its sustainability efforts, including regeneratively farmed ingredients, verified sustainable proteins, and recycled packaging. Hence, a self-serve Kibble Refill Station is a natural fit and evolution for the company.
Although, when something is new, you must show why it's better, how it fits into their lives, and nudge people to purchase.
To accomplish this, Canidae activated brand cart teams outside Petco stores, greeting people with samples, conversations, and reusable tote bags to use with the new Kibble Refill Station.
Inside the store, brand ambassadors showed people how the Kibble Refill Station worked and answered questions.
Activating at the store reached a few hundred people, although the brand knew a deeper reach into the local pet parent community was necessary.
So, the dog food company deployed the cart teams to dog-run parks with samples, toys, swag, and store coupons.
It was a big hit all around - toys made the day more playful for everyone, pet owners found out if their dogs liked the food, and people welcomed the purpose behind the Kibble Refill Station.
In addition to the above, the pet-centric content at park popups and store demos gave the brand notable dog owner stories and product testimonials to share on social.
Why did this dog food marketing strategy make sense?
1.) A product launch is a considerable investment; store product sampling and demos ensure sales velocity
2.) People are adverse to change - sharing product benefits in-person is how you change minds
3.) Community outreach in a fun, natural, and beneficial way is a win-win
4.) Many dog owners view their pets as members of their family, so making them the focus, made all the difference
We'd love to hear your ideas and goals for your dog food brand!
Explore More
Review the Pet Care Marketing service page if you found the marketing initiative overview helpful.
