Effie Case Study: Big Heart Pet Brands Seasonal Platform Activation

Big Heart Pet Brands, part of the J.M. Smucker Co., has a lineup of strong pet snack brands in Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni and Milo’s Kitchen, but the company lacked the resources to compete with its larger competitors and go to market as one big brand name. Big Heart also couldn’t afford to roll out deep discounts. Instead, the manufacturer devised a seasonal platform with tailored activations at Walmart, Target and Kroger that saw year-over-year sales increase as much as 90% at one retailer.With its 2015 seasonal platform, Big Heart wanted to find incremental treating occasions and a way to unify its brands. Insights showed that pets are treated as family members, and that includes gift giving around the holidays. Big Heart wanted its treats to be the gifts for the holiday season, particularly Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.The strategy began with national buzz in the form of print ads, digital media and in-store seasonal displays – all with an effort to get consumers thinking about including their pets in the holiday season. Specific retailer activations included Walmart’s DIY focus. Bloggers shared ideas on how to make the holidays special, and Big Heart leveraged the WMX platform to run highly targeted banner ads and pre-shop content throughout the various seasonal timeframes.In Kroger, the insight was that shoppers would buy pet beds as gifts but not treats, so an offer was created for Big Heart treats when buying a pet bed for the holidays. For Valentine’s Day, customized cards for the shopper’s pet were included on packs of treats.Target required a bit more awareness driving, as only 17% of its shoppers head down the pet aisle. A Cartwheel offer helped drive foot traffic, and an exclusive Halloween Pup-Peroni package and Milk-Bone holiday-themed tins reached the Target guests’ baskets when buying seasonal decorations and accessories such as pet costumes and holiday toys.At Walmart, the effort garnered more than $25 million in incremental sales, a 26% jump vs. the previous year. At Kroger, the program netted an incremental bump of $567,00, more than 1% vs. the previous year. And at Target, the activation took in nearly $4 million in incremental purchases, a 90.5% increase vs. the previous year.

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