Petcentric Mobile App for Pet Lovers

Purina’s new iPhone application is using the phone’s location-based capabilities to help pet lovers and their four-legged friends.

Nestlé Purina Petcare’s “petcentric places” is a free download for both iPhone and iPod touch users. Consumers also can share photos of their pets in a photo gallery and are encouraged to add and rate pet-friendly places and services available on the application.

“Our strategy for petcentric places is to provide on-the-go pet owners with a one-stop source of helpful information that can enrich the lives of their pets — from local veterinarians to dog parks to pet products and pet-friendly travel accommodations,” said Laura Lee, digital brand manager at Nestlé Purina PetCare, St. Louis. The Purina application provides a way to find pet-friendly locations and activities in the United States, such as lodging, dog parks, dog beaches, campgrounds, amusement parks and travel accommodations.

The application also provides search services to find veterinarians, animal shelters, pet sitters, kennels, groomers and dog walkers.

“At Nestlé Purina, we're always looking for new ways to reach our consumers with information that can enrich the lives of their pets and strengthen the bond between pets and their owners,” Ms. Lee said.

“We're making petcentric places available for on-the-go pet lovers who use mobile phones as a source of information about their pets,” Ms. Lee said. “Our research shows that a growing number of pet lovers are using their mobile phones for fun and information, and "petcentric places" is a great way to connect with them.” From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/OBdSm

For more information contact Andrew damico@zipstripe.com

Petco and National Geographic Team Up for Mobile

The National Geographic Channel ran an SMS alert campaign promoting its “Dog Whisperer” program, which saw 2,000 opt-ins and prompted pet store giant Petco to come on board as a sponsor.

The campaign was launched in honor of the Dog Whisperer’s 100th episode with the intent to engage viewers and extend advertising opportunities for National Geographic. “Using the mobile phone as an additional communications channel makes the TV watching experience more interactive,” said Chris Brassington, group managing director at 2ergo, Manchester, Britain. The technology platform allowed NGC to automatically add new subscribers through a keyword-to-short-code system, easily upload tips content and schedule a specific send date and time, keeping the management time for the program at a minimum.

The initiative involved on-air calls-to-action along with an online call-to-action asking viewers to text the keyword DOG to the short code 64288 (NGCTV). After replying "yes" to the standard double-opt-in message, users are sent a tune-in reminder along with dog-training tips straight from the show’s star Cesar Milan four hours before the show airs on Friday nights.“Relevant and timely content that offers value to consumers should always take the lead in mobile marketing and messaging programs,” Mr. Brassington said. “You’ll get more subscribers who are more engaged and more likely to stay engaged with your brand over time.”After realizing the potential of this campaign, Petco chose to jump on board as a sponsor so that all SMS alerts would read “Sponsored by PETCO” and contain a mobile coupon code for 10 percent off purchases made at Petco.com.

“Not only can SMS drive viewership of the show through a timely text reminder, but SMS is more convenient for the viewer than making a phone call or going online to interact with the show,” Mr. Brassington said. From Mobile Marketer at http://bit.ly/n3YZW

For more information contact damico@zipstripe.com