Meow, Meow, Meow Mix...Going against tradition

Meow Mix, a brand which is owned by Del Monte Foods, is working on an online campaign now. The pet food retailers, who were confining themselves to print or television advertising, were adopting offbeat methods to get curious eyes and customers.

The brand Meow Mix had developed affinity do something different in advertising.
It was born with a campaign “the cat food cats ask for by name”. There are many jingles sung for cats. Earlier, when Meow Mix was in the hands of Cypress group, they opened many pop-up retail outlets – Meow Mix Café and reality TV shows Like “Meow Mix House.” Then the next effort was much more interesting. Under a new slogan called “Think like a cat” for Meow Mix, it published a promotional book, online video clips and a website- meowmix.com.

This campaign had lots to give to cat lovers. Meow Mix Acatemy, a faux cat academy, brainchild of a Del Monte’s agency – Grand Central Marketing (GCM) , guided them to learn about feline tastes, how to exercise like a cat and catnapping and a mock dean called “Cat Cora”. Catalogs, curriculum and other associated things were also available for use. Even celebrities like Kat DeLuna and Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore of “The Sopranos”) took part in promotional shows and they organized a quiz Cat Aptitude Test in meowmix.com. Read more about Meow Mix Acatemy here.

Mathew Glass at GCM says, “The goal of unconventional campaigns is to forge strong emotional bonds between cat owners and Meow Mix.” It identifies and interacts with “cat parents”- those who think cats as family members.

The Del Monte cat book- The Meaning of Meow: Understanding and Caring of your Cat, and it is likely to be into the “best sellers lists” as there are many cat lovers. Tracy Locke, the agency which Del Monte corresponds now, has developed customized programs for supermarkets, drugstores and discount stores, selling Meow Mix daily. These “impression generating events” are sure to captivate the cat lovers. Yes, a little bit about money now. Meow Mix spends more than $10 million a year on ads in media too, because they are competing with brands of Nestle Purina in the market.

The efforts are unique, innovative, off-beat attention catchers, like any advertising campaign should be. But, we cannot fancy this idea for all types of products. Further, each campaign must have a distinctive style of communication, but it highlights the importance of developing social as well as online network through campaigns.

PS: Now, they have done so much for the cat lovers. But are cats loyal to the owners, dogs are good pets, aren’t they?