Creative Marketing Ideas to Celebrate National Pet Week
The first week of May (1st-7th) is National Pet Week, which is very convenient for our special Fur Friends since May 7th also happens to be National Packaging Design Day!
As small pet business owners, one of your many responsibilities is to engage your audience via marketing. Interaction and communication is key. But we’ve seen too many brands (within the pet industry and otherwise) waste golden opportunities around certain “pawlidays” like National Pet Week. You’ve probably seen the posts… “Hey, it’s National Pet Week! Hooray! [insert fun emoji]” and then they’ve left it at that, thinking their audience will rise up and join them in celebrating.
Instead, why not rise to the mission of what National Pet Week is really about? How can you truly celebrate all the amazing benefits and joys that pets bring to people’s lives, and vice versa? Not only that, but you can do so all the while still focusing on the strategy of your own small business and helping it grow!
It’s not always easy to come up with creative ideas on your own, though. Trust us, we get it! So, here are some creative marketing ideas that you can utilize to celebrate National Pet Week (or apply it to other occasions to capture your audience!):
Throw a Party
Whether it’s a virtual party or in-person (post-Covid am I right?), throwing a party is the most obvious way to celebrate anything! This option has a lot of potential, especially for doggie daycares and pet care services. For instance, if you’re a doggie daycare, take pics of pets having a great day (maybe even little party hats if the pets are open to it!). Share on social media and even send them to clients for them to save on their devices.
Incentivize Clients to Splurge
Ask any pet parent how they celebrate pets and the most likely answer will be: by spoiling them! What pet parent doesn’t absolutely love spoiling their pets? Take a day out of the week to hop on social media and offer your audience different ways to spoil your pets. This is not only a great way to boost your own products or services, but a way to connect with other pet brands by posting their products and tagging them.
Highlight Some of Your Best Clients
National Pet Week isn’t just about celebrating pets. It’s also about celebrating the unbreakable bond between pets and their parents. There are so many fiercely loving and dedicated pet parents out there who go above and beyond for their pets and your business. Start a “Client of the Day” to show them some love and show them your deep appreciation! If you want to take it one step further, email that client and surprise them by telling them they’ll be featured as one of their best clients and ask permission to use a picture. Make your clients feel special… they deserve it!
Take Stock of Your Brand
What can your brand offer your clients? For instance, if you’re an educational brand (like a dog trainer), post ideas on how to keep your dog engaged and active. Give your clients mental stimulation activities and exercises. For pet care services like pet sitters or walkers, you can give your clients leash tricks or pet care tips (don’t forget the cats!). For e-commerce or pet product businesses, consider highlighting a different product each day and explain why each one is so beneficial for pets. Ultimately, remind your audience of your expertise and make them feel in the know!
Partner with Other Pet Businesses
This one requires a little more behind-the-scenes work, but the pay-off is worth it. Scope out other pet businesses and message them personally asking to collaborate on a special giveaway to celebrate a pet. Offering a giveaway is one of the most popular ways to engage an audience, and that’s because they’re so successful. People love getting free stuff!
Get Personal
People like to see who is behind the business or brand. They want to know that the professionals they trust with their pets’ health or care are real people with whom they can feel comfortable. Share a picture of you and your pet, talk about how you’re going to spend one-on-one dedicated time with them, or share your story about your pet and their “Gotcha Day.” There are a million ways to go about this—just be authentic.
Re-Think Your Packaging Design
This one is for National Packaging Design Day and a way to celebrate pets! Packaging is just one point of creative marketing, and it’s an important one. Packaging design is all about showing off your personality and getting people excited before they even open the box/package. Not only that, but your packaging design assists with purchase decisions, brand awareness, and enhancing overall experiences with your customers.
Here are a few of our personal favorites from our pet clients:
Banjo’s Bows
Paws & Unwind
Pampered Pooches
Check out our other packaging and brand designs in our portfolio, or peruse our catalog on Instagram!
Dox Design is in the business of brand design that truly captures your audience. We come up with all the creative ideas so you don’t have to. We are so proud of how far our Fur Friends and clients have come in designing and branding their businesses. Work with us and see how far your brand goes when you have drool-worthy design on your side!