PR Case Study: Speed – Pitch Perfect for Pawchestra
Speed used the idea of a classical music designed for dogs to help promote dog nutrition brand EUKANUBA’s new lifelong wellbeing messaging to its key target audience at Crufts.
Campaign: Pitch Perfect for Pawchestra with EUKANUBA
Client: EUKANUBA
PR Team: Speed
Timing: March
Summary
Speed looked to leverage EUKANUBA’s new brand positioning focusing on lifelong wellbeing for both dog and owner by discovering whether classical music has the same relaxing effect on dogs as it does on humans.
The result was A Dog’s Tale, an original score of classical music created using the number of beats per minute that replicated a dog’s resting heartbeat. EUKANUBA’s veterinary expert came together with a canine focus group to reveal a 22% reduction in heart rate after listening to the piece. Following this test, Speed then helped launch the soundtrack at Crufts.
Objectives
- Raise awareness of EUKANUBA’s new brand positioning which focuses on lifelong wellbeing for dogs through advanced tailored nutrition
- Engage EUKANUBA’s target audience of ABC1, male/female dog owners aged 31-50 years through a campaign that builds brand advocacy and drives sales
- Drive widespread media coverage and social engagement to raise awareness of EUKANUBA’s involvement at Crufts
Strategy and implementation
Speed’s plan was to tap into the nation’s pet loving reputation, with the activity designed to use the relationship between humans and dogs to build emotional connection with its target audience while communicating EUKANUBA’s ‘lifelong wellbeing’ message.
With classical music proven to reduce the heart rate in humans and create a relaxing experience, the agency wondered if the same be said for our canine companions?
Working with classical composer Iain Jackson, the team developed an original piece of music aligned to the beats per minute of a dog’s resting heart rate. The performance debuted at Crufts with a 10-piece string ‘pawchestra’ to help EUKANUBA stand out from competitors and drive footfall to its stand, supporting sales and communicating the core message.
Speed developed a behind-the-scenes video showing the creation of the score together with the reactions from a canine focus group to generate visual engagement. The video included shots of the dogs staring lovingly and sleepily into their owners’ eyes to create a “goosebump” moment.
The performance was amplified by an exclusive live feature from Crufts with Alan Carr and Clare Balding on Channel 4, followed by radio interviews and national news to achieve coverage which raised awareness of the campaign across new audiences.
Crufts visitors could enjoy live performances on the EUKANUBA stand while a veterinary expert communicated the ‘lifelong wellbeing’ messaging with on-the-spot prizes awarded to anyone who shared the activity on their social channels.
Given word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful influences for EUKANUBA’s target audience, Speed also invited high profile pet influencers – the famous dogs of Instagram – to Crufts to meet the ‘pawchestra’.
The influencers were involved in one-to-one interviews with EUKANUBA’s veterinary expert, which leveraged its highly engaged audiences to bring new people into the brand. This was coupled with a robust social and digital strategy to encourage sharing of content and referrals to the website.
Results
The campaign results delivered against objectives by raising awareness with widespread media coverage, delivering audience engagement through social media results and widening the brand’s audience illustrated through spikes in website referrals and traffic.
Driving brand awareness:
- Exclusive TV interview live from Crufts with Clare Balding and Alan Carr on Channel 4
- Print exclusive with The Times – whose readership is aligned with the campaign’s target audience – followed by wider national coverage
- Interviews with BBC Radio and Classic FM
- Some 68 pieces of media coverage, with a readership of over 450 million
Increasing engagement:
- Over 5,000 plays of A Dog’s Tale soundtrack
- Spike in web traffic of 87.6% on the day of launch at Crufts
- A 13.4% increase on time spent on the EUKANUBA website
- Referral web traffic more than quadrupled
- Over 55,000 impressions and almost 40,000 reach on Facebook
- Over 17,500 video views on EUKANUBA’s Facebook page
- Picture credit: Flick.digital
