Article: Milk-Bone Ties Social Media to Integrated Canine Assistants Campaign

Del Monte Foods is known for several of its heritage brands, including Contadina, College Inn, Kibbles ‘n Bits, Meow Mix, 9Lives and Pup-Peroni. The portfolio also contains Milk-Bone, the dog biscuit brand that is over 100 years old and undertook its first social media marketing program in September 2009.

Milk-Bone teamed up with its longtime charitable partner, Canine Assistants, on a campaign called “It’s Good to Give.” The brand gave a percentage of every box purchased to the Atlanta-based nonprofit, which trains and provides service dogs to people with disabilities or other special needs.

Background

The “It’s Good to Give” campaign included exclusive sponsorship of a primetime PBS documentary, a multimillion-dollar national TV ad campaign, website revamp, and Facebook and Twitter presences.

“The challenge for us was that people don’t want a relationship with a box of Milk-Bone, but they do want one with a puppy.”
—Doug Chavez, senior manager of digital marketing at Del Monte Foods, in an interview with eMarketer

Strategy

The brand’s goals were to generate national attention for the “It’s Good to Give” campaign, drive viewers to the PBS documentary and raise the profile of and encourage donations to Canine Assistants. Milk-Bone created a Facebook page where dog lovers posted stories, comments and photos, and it bought ads on Facebook.

Milk-Bone used a mix of paid and earned media to raise awareness for the program. After a 10-year absence, the brand returned to TV with its advertising campaign featuring the work of Canine Assistants. The strategy involved tapping into consumers’ existing awareness of the brand and persuading dog owners to buy Milk-Bone the next time they shop for treats.

Results

The brand’s “I Give” TV commercial was the highest scoring pet ad ever produced, landing within the top 1% of 65,000 ads tested through Ipsos ASI since 1962, according to Jason Wehner, senior brand manager at Milk-Bone. Wehner says Milk-Bone had one of its best years ever, with 10% sales growth and 2.4 million new households purchasing Milk-Bone treats year over year.

“We learned that our consumers like Milk-Bone not just because it’s a tasty treat that helps clean teeth and freshen breath, but that their purchase of Milk-Bone also meant giving to others through the Canine Assistants program.”
—Jason Wehner, senior brand manager at Milk-Bone, in an interview with eMarketer

The public relations campaign generated nearly 1,400 stories in media outlets nationwide and more than 1 billion media impressions. Viewership for the documentary “Through a Dog’s Eyes” was 30% higher than the national average for a PBS primetime show, according to TPT Productions. The campaign drove viewers to the documentary, which represented a major benchmark in raising the profile of Canine Assistants. Wehner called the return on the public relations investment “significant,” with a CPM of 43 cents and a comparative ad equivalency exceeding $5 million dollars.

“It confirms that when there’s something really emotional to talk about, people will talk forever about it on Facebook pages.”
—Doug Chavez, senior manager of digital marketing at Del Monte Foods, in an interview with eMarketer

Targeted ads on Facebook yielded “high double-digit” conversions, according to Chavez. The Facebook effort successfully generated emotional connections with consumers.

Next Steps

While Milk-Bone, Meow Mix and 9Lives are already involved in social media marketing, Pup-Peroni dog treats will next join in. “The brand is about being playful and having a great time with your dog. One of the insights we’ve tapped into is about planning a day with your dog,” Chavez says.

Pup-Peroni is planning a social media program that includes the Facebook Connect API to tap into the social graph and potentially offering geo-location services through a partner like foursquare. The program would propose dog-friendly places and activities for the animals and their owners. “We want you to buy Pup-Peroni at some point during the day,” Chavez says.

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