Welcome to the Week’s Review of Canine Social Media
Welcome to this Special Feature on the DoggieU K9 Blog for an update on this week’s dog-related social media from around the world. There are so many stories. Here we will share some of the best stories this week.
Enjoy & share them.
How ads with dogs and cats affect consumer behavior
A study, in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “The Pet Exposure Effect: Exploring the Differential Impact of Dogs Versus Cats on Consumer
Mindsets”
- Pets are prevalent and play important roles in consumers’ daily lives. In the U.S. 68 percent of households, or 84.6 million homes, own a pet. Dogs and cats are the most popular pets, with 48 percent of U.S. households (60 million homes) owning at least a dog and 37 percent of U.S. households (47 million homes) owning at least a cat. Pet adoption rates have climbed significantly, with about one in five households having acquired a dog or cat since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Pets also frequently appear in popular culture, mass media, and marketing communications. For example:
-
Target chose a dog as its brand mascot, Microsoft featured dogs in recent holiday commercials to inspire people to find joy, and Wells Fargo used a cat in its commercial to advertise its suspicious card activity alert services.
-
This new research examines the effects of pet exposure (e.g., recall viewing an interaction with dogs or cats while viewing ads featuring a dog or a cat as the spokesperson) on consumers’ subsequent judgments and decision making, even in pets-unrelated domains. The researchers demonstrate that exposure to dogs (cats) makes consumers subsequently more promotion- (prevention-) focused, meaning that consumers will become more eager in pursuing a goal and more conscious of these issues when making decisions. The authors explain that “These effects occur because pet exposure experiences remind consumers of the stereotypical temperaments and behaviors of the pet species.” -
The research offers important insights into how to incorporate pets into marketing communications. One consideration is the type of product or service being advertised. For products or services mainly perceived as promotion-focused (e.g., stock investments, sports cars), featuring dogs in the ad is likely to increase the ad’s persuasiveness. For products or services deemed more prevention-focused (e.g., mutual fund investment, insurance), featuring cats may increase the ad’s appeal. The authors add that “Marketers should ensure that stereotypical pet temperaments are made salient in the message. For example, the eagerness aspect of the dog or the cautiousness aspect of the cat should be highlighted. Otherwise, the intended effects of featuring pets in the ad may not be achieved.”
- [Link to study]
Pet Acoustics Launches the First Free Home Pet Hearing Test for Dogs and Cats
-
- Pet parents can now safely see how well their dog or cat can hear in just 1 minute. Designed for all pet ages, the Pet Acoustics Home Pet Hearing Test is an easy, interactive way to observe if your pet has full hearing, partial hearing or hearing loss. Dogs and cats depend on their acute hearing throughout their lives, w
hich is why it is important for pet parents to know the status of their pet’s hearing ability for well-being. - Pet Acoustics has simplified the science of pet hearing into three key ranges; high, middle and low frequency hearing. This test is the first of its kind, developed by Sound Behaviorist and Founder of Pet Acoustics, Janet Marlow.
How it works
-
- Sign up on PetAcoustics.com to start the free Pet Acoustics Home Pet Hearing Test
- Click on each audio test
- Mark your pet’s observable reaction after playing each sound.
- The survey test takes one minute to complete.
- You’ll be emailed the test results which you can share with your veterinarian.
[Link to Pet Acoustics Home Pet Hearing Test]